July 14, 1939

Dr. Warren Weaver

The Rockefeller Foundation

49 West 49th Street

New York, New York

Dear Warren:

I was very glad to learn that the appropriation to the Institute for the coming year was approved by your Trustees, and I wish again to express my deep gratitude to you and your great interest in our work.

I have just returned to Pasadena from a four-weeks trip to Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis, where I attended a meeting of the A. A. A. S. and a symposium on the color of organic substances arranged by Mulliken, and visited several laboratories.

Your letter of June 12 was forwarded to me, and I have continued to think about our major problem of the appointment of a professor of organic chemistry. In submitting a request for approval of the maximum budget of $70,000 for the coming year, I had in mind the possibility that an adjustment might be made later whereby a part of this sum allocated for apparatus or salaries of fellows might be transferred to the salary of a professor, in case that an appointment could be made during the year. At present we are considering very seriously the possibility of giving appointment to Zechmeister. Szent-Györgyi, during his visit here last month, spoke very highly of Zechmeister, and even remarked, perhaps jocularly, that it would be fine if an institute for him and Zechmeister could be built on the northwest corner of the campus. Zechmeister in a letter to me written about three months ago said that he was very much worried about the political situation in Hungary and that he and his wife were considering the desirability of leaving the country. In answering this letter I asked him to tell me of the conclusion they reached. In a letter written June 13, 1939, he has answered in the following way:

"We have now made up our minds in respect to a possible change. My position here is not such as would suggest a change in an imperative way, perhaps even not in the long run, but I do not like the atmosphere very much. We are inclined to leave if conditions were offered which would enable me to carry on with my work possibly on a larger scale than in this country."

I think accordingly that there is a reasonable chance that he would accept appointment here, although, as you pointed out to me some time ago, Zechmeister’s position with respect to research would probably not be changed very much, except that he would be relieved very largely of the burden of teaching elementary courses, and would have better instrumental facilities available that at Pecs.

I would be very happy if you could give us any further information which might assist us in reaching a decision regarding Zechmeister.

With best regards, I am

Sincerely yours,

Linus Pauling