Dear
Emmett: A friend of mine was in to see me today and he gave me a story about as follows:
"A number of wealthy men have expressed an interest in the purposes of the Abilene Foundation, particularly its dedication to the promotion of citizenship and international understanding. Some of these individuals (the account continues) would be quite ready to contribute considerable amounts of money to further such purposes provided they were invited by the officials of the Foundation to participate in its activities."1
From the statement made to me, I gather that these individuals would like to be named as members of the Board of Trustees, or to a special committee of some sort forming a part of the Foundation's directive group. I do not remember what your constitution says about the inclusion of such individuals, but it occurred to me that you might at least like to write to my friend and get some further details on what he knows about this proposal. His name is Mr. Robert Mathews,2 and he can be reached in care of the American Express Company, 65 Broadway, New York, New York.
This letter does not require an answer, but if you do pursue this thought and it turns out to be successful, I should like to hear about it at some future time.
With warm regard to you and my friends in Abilene, Sincerely
