June 16, 1944
Dear Luria:
I spoke to Payne about Bodenstein.  I met him at Cold Spring and heard him give a lecture, so I could recommend him from first hand experience.  The chances for any action here in replacing Kroc or adding others seems for the present very slim.  In the first place there is likely to be a considerable let down in the amount of teaching to be done, since the Army is cutting down on its college program, and graduate students are at a premium.  Moreover, as the whole future development of our department must be well considered before any new men are brought in, there is likely to be a long period of debating in reaching a decision.  However, Payne now has the information about Bodenstein and that is about all that can be done at present.
Your account of your experiences with Avery and his group interested me very much and I should like particularly to hear the details concerning the new evidence that confirms your guess as to the explanation of the observations.
It is good to hear that your experiments are going well and I hope you continue to have good luck.
I have had both a good and a bad summer so far.  I gave a graduate course for the first half (ending next week) devoted to the background and origins of modern genetics, with an attempt at a critique.  I profitted greatly by it, but I'm afraid my students -- only four of them and all girls -- got little or nothing out of it and probably regret they ever got themselves into such deep water (from their point of view).
On the other hand my research has gone very well indeed.  I have new and strong evidence for the major parts of my general views as to the localization of the cytoplasmic factor.  But on one point it seems as if I was wrong: the evidence is all against the gradual building up of the concentration of the C factor in the nucleus over the course of many fissions.  I think Delbruck will be relieved to hear that for it was something he didn't at all like about the story.  But it would take too long to go into the evidence and the other new things I have found.  I hope to get you for another session when you return here.
I am enclosing Sturtevant's letter which Delbruck asked to have back.  Please thank him for sending it to me and tell him and tell him I am looking forward with pleasure to receiving the mimeographed copy of his lecture notes.
Yours,