February 19, 1958

Dr. Sydney Rubbo
Departament of Bacteriology
University of Melbourne
Carlton, N.

Victoria, Australia

Dear Syd:

I hope you have been enjoying your summer vacation, It is a little hard
to visualize it when we are in the midst of the bitter cold as we have been
having lately. Fortunately we are a little bit out of the snow belt and have
not been getting the several feet that has buried places like Michigan City,
Indiana.

I am, of course, a little sorry that Val will not be coming to Madison
after all next year but, of course, Esther and I have nothing but the most
earnest solicitations for her.

What I mainly want to write you about in this letter is a very important
service that you could give to Australian science, one where the yield would
be very large compared to the investment. I brought the matter up in my Ful-
bright report ami it came to my attention again when I saw in the current issue
of the Journal of Bacteriology an account of some work on the receptor destroy—
ing enzyme that closely parallels some of Fric French's interests. It occurred
to me that Eric would be likely not to see this journal in the normal course of
events for another three or four months. It was a simple job for me to airmail
a photostat of it to him but it occurred to me that this inordinate delay in
the exchange of scientific journals may be one of the major factors in the sense
of isolation that many of your compatriots feel, To me it seams just utter
nonsense that such delays should be tolerated in an age when we have such excel-
lent means of rapid transport. It ssems to me that the problem is much more one .
of organization rather than finance and knowing your exuberant energy and
worldly wisdom I thoughtyou might ought to be the one to prod about it. I hope
my intruding on this subject will not be taken amiss and I do so out of a sense
of identification with Australian affairs. I hardly have to suggest the ways
and means by which to break down this barrier of delay as they are going to be
obvious to anyone when the full significance of it is appreciated. Action on
this matter should, I think, proceed from Australian initiative but I should
think that there would be a sympathetic hearing here for any proposal of mutual
exchange. It is just as ridieulous that we should have to wait four to six
months for the Australian journals to arrive at our libraries.

I have also mentioned my feelings on this matter to Sir Mac.

If I can again justify my credentials to speak on this matter, it might
be on the basis that an outsider can sometimes see the full effect of an irrita~
tion that you have had to live with even better than the people more directly
involved.

I hope you know a good place to go hunting for an em; I have to report
that the egg, of all the things that we have been so delighted to receive dur-
ing the past several months, is the only one not to have arrived.

How are you making out towards the financing of your new building? Do
write us the news whenever it is convenient for you to do so.

Wien ab bank man nmdan Youre ainraraly.