Part 1 - The Institute Libraries - Institute for Advanced Study

uri tteri:
The first problen! of cooperation between the University and
the new Institute that occurs to me is thet of =king it
clear that merr,Sership in either one is no obstacle to get-
ting s good job in the other. We shll not let a situation
arise in which a young ran would hesitate to corm to one...
far fear of missing a better cknce in the other later on.
Flexner naturally does not want the University to feel that
he is going to drain it of its good men. By the time the
Institute is a going concern the problem will be a fully re-
ciprocal one, and f think it ought to be looked at in thfr
way from thk start.52
men the Director, the Dean and Professor Veblen rret in mid-
Iiovenber to discuss this and other policies, Flexner knew that the Pro-
fessor differed with his viewpoint, but he was serene i; the convictZon
that it was his own responsibility ti mke policy with the University,
subject to the approval of his Trustees, and in the confidence that his
wishes would be respected by Veblen. Thus he wrote Dean Eisenhart after
the conference:
Hare and more a feu paints stand out fairly clearly not be-
cause of any possible difference of opinion between you and
Veblen and me, but because we are setting precedents and
es,tablishing relations which we hope will prove sound after
all three a£ us are dead and gone. I am giving you these
impressions for what they are worth, and I want you to under-
stand first a5 all, that I have not the slightest desire to
be consulted with reference to your concerns. Our chanceg
for perfect hamany, understanding, and cooperation are best
if each of us goes his own uay, talking things over as freely
as possible as long as re are on the job but leaving our suc-
cessors precisely the sere kind of freedom that re naw enjoy.
With this general viw in mind, let me say that I would not for
the world do anything to lnar the great work in i~theuwt5cs that
is going on at Princeton....Ycu were generous in letting uo
have Veblen, and I assume that in so doing you felt sure that
you could fill the post without lowering the prestige of tbe
Departwnt, but quite obviously this cannot often happen at \
this stage of the game of our academic development.,.Herely
moving men from one place on the checkerboard to another does
not modify the general situation fn respect to scholarship in
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this country. I would not therefore if I could injure seriously
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