52
DOC.
74
JANUARY
1908
74.
From
Adolf
Gasser
[Winterthur, mid-January
1908][1]
My
dear
Einsteins,
Thank
you very
much for
your
kind
letter;
we
have
been
intending
to write
you
for
a long
time,
but
you
know how it
is.
My wife[2] might give you
a
detailed
account
of the
events
in
our
family.
Mrs.
Einstein's
excellent
remarks
have
stirred her
to such
a
degree
that
she will
now try
to
rouse
herself
to
action at
long
last.
You
are
probably quite surprised
that
I
have not said
a
word
about
my
Maschinerl,
but
everything
happened
just as you
foresaw;
the
custodian did
not
do
a thing
during
the
holidays,
and he claims
that
he has
no
time
during
the
semester.[3] We
are
in
the
middle
of
building
and
rebuilding,
and
must
manage
with
insufficient
space, so
that
everything
now
takes
much
more
effort than
usual.
Let's
hope
that
we
will be able to
move
to
the
new
quarters
by
the
next
fall.[4]
We will
then
have
a
beautiful student
laboratory at
our disposal, plus a
separate laboratory
for
just 3
teachers,
which
we are
free
to equip
exactly
as we
wish. We
are
also
likely
to
get
a
second
mechanic,[5] so
that
the
work
can
start
up
once
the
right
ideas
come
up.
Unfortunately,
the
chances
that
a
position
will become vacant
here
very
soon
look
dim
at
the
moment.[6]
My colleague
Schenkel
once
again
makes
no
mention of
leaving,
and
a colleague,
Dr.
Hess,
who
has been
working
as an
assistant
teacher
at
the institute
for the last 3-4
years,
has
been
put
down for the
position
in
mathematics that
is probably
going
to be filled in
spring.[7]
But
it's
possible
that
a
position
might again
become
available in
the
following year.
You
can imagine
with
what enthusiasm
we
would
greet
the
success
of
our
plans, my
wife
no
less
than
myself, and,
in
a
small
way,
this would be
downright a
matter of life
or
death
for
me,
because under
your
stimulus
my
modest
scientific
powers
might
perhaps
celebrate
a
kind
of resurrection. You
will
therefore
believe
me
that
I
am
following
the
matter with
great
interest.
It
seems
to
follow from
your
report
on
the electr. machine
that
Mr.
Habicht
is not
willing
or
able
to
carry
out
your
new
idea,
and that
you
have
been
looking
around
for
someone
else to
construct
it.[8]
Is
there
no
mechanic
available in
Bern
who could
do the
work in his
free
time?
If
not,
then
I
will
talk
with
our
mechanic;
I believe
that he
has
the
necessary
skills and
that
he would also
suddenly
find the
necessary
time if
he's
getting
paid
for
it.
My
brother
would
probably
also do
the
job
willingly
and
well,
but
unfortunately
he has
no access
to tools and
equipment,
since
factories
do not
permit
work for
private purposes.
But
perhaps
a
talk
with the
factory
owner
would be all
that
is
needed
to
get
such
permission.
Please
let
me
know
whether
I
understood
you
correctly
and
what
you
think about
my
proposals.
With
cordial
greetings
to all
of
you, your
Ad.
Gasser