2 1 0 D O C S . 2 5 1 , 2 5 2 J A N U A R Y 1 9 2 0 I believe I may say that by assuming the chair you would not be burdening your- self with responsibilities of any kind rather, that it is essentially a matter of finding a personality whose name in international scientific circles is as extraordinarily im- pressive as yours. In the hope that under these conditions you will kindly meet our request, I re- main ever yours very sincerely, Arco. 251. From Theodor Des Coudres[1] Leipzig, 3/5? Linné Street, 9 January 1920 Dear Colleague, Wiener and I wanted to do something for Prof. Erich Marx and submitted a pe- tition to the faculty for an Extraordinary Professorship in Radiophysics and at the committee submitted the triple nomination: M[arx], Jaffé, and an outsider as the third.[2] Against expectations, Marx encountered opposition primarily from quar- ters outside the profession. Outside authorities first had to be consulted. The assess- ments that have come in thus far diverge quite considerably, however. While, for inst., Elster and Geitel and H. A. Lorentz gave statements in our favor, others, such as my friend W. Wien, spoke unfavorably of Marx.[3] In these circumstances, I would be very grateful for a few words about your position on the accomplishments of our colleague Marx in begging your kind forebearance for the disturbance, yours very truly, Th. Des Coudres. 252. From League of German Scholars and Artists Berlin NW7, 38 U[nter] d[en] Linden, 10 January 1920 Highly esteemed Professor, The German League for the Protection of Germans Outside Germany has been conducting an appeal for the Border Fund since December of l[ast] y[ear]. The Pro- tective Alliance intends to raise substantial sums for this officially approved collec- tion to enable eligible voters living in the Reich to travel to their places of birth for the purpose of voting. This politically highly important purpose requires a sum of many millions which, however, must be raised in order to save this most valuable German territory and guard our fellow nationals from foreign domination.