Letter from Alfred E. Stearns to Arthur Sun, Cambridge, Mass., November 9, 1926
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns to Arthur Sun, Cambridge, Mass., November 9, 1926
Subject
Letter from Alfred E. Stearns to Arthur Sun, Cambridge, Mass., November 9, 1926
Transcription
Dear Arthur:
Your letter of November 7 has just reached me, and the same mail brought me also a letter from Mr. Murray in which he encloses a copy of the letter which he wrote you and which you were good enough to send for my inspection. I am returning the original herewith.
Mr. Murray has been extremely kind and friendly and evidently the openings which he seems to have found for you are likely to prove more attractive than the position you have already accepted. Under the circumstances you met, of course, act with caution and in a perfectly frank and straightforward may if you are to play the not only fairly but to your own advantage. Naturally you can’t throw over impulsively a position once accepted in order to take a better one. On the other hand, there may be a perfectly honorable way out.
My advice is to go frankly to your present employer and show him Mr. Murray’s letter and explain that I had written Mr. Murray long before you accepted your present position and that these possible openings are the result of efforts made by him in your behalf since that time and before the position you now hold opened up. Ask him in a perfectly frank way whether he would consider that it would be proper and in every way fair to him for you to look into these positions a little further and in the way suggested by Mr. Murray, in the belief that they may offer you work along the lines of your special Technology training and the work which you expect to follow when you return to China. Make it clear that you would not for a minute think of severing the present connection unless you should have the full and hearty approval of your employer, and then only for the reasons mentioned above.
I am clear that such an approach would not be misinterpreted and that you would not be criticized for making it. Further, Mr. Murray’s reputation as an engineer is so high that no one could blame you for desiring to follow up one openly suggested by him. Very possibly these suggestions may not offer anything better than you now have. They do seem, however, to have possibilities which I feel should be investigated, and that is why I have proposed a line of action such as that outlined above.
In the meantime, if you care to run out to Andover some evening, I shall be delighted to talk matters over with you in person. So far as I know, I shall be here all of this week.
Faithfully yours,
AES/G
Your letter of November 7 has just reached me, and the same mail brought me also a letter from Mr. Murray in which he encloses a copy of the letter which he wrote you and which you were good enough to send for my inspection. I am returning the original herewith.
Mr. Murray has been extremely kind and friendly and evidently the openings which he seems to have found for you are likely to prove more attractive than the position you have already accepted. Under the circumstances you met, of course, act with caution and in a perfectly frank and straightforward may if you are to play the not only fairly but to your own advantage. Naturally you can’t throw over impulsively a position once accepted in order to take a better one. On the other hand, there may be a perfectly honorable way out.
My advice is to go frankly to your present employer and show him Mr. Murray’s letter and explain that I had written Mr. Murray long before you accepted your present position and that these possible openings are the result of efforts made by him in your behalf since that time and before the position you now hold opened up. Ask him in a perfectly frank way whether he would consider that it would be proper and in every way fair to him for you to look into these positions a little further and in the way suggested by Mr. Murray, in the belief that they may offer you work along the lines of your special Technology training and the work which you expect to follow when you return to China. Make it clear that you would not for a minute think of severing the present connection unless you should have the full and hearty approval of your employer, and then only for the reasons mentioned above.
I am clear that such an approach would not be misinterpreted and that you would not be criticized for making it. Further, Mr. Murray’s reputation as an engineer is so high that no one could blame you for desiring to follow up one openly suggested by him. Very possibly these suggestions may not offer anything better than you now have. They do seem, however, to have possibilities which I feel should be investigated, and that is why I have proposed a line of action such as that outlined above.
In the meantime, if you care to run out to Andover some evening, I shall be delighted to talk matters over with you in person. So far as I know, I shall be here all of this week.
Faithfully yours,
AES/G
Creator
Alfred E. Stearns
Publisher
Phillips Academy
Date
November 9, 1926
Rights
All Rights Reserved by Phillips Academy
Language
English
Type
Correspondence