D O C U M E N T S 2 3 3 – 2 3 5 D E C E M B E R 1 9 2 0 3 3 5
233. To Edouard Guillaume
Berlin, 16 December 1920
Dear Guillaume,
I have so much obligatory work to do at present that I cannot think of writing a
longer
paper.[1]
Thus I am unfortunately not in a position to accept the friendly
challenge. You might write Mr. Xavier Léon that he could address himself to
Langevin, who is an outstanding expert in the
theory.[2]
Grossmann recently asked me for an assessment of your papers in the area of rel-
ativity theory because it was supposedly necessary to take an official position on it,
finally.[3]
I asserted that despite diligent attempts I was unable to make any progress
toward comprehension and that I personally was convinced that there is no clear
theoretical idea behind it. Don’t be cross with me; it was no longer appropriate to
keep silent about my opinion on this
point.[4]
It is impossible to assign, in any
meaningful way, a universal time to the totality of inertial systems.
Amicable greetings to you and your wife, yours,
A. Einstein.
234. To Albert G. Schmedeman[1]
Berlin, W 30, 5 Haberland St., 16 December 1920
Highly esteemed Mr. Minister,
Thank you very much for your detailed
telegram.[2]
I thoroughly agree with your
suggestion and will try to arrange things so that I can lecture at many places for
shorter periods. It is naturally quite impossible, however, to conduct the complicat-
ed negotiations required for this from here. I therefore applied to the banker Paul
Warburg in New York (former shareholder of the company Kuhn, Loeb &
Co.),[3]
who will either conduct the negotiations himself or delegate them to a suitable
middleman.
With hearty thanks for your efforts until now, I am, very respectfully,
235. From Arnold Sommerfeld
Munich, 18 December 1920
Dear Einstein,
I come to you today as an irksome supplicant. As I hear, you are delivering a lec-
ture in Vienna on January
10.[1]
The return route passes through Munich. We have