January 6, 1930

Mrs. D.H. Morris,
19 East 70 Street,
New York City.

Dear Mrs. Morris:

Your letter of November 30 again makes me realize what I have often thought to myself, that is, with what hardihood I did presume to write to you. While it is true that it was very difficult to write as I did, the fact is that I did dare so write. Your letter shows something more. You would have been justified in regarding me as obstinate and arrogant and in casting me out as the continually irritating and obstructing member of your Committee; but, on the contrary, you not only overlook my extraordinary conduct, but also accept all my suggestions and objections. You answer injury with grace, and remove almost all grounds of my withdrawal for the present.

Such being the case, I have no choice but to stay in IALA's service for the moment. I fear, however, that I shall be of very small use to the Association, for two reasons, besides my native inability. One is want of time; this is for me a serious difficulty. The other reason is the uncertainty which I shall explain below, and which still may cause a situation in which I should be unable to continue longer.

According to your suggestion, I am having copies made of my two papers. As the plans outlined in them are subject to modification, I have changed the title of one of them, draft for a section of the Introduction to FL, to one (I do not recall) implying its unofficial and personal nature. I shall send you within a week twenty-five or thirty copies of each. In the meantime will you kindly ask your secretary to send me the addresses of the persons whose names appear on IALA's letterhead, so that I may send them copies of my Tentative plan?

The point not yet clear, which may yet prove to be the most important point, is the extent of your agreement with my view that the direction of IALA should be completely reorganized. Even if you propose that only the direction of linguistic research should be reformed at this time, I do not quite know how far you intend to go in this branch of IALA's work. Linguistic research includes not only the second but all the circles.

As to the second circle, I understand you to say that you are thinking of finding a linguist who should be able to give to the beginnings of the circle such reasonable shape as might be shown to persons who would come to the proposed meeting in Europe, since there is at present hardly anything to present to them as samples of our linguistic work or even as our program of work. Do I understand you rightly? If so, you are looking for a temporary director for a small part of the second circle, and not even of the whole of this circle.

What do you propose to do with the first circle?

What with the other phases of IALA's activity?

Returning to the work preparatory to the European meeting, it seems to me that the new director, whoever he may be, might well be puzzled to know what could possibly be done within that short time that remains before your departure. If it were not for the meeting, he might conceivably make a good plan of progressive work; but the need of preparing for the meeting might well interfere with such a plan. What can he do in preparation of this kind?

He could try to answer this question at all only if you have a clear and strong idea as to the definite purpose of the meeting. If you still think that this is an opportune time for a meeting, it needs a mature and thoroughly practical plan, so as to make its work a definite integral part of the second circle. Have you elaborated such a plan? There does not seem to be any time to lose.

As for Mr. Fife, I have no personal knowledge of him, but what I gather from his

friends here, that he unites scholarly, teaching, and organizing ability in a
happy combination, though he may not be great on any of these three sides. I
should be interested to know the results of Miss Kennon's interview with him.
If he is not available, I shall be glad to make such inquiries as I may here for
a possible candidate. At all events, the time at our disposal is too short for
serious work by any busy man.

You are very kind to ask me to come down as your guest. It seems that I can
come only on a Sunday (except the 12th), returning here the same day; and even
this is pretty difficult. If I knew long ahead, another day might be possible,
but never the first four days of each week (Monday to Thursday inclusive), which
are occupied to the minute.

I hope sincerely that the New Year finds you and Mr. Morris in good health
and that it will prove a happy year for all of your family. And it is my prayer
that our frank discussion of IALA's affairs will andcan have no relation to our
pleasant personal contacts, for which I have always been most grateful.

Very sincerely yours,

January 8, 1930

Professor Marc Bloch,
Annales d'Histoire Economique et Sociale,
Palais de l'Université,
Strasbourg, France.

My dear Colleague:

I thank you sincerely for your handsome
letter of December 5. I shall first answer
your letter in detail in the same order as
you have mentioned.

1. In order to aid you in writing for books and magazines to publishers or authors in Japan, so that their works might be sent direct to me, I shall supply you with titles in Japanese characters to go to them with your request. Every work that I shall receive from them I shall take note and report to you. I shall in other ways try to facilitate your asking for works as far as I can.

