D O C U M E N T 2 0 0 N O V E M B E R 1 9 2 0 3 0 9
and the individual patent specifications are not particularly expansive, especially
also because it does not involve tricks in design but exclusively issues of principle.
Would you be so good as to leave word by telephone or, should you be in doubt
about whether it might, after all, be too troublesome to take on this responsibility,
have me come in to see you?–
On Sunday, when I heard that Mrs.
Sklarek[4]
would be spending the evening
with you, I asked her by telephone to take along the book I had lent her, Das Gesetz
der Serie [The Law of Series] by Dr.
Kammerer,[5]
Vienna, and to ask you to read
through the chapter on the “hypothesis of inertia” and the subsection “physics.” I
must say that, while reading this book, I often had the impression that in this area
Kammerer absolutely could not be taken seriously. I would be very interested to
hear from you sometime about this as well.
With best compliments, yours very truly,
Arco.
200. From Paul Hertz
34 Riemann St., 11 November 1920
Dear Professor Einstein,
I thank you very cordially for the steps you have taken in the Kelen
case.[1]
I
imagine that all that has happened will eventually help. Kármán published an arti-
cle in the Frankfurter Zeitung (albeit anonymously), who passed the article on to
the Hungarian government and
legation.[2]
Arco also took
steps.[3]
Since you inquire about the patent office issue, I must tell you that I have been
delaying the decisive step for a little while
longer.[4]
I could not decide so easily
now to cut myself off from purely theoretical work before I had tried to find out if
there wasn’t another way. (Besides, I heard that the starting salary is very low, so
in view of the higher Berlin prices I would be in a worse position in Berlin than
without supplementary income in G[öttingen]. So I will see whether it isn’t possi-
ble to stay in Göttingen and to do theoretical work for firms from
there.[5]
I wrote
to Siemens-Schuckert, who advertised for a mathematician about
this.[6]
If they do
not accept that I work for them here (and only come to Berlin occasionally), I
would perhaps decide on a relocation to Berlin, after all; if that does not work, then
the patent office would still be an option. But I would first like to try staying in G.
I wrote to S.-Schuckert that they can make inquiries about me with you. I assumed
you wouldn’t be annoyed about it because you had granted me permission in [Bad]
Nauheim to do the same with regard to the patent office.
With best regards, yours sincerely,
P. Hertz.