I^HM

March 12, 1*56

Mr. George 3, Messersmith, Sierra paracaima 1285, Mexico 10, D.F.

Dear Georgei Leaving your two letters so long without a reply- is certainly * major sin. Please accept my apology. I am busy, 3u3y trying to learn something about electronics and atomic energy at City College, a rather stiff Job as neither electronics nor atomic energy were taught during the yeara 1890-95 spent at the university and, unfortunately, my mathematics have turned rusty and flat. Also Yvonne is learning eomething in copying many papers and drawings. Wow I am the pupil and an increasing my knowledge. In the past I taught others end some did not head my teaching. Now these feel a certain uneasiness and leek of self confidence of those who by stealth %«ok what they could not have earned on their own merits In an orderly world (or company). Reward without fight. X received a letter, of which I enclose a copy, from my friend Adenauer, in reply to a letter end a telegram I sent him on the occasion of his 8oth birthday, I wrote Adenaxier, in my answer to his letter, that the celebration last month of LineStln' s birthday - a very great statesman - reminded me of his present situation] that Lincoln succeeded In maintaining the Union and that I feel certain that he too will be able to unify Germany, without civil war or war, I received a book on Adenauer written by Dr, Edgar Alexander, a great catholia. My copy and one sent Adenauer contain the following de cleation t Autor und Verleger widmen dieses Exemplar in beaonderer Dankbarkeit Herrn Dr. D.N, Heineman ftlr die generttse Hllfe und den tapferen Beistand den er seinem alten Freunde Dr. Konrad Adenauer In Zeiten achwerster Not und Bedrangnls lelstete! Edgar Alexander Paulus Verlag New York City Recklinghausen it $, Januar 1956 2. For this Adenauer is responsible. I don't like it and wrote hira. But he is proud having a friend who helped him in a distressed situation and he takes great pleasure in telling it to everybody, even in Washington: Dulles, Wilson, Radford, in my presence. It is easy to be a friend without exertion, A "oher ami" la not a friend.

I asked Lorie to send you the Maroh 1956 issue of the magazine "Scientific American", which publishes an article by Julian Huxley on world population which is worthwhile reading. He will send you also a copy of "Collier1sn containing an article on automation. In many areas millions of people lie down hungry, withoutashlrt» whereas this country has a surplus of eight billion dollars, which influences largely world prices and does not create friends in countries that have the same commodities to export - cotton, wheat, etc. Large surplus are destructive to values and friendship. Important people are often wrong in their forecasts. The famous German chemist and Nobel Prise winner, Professor Haber, told me in 1920 of the Inability of the United States to feed a population of 180,000,000. "To-day", he added, "everyone occupies a fauteuil d'orchestre as to food supply, but with a population of 180,000,000 everyone will have to be satisfied with a standing place." Haber attributed this inability to produce sufficient food to erosion, building of new roads, extension of cities etc. He was wrong in his forecast, and so was Thomas Jefferson in his letter dated Decem­ ber 6, 1313 addressed to his friend Alexander von Humboldt (extract of which is enclosed). Why was Jefferson wrong in his prophesy ? because the new discoveries and inventions in science have upset entirely the world's •conomio conditions. This last January I wrote a short memorandum, of which a copy is enclosed, concerning the development of industries and its influence on economies, I may add that changes in economical condi­ tions usually create a danger of unrest, especially if progress of one important country Is not followed by that of another country of like importance. This could mean danger of war. New inventions, therefore, have to be made for the protection of improved economies originated by new discoveries. This o©untry is blessed with some really outstanding scientists, many from foreign origin and many American-born, ver>' often with European schooling. Unfortunately, some of these out­ standing men, as Unstein, Fermi, Weyl, have passed. The latter was, with Niels Bohr, Max Born, Condon, Feller and Courant,a member of the Panel for the "Dannie Heineman Prize" which was established by the Heineman Foundation, to be awarded every three years to the author of an outstanding book on mathematical or physical sciences written during the five preceding years. The prize is $,000 dollars. It will perhaps be Increased this year as the Panel is considering for the 195b Award the works of two outstanding scientists, both mathematicians. 3. X enjoyed the Heineman Lectures in Charlotte very much. Two professors, one from New York and the other from Montreal, apoke of certain medical problems, which in many respect* were above my comprehension, I also spoke briefly, telling the audience that 1 too had jU3t received an emergency call «• some of the attending doctors had received such calls during the evening - but this was from my wife, urging MB to limit my talk to ten minutes. It is difficult to say something within ten minutes, but usually one say3 much less in thirty, I mentioned economies related to engineering. ilsf?.thats some 50,000,000 Aspirin tablets are swallowed every day in this country, adding the yearly "tonnage" of sleeping powder used in the United States. This created some sensation as doctors only deal with very small figures when writing their prescriptions. The Chairman of the Medical Society of the Mecklenburg County was rather elated in mentioning the presence of ten negro doctors who were enjoying the evening. I said that I was very glad to see them at the meeting, inasmuch as my boy gang In mischief was composed of white and negro boys, I was the commander of this organization of not too good repute, the chief occupation of which was stealing apples and watermelons. One day, when a garden owner got after us with some dogs, the boys jumped over the hedge and I tried to climb over the garden door with my pockets full of apples and a watermelon stuck unaer my arm. The door fell on my nose and I still bear to this day the scar as a witness to this accident ,,,

The Charlotte lectures are highly appreciated by the doctors from Forth Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia and the Heineman Laboratories are doing excellent work.

