[Letter] Mrach 30,1889,Smith College [to F.H. Giddings]

March 30, 1889, Smith College.

Dear Friend,
         I send today the
Toynbee. I wish you
were within bicycle
distance. With the good
roads you speak of I
would take a vacation trip
to you. Have you tied
yourself, after all, to Bryn
Mawr for the three years?
I wish that could be avoided.
Still in my experience
people underrate the competition
for desirable collegiate
positions. If it came to a
choice between that appointment
or none I would take the
offer unless pretty definite
openings exist elsewhere.
I am led to speak of this
by a talk with Mr. Dennison,
who came to our club
here the other evening.
Mrs. Campbell was the
last speaker at Springfield
econ. meeting. She drew
a room crowded full,
much the largest audience
we ever had. It was mostly
ladies. Dr. Ely comes in April.
We seem to be getting socialistic
all at once. Several declared
themselves at the last meeting
'constructive socialists'. I am
to hold forth before a Westfield
club on Socialism next
Tuesday. It is my Spring
vacation, and a cold March
wind is blowing. It is very
little, just now, like the
March you describe. We have
had that kind also, thus far;
but the roads do not admit
of much bicycling, so that
I keep on with my work
on Capital etc. The
Quarterly article I deferred till
December, on account of
Spring weather, some weariness,
and many appointments.
I can do it better after some
reading and much ruminating.
How are you getting through
the year? Do you find
yourself rested or tired? When
do you leave Bryn Mawr for
Summer visits? By the way
I want to tell you in
confidence that George Gunton
wrote to the Columbia
people proposing to write
for them an article in
criticism of my Wage theory.
They wrote asking whether
I would rather have it
come out before or after
my article in the [Political Science] Quarterly.
This was then expected in
Sept. I said let Mr. G.'s
article come in Sept. and
let me reply in Dec.
After thinking the thing
over for a while they
concluded not to publish
the symposium or
friendly melee at all, and
asked me then to send
the article for Sept.
independently. By that time
I had concluded I must
for the reasons stated, defer
the article till December.
Mr. Gunton said of me
"He seems to have been
much impressed by Stuart
Wood's article in the
Quarterly Journal of Economics."
This is a true statement
or guess. I was impressed
by the article. Mr. Gunton
seemed to me to think I
was a trifle more dependent
than I supposed I was on
my good friend's paper.
I wonder just a little whether
Mr. Gunton's impression, if
such as I surmise is his
impression, is a natural one.
Bah! This is an illustration
of the essential littleness
and selfishness of the
human heart. What does it
matter whether A or B
discovered the major part of
an economic law, if so be
that it is a law and
does a work in interpreting
facts of life?
 I am eager for the
vacation visit I spoke of.

          Yours Very Truly,
                J. B. Clark