Part 1 - The Institute Libraries - Institute for Advanced Study

concessions to the De~rtment as did Professor Veblen, who had his
interests in doing so, as w ill be seen later.
In reality, an unhealtt,y situation existed now within the Insti- '
tute. The hope that each school would be autonomous had not been realized.
Kothing was further from the possibilities of the situztion than the Direc-
tor's suggestion that each might have a chaimn, changing annually, as tie
understood it was done in Germany and elsewhere. The School of Humanistic
Studies was composed of individwlfsts interested in different disciplines,
loyal t o the Institute, while rzther taking it for grented, but having
little or no sense of salickrity within thefr group. The School of Econ-
omics 2nd Politics was cm.posed of three actively divergent pexsonalitfes
whom Flexnes had tried vainly and mistakenly to weld into one. It could
hardly become an autonmous School, for its members were each completely
'kmrionous:' and none was satisfied with what he was permitted to do- This
vacuum of power or reaningful policy for grouping was in strange contrast
with the School of Mathemztics, where five professors allowed the slxth,
with only occasional challenges, to take care of their needs. And not
the least sinister aspect of the situation was the attitude of the
Director himself, Weary and beset with problems which might have been
met readily vfthout the restrictions imposed by Mr. Badergex, F 1-r
not unnaturally came to regard Professor Veblen as .speaking for the en-
tire faculty, as w ill later be seen. For Veblen moved expertly, and de-
voted much of his time to management activltiea, saving the DErector many
hours and conversations with the others. In a real sense, he was renounc-
ing his personal concerns with each professor. This left the ffeld to
Veblen, who took it quietly.