I recently read a book "L1Affaire Dreyfus" by Paleologue, a French writer, member of the Academie Franchise and a former diplomat. Although the author was against Dreyfus, this book shows the low morality of the French military leaders at the time, I followed this whole affair very closely from the beginning to the end, I was at the Palais Bourbon in 1899 when Waldeck-Rousseau with his new cabinet faced the stormy meeting of the Chambre des Deputes. This new cabinet included Millerand, the first socialist to enter a French cabinet, sitting next to General Gallifet, a stiff reactionary, Waldeck-Rousseau got a majority of nine and lasted three years. He was able to liquidate the . He retired because of poor health and died of cancer after an operation performed by a German surgeon from Halberstadt, Paul Reynaud was secretary to Waldeck- Rousseau and wrote a biography - a very Inferior one - of his boss. He sent me a copy of his book with a dedication, Millerand the socialist became President of the Republic, but was ousted after some tine by an action introduced by Herriot, Millerand made a State visit to , Van der Velde, who was at the reception, said 1 "Alexandre, comme tu as change (moralement), tu es meoonnaissable l* k. I knew this "Affaire Dreyfus" on my finger tips. A friend of mine, Marquis Paulucci di Calboli, flor some years counsellor of the Italian Embassy in , knew tho true facts through the Italian Military Attache,Panizardi,and the German Military Attache,von Schwarzkopfen, Paulucci got the stone rolling for ©learing Dreyfus. He met Scheurer-Kestner, C16menceau, Zola, Pioquart, Labori et tutti quanti. I read many letters relating to the affair in his collection, which was later stored in his palace at Porli, Mussolini's birthplace, Paulucci took great pride in Dante mentioning his family name in the "Divina Comedia" t Calboli, these brigands ,,« He became later Ambassador to Switzerland, Japan and Spain, He was not too successful in Tokio, as the Japanese were able to open his pouch and he became persona non grata, Clemenceau was very vigorous in defending Dreyfus, writing many articles in his newspaper "L'Aurore*, which published ^ola's famour paper "J*accuse". After the Rheims decision was handed down, I sent Hettie a postcard from Berlin, where I arrived for two days from , dated : 9«9.99, Hettie was then 9 years old, Paulucci*s only son was killed during the first world war. His only daughter married a diplomat called Barons, who took the name of Paulucci and became, at the end of Mussolini's regime, Ambassador to Belgium, where I mett him. He was finally the Italian delegate to the League of Nations in Geneva, for me one of the most charming and interesting places in the world. One lives there In the atmosphere of Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Diderot, and of the Englishman Gibbon (who lived in Lausanne), author of "The Roman Empire", a work quite different from the "Romische Gesohichte1' by Mommsen, far superior to Gibbon's in my way of thinking. "Misia and the Muses, the Memoirs of Misia Sert" Is another book I read lately again, I knew her very well. She was a beautiful woman, first married to Thadee Natanson, a friend of Toulouse-Lautrec. Edwards, of the newspaper "Le Matin", was her second husband and finally she married the Spanish painter Sert, from Barcelona, and lived at the Hotel Meurice in Paris, Misia Sert was a great pianist; as a child she played sitting on Liszt's knees. She knew everybody in Parisi Renoir, Mallarme, Toulouse-Lautrec, Proust, Vulllard, Verlaine, Valery, Debussy, Colette, Pierre Louys, Picasso, Stravinsky, Cocteau, Diaghilev never staged a ballet without consulting her, Cambo and Ventosa were witness at her wedding with Sert; I attended the luncheon party. Misia Sert exercised a great political influence in Paris, as \/ some women ao. (Enclosed copy of a letter from the Marquise de Pompadour to the French Ambassador to London,) At the eve of a presi­ dential election, when Painleve was a candidate, we were all dining in my sitting room at the Meurice i painleve, one hour late as usual, Cambo always ahead of time , Ventosa, Madame Arnus, Misia and Sert, It was very exciting. The telephone rang constantly and poor Painleve was unable to dine. He was beaten; his opponent was, X believe, Poin- tare, Misia accompanies) Mrs, Otto Kahn on a trip to Russia, She died after the II world war, surviving by four years Sert, who died In I9l},5. I write these details as they give a bit of the atmosphere of Paris before the I world war and some years after. Paris was 5. always a large provincial town, noraetropole like London and New York, but is has a great charm, especially the left bank of the Seine and the Faubourg-St-Honore. The rfcythm of life in Pari*, in spite of the big changes created by war, seems indestructible* Z consider that the concentration of all political influence in the largest city of Franca is not advantageous to the country. King Albert asked me one day the reasons for the greater honesty of the Belgian deputies compared to the French. I said it was a question of distances z the Belgian deputies can go home in the evening if they so desire.

