6 June 1965
Dr. Linus Pauling, Jr.
3909 Round Top Drive
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dear Linie:
I am writing to tell you about our trial in New York, which began on Monday 20 May and ended at 5:20 P. M. on Friday. I had sued the New York Daily News for libel, based on an editorial in which they attacked Norman Cousins and me. The Daily News was found not guilty. My lawyers say that apparently my character witnesses were too good, and that the Jury decided that my reputation had not been damaged at all about the defamatory statements. I have now added Eleanor Piel, wife of Jerry Piel (publisher of the Scientific American) to my legal staff, and she is preparing a petition for a new trial.
Just after the character witnesses had testified for me, the lawyers for the Hearst Publishing Company, against whom I had filed another suit, got in touch with my New York lawyer who is handling that case, and offered to settle. We agreed to settle that case out of court, on payment by them of $17,500.00, of which Mommie and I get about $10,600.00, the remainder being expenses and legal fees.
One of our lawyers at the Daily News trial lives in Yakima, Washington. He had flown to New York in his private plane, a Beechcraft Baron, and he invited us to fly back with him. Mama accepted, and although I was not very enthusiastic about it I decided that I ought to go along too. We left New York at a quarter to six in the morning, landed at Chicago for breakfast and refueling, and at an airfield in South Dakota to refuel again. From South Dakota over the rockies we were troubled somewhat by thunderstorms, and our pilot, Mr. Tonkoff (the lawyer - there was only the three of us in the plane), had to change his course a number of times, in the effort to dodge the thunderstorms. He was in communication with the ground most of the time.
We landed at Yakima about 6:00 P. M., stayed overnight with the Tonkoff, and flew home the next day by commercial planes.
Mama got a big kick at one time, while we were flying over the great plains, using the automatic pilot. I had not had much sleep for a couple of nights, nor had Mr. Tonkoff. Mama was riding in front, beside Mr. Tonkoff, who had told her that the only thing that one needed to worry about while flying on automatic pilot was a possibly collision with another plane, and that the pilot should he on the lookout for other planes. She looked at him later on, and saw that he was sound asleep. She then turned around to look at me, and found that I was sound asleep, too, so that for some time she was in charge of the plane. We were at about 5000 ft. then, and had not yet come to the mountains.
Mama also enjoyed going through the rockies, rather than over them - the plane was not pressurized, of course, but provided with oxygen, which we did not use. Our highest elevation was 9000 ft. Mr. Tonkoff followed along valleys and mountain passes, except as we approached the Snake River, Where he rose to 9000 ft. and went over the last mountain range, in order to avoid thunderstorms to the north and south.
We have had trouble finding time to go to the ranch. We had planned to go this week and next, but I received a telegram from the Indian ambassador extending an invitation to me have breakfast with the President of the Republic of India, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Sunday morning, so we have postponed our trip until 15 June. We plan to stay there about ten days.
When are you planning to come to Pasadena and the ranch, with the children? Mommie and I would like to know, to make arrangements.
Much love from
Linus Pauling:hpg
June
7, 1965
