Post by The StarmakerPost by J. J. LodderFYA, all.
Who wrote this letter, and for whom was it intended?
(ten bonus points for the correct year)
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Herr Einstein is one of the most original minds that we have ever met.
In spite of his youth he already occupies a very honorable position
among the foremost savants of his time.
What we marvel at him, above all, is the ease with which he adjusts
himself to new conceptions and draws all possible deductions from them.
He does not cling to classic principles, but sees all conceivable
possibilities when he is confronted with a physical problem.
In his mind this becomes transformed into an anticipation of
new phenomena that may some day be verified in actual experience....
The future will give more and more proofs of the merits of Herr
Einstein, and the University that succeeds in attaching him to itself
may be certain that it will derive honour from its connection with the
young master.
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Guess Who?
Jan
(cheaters will be disqualified)
Pointdexter letter to commie Einstein.
about Pointdexter:
RAYMOND POINCARE, Autograph Letter Signed, to Unknown, May 22, 1916. 3
pp., 5 1/8 x 8 in. The President of the Third French Republic tells an
unknown friend about a disturbing letter that he just received from
right wing journalist and newspaper editor Urbain Gohier, in which
Gohier had accused him, the sitting president, of colluding with Jewish
and foreign elements. Complete TranslationMay 22, 1916My dear Friend,I
will without delay attend to the settlement of the small matter you
alerted me to. I will keep you informed.Since I have the pleasure of my
[?], please let me tell you that I have received a letter from Mr.
Urbain Gohier that I just don't understand. Here are some pages:"In
early 1913, barely elected, you were exposed to a double aggression by
M. Gustave Lvy in the ['uvre?]and by a [?]Jacob, called Landau, in a
[special?] paper."I established soon after from M. Lvy that you had
re-installed him at the university to keep him silent."And you asked me
(rue du Comt Marchand)[1] not to execute the master-singer and
master-spy Jacob Landau, brother and [?]of the so-called 'Baroness'
Heftler, spy.I deferred to your wishes, despite the three years of
[?]provocations."But yesterday I was physically assaulted and threatened
in the street by the scoundrel. I think it is my duty to set a good
example. I am sorry that your tranquility will be upset."I do not know
on what Mr. Urbain Gohier bases his peculiar statement that I ever
reintegrated Mr. Lvy at the university to keep him silent. I had nothing
to do with the integration of Mr. Lvy, and you have known me long enough
to know that I would never seek to silence a person, having nothing to
fear from anybody whatsoever.I am even more astonished, if that is
possible, that Mr. Urbain Gohier attributes to me, regarding Mr. Jacob
Landau, an attitude that I have never had. You were there for the
conversation that he recalls and which took place, three years ago, on
rue de Comt Marchand. Never have I thought to ask Mr. Gohier "not to
execute" M. Jacob Landau, and you are witness to the fact that I
expressed no such wish to him. Since he told me about M. Jacob Landau in
very colorful terms, I responded that I did not know him, - and to this
day, I do not. Therefore I cannot fathom how Mr. Urbain Gohier could
write: "I am sorry that your tranquility will be upset." My tranquility
counts very little at this time; but I wonder what relationship I can
have with someone I do not even know. If Mr. Urbain Gohier brings me to
court, directly or indirectly, he will make a serious mistake. In any
case, from now on, I would be very grateful if you set his memory
straight and reminded him that I never said what he says I did. It seems
unlikely that after having talked with you, he would persist in his
error.Thank you, and best wishes,Poincar Historical BackgroundThe
President includes lengthy excerpts from Gohier's letter so that his
correspondent can try to understand the journalist's accusations.
According to Gohier, Poincare sanctioned the admission of a Jewish
student named Gustave Levy into university in 1913 even though Levy had
ties to a "master spy" named Jacob Landau and a double agent named
"Baronne Heftler."Urbain Gohier (1862-1951) found a niche as an
anti-Semitic, pro-royalist, and anti-military journalist starting in the
1880s. In 1916, he founded and served as editor of an anti-Semitic
weekly pamphlet titled Le Vieille-France. Four years later, he
fabricated The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which purportedly
exposed a Jewish plot to take over the world. After World War II, he was
condemned for his support of the Vichy government and collaborationist
press. Raymond Poincar (1860-1934) was born in Bar-le-Duc, France and
educated at the University of Paris. Admitted to the bar at age 20, he
became the youngest lawyer in France. He successfully defended Jules
Verne in a libel suit and was elected to the Chamber of Deputi.
--
The Starmaker -- To question the unquestionable, ask the unaskable,
to think the unthinkable, mention the unmentionable, say the unsayable,
and challenge the unchallengeable.