I am having another book sent to you : "Water", published by the Department of Agriculture, about J$Q pages, exceedingly well done, many short artieles - you do not have to read them all. New horisons are opened to the reader in perusing these articles. The water question, nearly all over the world, is as important as the production of electric energy. Old Duke, the tobacco king, whom I met in Charlotte in 1916, was then busy building hydroceleotrio plants on the river and in the mountaina, believing the potential w,ater power in North Carolina sufficient to meet all requirements far many years to come. North Carolina's power production in 1916 exceeded considerably London's. To-day the N.G# production reaches about 9 billion kWh, with a population of 4,000,000, compared to New York City, about 13 billion kWh with a population of 8,500,000. In 1916 Duke did not envisage the construction of steam plants. To-day the Carolinas are building eight new steam plants on a very big scale, as water power is exhausted. Water is necessary for household purposes, industrial and irrigation purposes; many Fivers and lakes are polluted. For the production of electric power, water is important but not essential. The use of sea water is one of the important problems to be solved. One half of the electrio energy in West Sermany is produoed by browncoal (the total production is about 60 billion kWh per year). Browncoal is exported from Germany to Switzerland, as briquettes about 300,000 tons and l,800,000Thard coal yearly. In our eountry coal Is again king. Production whieh was down to 250,000,000 tons a year Jumped in 1955 to nearly 500,000,000 tans. This revives the railways and brings them new business. About i|.0,000,000 tans went to Europe la 1955* You will read in the enclosed note something about the fuel situation in Great Britain. In 1905 I told my friends, Dudley Docker, McKenna and others, that something must be done without delay in order to improve the coal production, Ve had long discussions with the mine owners, the "Coal Lords", but without result* "Why worry, we are making plenty of money with our present methods", was their answer. I had presented a very elaborate scheme. The mine owners were to receive half of the Increased profits due to improvements, without disbursements for the new installations, which would be owned entirely by them as soon as the accumulation of yearly profits derived from our partieipation in half of the inoreased profits would have reached I 3HM 6. our capital outlay plus profit* But the Coal Lords replied t " We are satisfied, we ara making money, why change I* We are again at tha beginning of a new period of Industrial expansion, J have some ideas, but there are still too many "Lords11 and, unfortunately, there are many professional in3ulters« However, I still hope to accomplish something worthwhile. For the moment I am busy with electronics and atomic energy and % hope to pass an examination at the end of June. We will hear something one of these days of the Portuguese colonies in East and West Africa, Angola and Mozambique. Dr, Salazar should do some travelling. Things donft look too good In Africa, Sofiaa had some experiences working in Mozambique. It was easy to build power stations In Rhodesia,

Enclosed you will find extract of two letters, one of Dr, Bruning, mentioning you, and ont from Colonel House. I washed my soul the other night listening to Mozart's Requiem conducted by Bruno Walter, This composition is the last Mozart wrote, being In very bad health and unable to finish it entirely before his death. I quote the following from a book I read a few days ago: The last years of his life (Mozart's) saw his art deepening, • becoming more searching of self and things, turning toward those I sources of inspiration that can lead to the hymning of life entire, n What theas sources were, It is as impossible to know In Mozart's M case as in Beethoven's, But everything indicates that this still- H young man, who so sorely needed a vacation and a little more food, w had not yet reached the summit of his genius, and was on the verge " of new and tremendous undertakings. There was no sign of abatement n In that matchless flood of musical ideas, he was the greatest " musical technician of all times, and he died at thirty-six, an age 8 at which Bach and Beethoven were still preparing for their supreme I masterpieces. Mozart died in the moment of victory - but before M he could make his affirmation, as 1M himself knewi H X am at the point of death, I have finished before I could " enjoy ray talent. Yet life is so beautiful, my career openend so " auspiciously - but fate is a*t to be changed ... I thus finish * my funeral song - I must not leave it uncompleted," I ara afraid Z bored you with this long letter, You will reply, and your reply wi^iJencourage or discourage me in writing something about politics, I hear nothing about Sofiaa and affiliated companies, and that is good, I have turned a new page, Hettie, who was not too well these last few days but feels better now, Edna and Yvonne,Join in love and best wishes to you and Marian. As ever. (x) and economics.