2. As you suggest, I shall take pleasure in writing letters personally to such authors and publishers whom I know. I shall also consult some of my friends in Japan as to the best way of keeping us informed of recent publications and making approaches to publishers and authors.

3. I shall try to review worthy books and articles which appeared within the last four or five years.

4. I accept your suggestions as to the limits of works to be covered in our previews, excluding works on purely political history or purely

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judicial discussion. As you intimate, I think
the sphere could be gradually settled by mutual
adjustment between you and me as a result of
our correspondence.

5. As for works on contemporary Japanese
economics, I shall ask Professor Ichihashi
of Leland Stanford University, California, if
he would be willing to review works of this
character for us. He is professor of econ-
omics and of Japanese history, and is, I think,
quite competent to do this kind of work. If
he intimates that he is willing to do this
work, I shall let you know, and you might write
direct to him.

I have at once written to the Yale
University Press about your complaint of
Milford, and have received the enclosed letter
in reply. I hope now the arrangement that
has been made by the Press seems satisfactory
to you.

It is a matter of great gratification
to me that of all the scholarly journals in
this country and in Europe, your Annales is
the only one which is willing to take notice
of works that appear in the Japanese language,
and I take special pleasure in participating
in your very useful undertaking.

I have only recently discovered in your
Annales your notice of my two articles, and

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was very much flattered to receive such an
extended attention from you on so humble
pieces of work. I was particularly pleased
with the suggestions that you made.

I am sending you herewith my reviews
of a few recent works of note. If they appear
to be too long, I beg of you to curtail them
as much as you desire. It is not possible for
me at this distance to judge how long my re-
views should be. Would it not be well for you
to indicate the approximate amount of space
that I might use for each quarter of the year?
Then I should be able to adjust the length
of my articles to proper dimensions. I have
not included articles in magazines in my re-
views, but these will follow later.

Very sincerely yours,

TELEPHONE:
UNIVERSITY 8800, EXT. 40

CABLE ADDRESS:
INTALA NEW YORK

INTERNATIONAL AUXILIARY LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION
IN THE UNITED STATES, INC.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

EARLE B. BABCOCK
PRESIDENT

JOHN J. CARTY
VICE-PRESIDENT

MRS. DAVE H. MORRIS
HONORARY SECRETARY

HERBERT N. SHENTON
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

DAVE H. MORRIS
TREASURER

LE ROY E. BOWMAN
FREDERICK G. COTTRELL
STEPHEN P. DUGGAN
HARRY E. EDMONDS
JOHN H. FINLEY
ALFRED N. GOLDSMITH
HENRY GODDARD LEACH
PAUL MONROE
FREDERICK H. OSBORN
MRS. HAROLD PEABODY

(IALA)
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
525 WEST 120TH ST.
NEW YORK CITY

GENERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

JOHN J. CARTY
FREDERICK G. COTTRELL
MRS. JAMES S. CUSHMAN
JOHN H. FINLEY
JAMES G. HARBORD
CLARENCE H. HOWARD
MRS. JAMES LEES LAIDLAW
WILLIAM LAWRENCE
SIDNEY E. MEZES
ARTHUR E. MORGAN
SAMUEL W. STRATTON

COMMITTEE ON COOPERATIVE
SERVICE AND RESEARCH

MRS. DAVE H. MORRIS, CHAIRMAN
K. ASAKAWA, VICE-CHAIRMAN

ADVISORY BOARD FOR
LINGUISTIC RESEARCH
WILLIAM E. COLLINSON
OTTO JESPERSEN
EDWARD SAPIR

COMMITTEE ON AUXILIARY
LANGUAGE STUDY

STEPHEN P. DUGGAN, CHAIRMAN

ADVISORY BOARD FOR
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

JAMES P. W. CRAWFORD
ROBERT H. FIFE
MASON D. GRAY
VIVIAN A. C. HENMON
HENRY W. HOLMES
HAYWARD KENISTON
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE

EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

INSTITUT J. J. ROUSSEAU
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
PIERRE BOVET, DIRECTOR

January 16, 1930

Professor K. Asakawa
1141 Yale Station
New Haven, Connecticut

My dear Professor Asakawa:

Mrs. Morris informs me that you have recently incurred some expenses, including mimeographing, in connection with your work for IALA. In order that we may reimburse you for your outlay, will you please enter on one of the enclosed voucher forms the various items for which IALA is in debt to you, and return to us in the enclosed envelope.

