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Malamud at Oregon State: A Digital Humanities Project

Linus Pauling & the ACS

An old friend of Ralph Spitzer, and the man who essentially got the job at OSC for Spitzer, Linus Pauling was an adamant advocate for Spitzer.

ACS - American Chemical Society - Pauling was President, and personally supported Spitzer, but didn't throw the weight of the ACS behind his advocacy.

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ADDRESSED TO: President Strand | AFFILIATION: Oregon State College | LOCATION: Corvallis, OR | WRITER: Linus Pauling | CONTENTS: In his letter, Pauling conveys his concern regarding Strand’s failure to continue Spitzer’s employment. He chronicles their relationship, starting from how they met at Cornell University, where Pauling was a George Fisher Baker lecturer and Spitzer was a student. While Pauling does not agree with politics, he wants to defend Spitzer’s right to have his own beliefs.
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ADDRESSED TO: President Strand | AFFILIATION: Oregon State College | LOCATION: Corvallis, OR | WRITER: Linus Pauling | CONTENTS: In his letter, Pauling conveys his concern regarding Strand’s failure to continue Spitzer’s employment. He chronicles their relationship, starting from how they met at Cornell University, where Pauling was a George Fisher Baker lecturer and Spitzer was a student. While Pauling does not agree with politics, he wants to defend Spitzer’s right to have his own beliefs.
ADDRESSED TO: President Strand | AFFILIATION: Oregon State College | LOCATION: Corvallis, OR | WRITER: Linus Pauling • CONTENTS: In his letter, Pauling calls out Strand and accuses him of firing Spitzer because he believed Spitzer was affiliated with communism. Pauling deems a political reason as unsatisfactory grounds for dismissal and argues that Strand misunderstood the message Spitzer was trying to convey in his letter to Chemical and Engineering News.
ADDRESSED TO: Linus Pauling | AFFILIATION: California Institute of Technology | LOCATION: Pasadena, CA | WRITER: President Strand | CONTENTS: Strand responds to Pauling’s letter to him. Strand confirms that he took Spitzer’s article in the Chemical and Engineering News as affirmation of his affiliation with the communist party. Strand tells him that, “if by this action, Oregon State College has lost your respect and support, all I can is that your price is too high. We’ll have to get along without your aid”.
ADDRESSED TO: President Strand | AFFILIATION: Oregon State College | LOCATION: Corvallis, OR | WRITER: Gordon Fels (among others) | CONTENTS: The writers of this letter express their disdain at how Strand treated Pauling. Because Pauling is the president of the American Chemical Society, the writers view Strand’s disrespect as an insult to the organization and will have a negative impact on the OSC chemistry department.