Part 1 - The Institute Libraries - Institute for Advanced Study

Here in Princeton the ~yciencei research fund which we owe
largely to you and your ~ olle~~ues in the General Education
Board is hzving an influence in the right direstion, and L
think our new mat'ne~atical building fine Wl l/ which is going
to be devoted entirely to research ~ n d adyanced instruction
will also help considerebly. f think my mathematical
research institute, which has not yet found favor, my turn
out to be one of the next steps.9
Nothing was more natural then his next letter to Dr. Plexnes
in June after the announcement of the new Foundation for the Institute
for Advanced Study. Row he ssid that k knew why Flexnes had written
him in January. To thfs Flemter replied that, eurfous as it might seem,'
"this whole development had taken place since the first of Mard~.~'O
Flexner net the Professor during his visits to President John
Grier Hibben of Princeton University, and solicited advices which he
reviewed cerefully during the s mr of 1931 as he prepared his Confiden-
tial Memorandm. A further chance meeting in Decmber, 1931, rended
the Dfrector that he had not asked Veblen's camnts on the brandurn,
whfch he procptLy did, receiving assurances whfch he found to be sirtgu-
larly gratifying. Veblen agreed d iplamtically with the general tenor,
but dff fered on the need to start with a man of genius:
You fndicate that you would not go ahead in a particular
field if you were not able to get 'the rfght man.' My bp
lief is that in most fields, there are sufficiently mny
good w n so that you can surely get a man of the right sort,
For example, if you cannot secure the m n whm yw haw pi&-
ed out and who I agree is the best first choice, there are a
number of others who are surely as good and who my, in fast,
be better....
Your program is experimental only in its details, The gen-
eral idea is perfectly conservative and is regarded as s o d
by every competent judge,.. 11
Flear again recognfzed the difference betveen Blrkhoff's and
Veblen's plans. We agreed that the Princeton man was probsbly right;