I am enclosing some extra voucher forms for your future use. When you expend any money for IALA, will you please jot down the items and amounts on one of these forms? From time to time send the forms to this office, and a check will be mailed to you. One voucher should suffice for expenses of a month or more, unless you wish to return them oftener.

We have included in our budget for 1930 the item of traveling expenses for Linguistic Research, as well as other expenses. For each New York trip you make for IALA from New Haven, please enter a charge of ten dollars on the expense voucher.

Thanking you for your cooperation in handling our accounts, I am

TELEPHONE

233 BROADWAY, NEW YORK
ROOM 1636

January 29, 1930.

Dear Professor Asakawa,

I wish to thank you for your highly interesting, orderly, and philosophical article on "Suggestions for a General Plan of the Linguistic Research of IALA".

I have read through it once but I intend to read through it again even more carefully, believing as I do, that it merits close study and considerable thought.

Professor K. Asakawa,
Yale University,
New Haven, Conn.

19 EAST SEVENTIETH STREET
NEW YORK

February 15, 1930

My dear Professor Asakawa:

I am delighted with the draft of your letter to me to be added to your two papers. I should be gratified to have twenty-five copies of it to take abroad with me.

There is only one question which occurs to me concerning the last paragraph of your letter. As we cannot tell ahead of the preliminary setting-up meeting with B, J, and C, whether or no it may seem advisable to ask the participants in MLR to "formulate a general plan of all linguistic research", do you think it might possibly be wiser to omit the phrase which refers to such formulation and which I have enclosed in square brackets?

Such omission of course would not pre-
clude having a general plan formulated.
If after consideration you prefer to
retain the marked phrase, of course
you will do so.

J writes that it is almost cer-
tain that Peano, de Wahl, de Saussure,
Auerbach, Zeidel, Funke, will attend
MLR. Thus, as C stands for Esperanto,
there is already the assurance that all
the living ILs will be represented by
their finest leaders. According to J,
Zeidel is a good philologist (though
not of first rank) and an advocate of
Novial. J felt that as Convener, he
himself should not stand for Novial.
Funke is a philologist of first rank.
J is trying hard to get two more first
rank philologists. We all ardently
hope that Privat will accept as a
long time propagandist of Esperanto
and a fine scholar. He had not yet
been heard from at the time of J's

19 East 70th St.
New York, N. Y.

Feb. 25, 1930

Dear Prof. Asakawa:

Hearty thanks for the twenty-five
copies of your new statement in the
form of a letter to me dated February,
1930. I am having my secretary add
your name with her initials.

Everything is progressing beau-
tifully including financial support.
Other people have given so far $1750,
which added to my $2,000 practically
assures the expenses of MLR. We ex-
pect surely to raise the balance of
the $10,000 fund which will start CS
(about $6,000 for the work which will
immediately emerge from MLR). It
will take time of course.

Professor Fife's interest seems
very real.

February 27, 1930

Mrs. Dave H. Morris,
On board the "Aquitania".

Dear Mrs. Morris:

Many thanks for your note. I have also received the Jespersen note which you returned.

As you embark upon your new adventure, in
which somehow some of my own ideas seem to be in-
volved, I bid you Godspeed.

I have taken part in or attended many meetings,
but have never organized or conducted one. I imag-
ine that the success of failure of a conference
depends largely upon its personalities and its ma-
terial conditions, but primarily upon its intentions
and its own will to carry them out. It is only in
regard to intentions that I venture to say a word or
two in parting.

First of all, it is my ardent desire to see the
meeting devote itself to the question of comparative
study. I am very happy that your own heart is also
set upon the same thing. I am absolutely confident
that you will exert all of your large influence to
prevent the meeting from drifting into any other
channel than this one, which seems to me the straight-
est and safest at this moment in the direction of the
ultimate destination of IALA. With the support of
Miss Eaton, I have not the least doubt that you will
be the most vigilant and effective pilot that ever
was.

