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362F
Vienna IX, Berggasse 19
2 November 1919
Dear Friend,
My congratulations on your new address, which means the re-establishment of a home of your own.
I put your and Eitingon's proposal to call a congress in Berlin and in the spring before Ferenczi, Freund, and Rank at a Committee meeting. At first they were all greatly captivated by the idea, but slowly they began to share the doubt that had prevailed with me from the first. Finally we were all in agreement. The chief objection was that, particularly in view of our new orientation towards the west, we could not decide anything without consulting Jones. But Jones attaches importance to getting some Americans to come to the Congress this time and has already said that arrangements for their journey have to be made many months in advance. We also think that it would undoubtedly be better for several issues of the English journal to have been published before the Congress discusses it. So it was decided to write to Jones and ask his opinion. Moreover, I thought it better that the Congress week should fall in the autumn instead of the spring. In my opinion we should not forget that we have received an invitation to Holland, and, as the last congresses had to be quite “middle-powerful”,1 it is becoming that the next one should be moved closer, also geographically, to our Entente members. There is absolutely nothing to be said in favour of Vienna, no good is to be done here; Federn's description is correct, but nothing can be done about it. Everyone liked very much the idea of the week of lectures you would like to associate with the Congress. We should like to know whether you would not like to carry it out independently of the Congress or afterwards as a continuation. This is an idea of which something may come.
Rank is very vigorously at work here. My daughter has begun work as an assistant in the English department of the Verlag. Ferenczi is staying until the 8th, and Freund for an indefinite period, his condition now pe