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4 May 1910
The New Willard
Washington, D.C.
Dear Professor Freud,
As this letter is being written only an hour after an exciting Freudian debate, please forgive me if the perseverating affect leads me to make it too personal a recital of my recent experiences. First, however, let me
thank you for your delightful letter I got last week. It was excellent news about the movement in Europe, and the successful congress. It is a little difficult for us to see what the two new journals are for, but, as Brill put it: “You bet those fellows over there know what they're up to”. About the American Verein: I do not wish to be conservative, but I am not sure that it wouldn't be better to postpone that for another year or so. We are too few, and too far about, to meet more than once a year, and a Verein in one place would mean the gathering of undesirable outsiders who would waste all the time in questions. Putnam and Hoche [Hoch] both think that, too. Still if it would be a help to the Internationale Vereinigung to have a sub-section in U.S.A. we could make one formally and meet once a year. Things are a little in the transition period just now, and I am sure that shortly there will be a real need for at least two in the U.S.A.
Now for news. Monday morning May 2, was formed a new American Psychopathological Association, with 40 members.1 Papers were read as follows. Dreams, Prince. Dreams, Waterman. Sexual Symbolism in Dreams, Putnam (full of beautiful examples). Anxiety Neuroses, Brill, with a pretty analysis of a phobia by means of a dream. Action of Suggestion in Psychotherapy, self (à la Ferenczi).2 I have found many pretty little things in relation to the latter, e.g. animal magnetism was named after metal magnets; the word magnet comes, via the Greek, from two Phoenoe-cian roots mag = powerful man, and naz = that which pours out, and influences something else!3 The discussion was altogether Freudian, and went quite smoothly. A committee was appointed of Prince, Waterman, All