Directly in connection with this is my equally
earnest wish that you would succeed in persuading the

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interlinguists to co-operate in the task with great willingness in the immediate future. That would mean nothing short of winning them personally. Only this would they be in a mood to do for us what we desire of them, for it is much more than a mere paid service of research, but really their trusting and disinterested aim so far as to open, for the sake of this aim, their private store of knowledge and experience. That would be more than loyal work, but personal confidence.

For this end, the high personal regard that some of the interlinguists already have for you is a great asset and an important statting point. The rest may be accomplished by social and personal contacts during the meeting. I have great hopes of success through your own influence and President Babcock's tact.

Prey do not drive the men too hard, but make the meeting memorable for its agreeable career.

Equally important, it appears to me, is that, with its large element of sociability, the conference should have a not over much but distinctive amount of work done in the clear, cold, light of truth. Play is play, but work is work; let not the two ever encroach upon each other, ever when they come, as they well may, at the same moment. Personalities and jovial spirit may with advantage pervade every session, as well as out of it, but what real work is done in it should be a serious, impersonal matter. Smile as one might while working, the work itself should be too sacred for any compromise. And work is often quite a rugged thing.

I beg of you, dear Mrs. Morris, to forgive all this unsolicited homily. I wish you the greatest

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pleasure in your voyages and throughout the con-
ference. And my prayer is that you will not over-
work yourself, and that there will occur no event
unpleasant to yourself personally during the whole
period. As for the success of your enterprise, I
feel no doubt about it.

Very sincerely yours,

May 13, 1930

Dear Professor Asakawa,

My thoughts have turned to you, constantly in
the last two months that your mail could not have held them had
they been transferred to paper! I hope you read between the
lines of the "Proces Verbaux" how stimulating (may I even say in-
spiring) your ideas were throughout MLR.

It is the keenest kind of a disappointment to
many of us that your university duties prevent your being with us
next Monday and I trust it may be possible for us to see each
other before I leave for Bar Harbor June 2. I shall be away over the
weekend of the 24th, getting home again on the 27th. Otherwise I
could put almost any time at your disposal. I should be grateful
if you could find it possible to visit me in New York, but if you
cannot do this, I shall gladly go to New Haven.

Meanwhile preparations for IALA's annual meeting
have taken an unexpected turn and there has just developed the for-
tunate possibility of a previous weekend conference for the purpose of
plotting out a coordinated program for the whole of IALA's work, say for
the next ten years; and also having at least a preliminary discussion
upon the advisability of starting to work definitely for a "Communica-
tion Foundation", whose first task would be activities in regard to
auxiliary language problems. We hope there will also be time for a
careful review of the budget which Dean Babcock and I together made
out/in Geneva for the program of linguistic research advocated by
MLR. Dr. Cottrell, Dr. Stratton, Professor Doyle, Professor Shenton
and very likely Dean Holmes can be here for dinner at seven-thirty
Saturday the 17th and spend the greater part of Sunday in conference.

It is hardly necessary for me to tell you what a tre-
mendous help your presence during this weekend conference would be.
You have been so unselfish in giving your time and thought that I do
not want to urge you to make any further sacrifice. All I want to say
is that if your university and personal commitments and your inclination
would make it possible for you to join us, there would be rejoicing in
our midst. I should of course expect you to be my guest at the Westbury
with some of the other gentlemen.

This has all come up so quickly,-- I only wish more no-
tice could have been given.

One of the most important questions which should be
decided if possible before we go out to raise funds is the question of
a director for the projected research and an editor for the hoped for
time "Journal of Interlinguistic Research". At MLR there was unanimity
that ideally these two offices should be filled by the same person and
the unanimous choice was Dr. Sapir. This question must be put to our

May 15, 1980

Mrs. D. H. Morris,
19 East 70 Street,
New York City.

