December 8, 1904.
Dr. Chas. H. Levermore,
Adelphi College,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
My dear Levermore:
I am in receipt of yours of the 3rd inst., but have not had a chance to reply to it before. It seems too bad to have the Board Meeting on Monday, the 19th, in vire of the entertainment by the Alumnae Association. I think a night later in that week could be better for me. The Englisha and European managers of this Company are coming here, one arriving tomorrow and one a week from yesterday and I must necessarily give them my attention in Syracuse. I should be there, as I wrote you, in the 19th. How would Thursday, the 22nd suit? Thursday is a pretty good night in the week and it is far enough before the Holidays, which begin on Saturday, to insure the presence in the City of all the members.
I had a talk with Mr. Starr J. Murphy. It is impossible to get him to think of serving on the Board, for reasons which I will explain to you when I see you. He was lunching with Frank Babbott and Babbott heard the conversation. It resulted in his making the suggestion that he knew a man who would be of great service to us, he thought, on the Board. He promised to see this man and let me hear from him in the course of a few days. He preferred not to mention the man's name. We then took up and discussed at considerable length, the consolidation of Adelphi, Polytechnic and Packard. It seemed to interest Murphy. He said he did not believe however, that the Rockefellers could be interest to such an extent as to warrant such an undertaking, in view of what they had to do for the Chicago University. I urged that it would not require such a tremendous expenditure as we could sell the present properties to good advantage and buy land on the Eastern Parkway. I will talk with you about this when I see you.
If you decide to have the meeting on the 22nd, or for that matter on the 19th, will you kindly telegraph to me, addressing my c/o The Smith Premier Typewriter Co., so that I can make my plans accordingly. I think it would be well to write a personal letter to all the members of the Board, urging them to attend.
With best wishes,
Yours very truly,