Dear Mrs. Morris:

Many thanks for your very cordial letter. I need not tell you that I was surprised, and felt honored, to see that the distinguished scholars assembled at Geneva, did not, as I had suggested, revise my entire plan of linguistic research, but so unanimously accepted its principles, and proceeded to draw up projects of research upon its basis. I had never anticipated such an outcome. It was a singular spectacle that specialists should approve and elaborate, as they did, a scheme submitted by a blind man. I have little doubt that the happy result is in a large measure due to your valiant championship.

But even this signal success, as it is, weighs little in my mind, for it is only a programme. As Marshal Foch has well said, ideas are nothing, but will and action are everything. What now confronts us is the need of an indomitable will and of adequate instruments to execute it.

Now, if I may speak frankly as Vice Chairman to Chairman of our Committee, I do not understand the reason that Mr. Sapir should be willing to divert his time and energy to this sort of thing. It surprises me that one who has a chosen field of work should, realizing how swiftly the years pass in a busy scholar's life, spend a half time for a whole valuable year in another field. That, of course, is not our affair. Nor do I have sufficiently intimate knowledge of Mr. Sapir's qualifications (intellectual and personal) for the specific duties of the directorship of our linguistic research. All I know is that he has attainments in linguistics, and that he has an incisive mind.

What he has in mind is, of course, the continuation of the sort of work he has done for us. It may be of some use to his own work, if he can carry it

be done for me. It was done at some time to pin own work, it we can carry it
out. But he has in mind it, of course, the continuation of the sort of work
he statements in flightirltions, and that he has an initiative mind.

 duties of the directorship of our flightirltis reason. All I know is that he
feels of Mr. Sabin's delimitations (intellectual and moral) for the sheet
that, of course, is not own strain. Not do I have sufficiently intimate know-
ledge of Mr. Sabin's file, about a past time for a whole indefinite time in a past
time and enough to this sort of thing. It assumes me that one who has a
I do not understand the reason that Mr. Sabin should be willing to divert his
Now, if I may ask friendly as Mr. Sabin to Chairman of our Committee,
comitade will and of adequate instruments to execute it.

will and sections are everything. What now confronts me in the need of an in-
quiry is a programme. We must look back see what used, ideas are floating, but

But even this at best success, as if it, were little in my mind, for it
that the publicly result is in a large measure due to our efficient administration.
Once, so they did, a scheme submitted by a friend was. I have little doubt
outcomes. It was a singular spectacle that shepherds above and eleph-
ant projects of research upon its plane. I had never anticipated such an
research, but so naturally accepted its principles, and proceeded to draw
at General's did not, as I had anticipated, review the entire plan of flightirltis
arranged, and left permanent, to see that the distinguished scholars examples
which thanks for your very kind letter. I need not tell you that I was

Dear Mr. Morris:

New York City,
18 East 20 Street,
N.Y. D. H. Morris,

July 12, 1980

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on in a way he chooses. But would it interest him to direct comparative
studies, which are a quite different thing from his earlier work and may be
of remote interest to him personally?

If he is willing, he might be tried for the time he offers, that is, a
year.

It seems to me important, if he is to be engaged, that he should be asked
at the very outset if he would be director of comparative research, (for there
will be no time in a year for other phases of research). There should be no
ambiguity about this point. If the programme made at MLR was sent him, he
would know exactly what was asked of him. And he should answer yes or no.

With this definite understanding and with this specific mandate to conduct
comparative research, the next essential will be, it seems to me, to give him
as free reins as possible during his tenure of office. I believe that this is
the only way to let any self-respecting scholar do his best work. He might
perhaps consult Mr. Fife on practical points, but there should be no interfer-
ence. The same should be said if he was also to direct the editing of the
proposed journal.

I venture to offer another suggestion regarding editorial work. This sort
of work always costs much more time and labor than people suppose. And much of
the work is executive, as well as scholastic. It does not seem to me reasonable
to ask Mr. Sapir to undertake both the directorship and the editorship. A great
deal of the work to be done in the one or the other of these two fields of ac-
tivity would have to be relegated to others, in the event he was asked to assume
the control of both.

I make bold to suggest that Miss Eaton, if she consents, be requested to
be the chief aide in both fields. Heretofore she has been engaged in educa-
tional research, and has done splendid service in it. But I have always felt
strongly that her unusually keen intellect should be drawn upon by IALA in