Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Title
Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family
Creator
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958
Identifier
WWP23142
Date
1927 August 31
Description
Letter from Jon Bouman to his family.
Source
Gift of William C. and Evelina Suhler
Subject
Germany--History--1918-1933
Correspondence
Transatlantic flights
Contributor
Rachel Dark
Denise Montgomery
Language
English
Requires
PROOFREADING
Provenance
Evelina Suhler is the granddaughter of Jon Anthony Bouman and inherited the family collection of his letters from the years of World War I. She and her husband gave the letters to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum in 2013.
Text
Dearest;
Just a line to say what I forgot the other day: I am not sending you a draft the end of this month, as I thought it would not be very convenient for you to handle it from Walberswick, but I have used most of my money to reinforce my own account in the Westminster Bank, so if you need more cash just let me know and I can send you one of my own cheques.
Many thanks to Betty for her chatty letter; I think she won’t mind if I don’t write to her personally as I imagine these letters I write to you are passed round. All the same I was very glad to get it and to find further evidence that all was well and things going on satisfactorily.
I wonder when that pound 50 is coming along?
I am sorry the ferry doesn’t give that little bump any more, I used to like that bump. I suppose the brothers are still running it?
Thanks for comparing me to a fly in the ointment; I am more like a fly in the amber, with no chance of getting out. Another day of alarums and excursions with nothing happening. I see a woman of 63 is now flying across the Atlantic: the other day two old dames of 91 and 90 went up in a plane here; they said they liked it no end.
Another reason why I shall be probably in Berlin permanently – barring this coming doubtful holiday – is the suit which our ex-employee, a German named L. is bringing against us. He claimed 6 months notice as a full editor (which he never was) but he has brought forward the plea that he had to tell the Americans on the staff who didn’t know German what was what, and there is some substratum of truth in that; at all events enough to support his claim which is backed up by the German Newspaper Editors Society, who naturally think these Yankees ought to be made to pay anyhow and so I’m afraid we shall have to cough up in the end. So of course the feeling in New York is now – no more young Americans there who don’t understand enough German to be independent of them, so there you are!
Love to all,
Jac.
Just a line to say what I forgot the other day: I am not sending you a draft the end of this month, as I thought it would not be very convenient for you to handle it from Walberswick, but I have used most of my money to reinforce my own account in the Westminster Bank, so if you need more cash just let me know and I can send you one of my own cheques.
Many thanks to Betty for her chatty letter; I think she won’t mind if I don’t write to her personally as I imagine these letters I write to you are passed round. All the same I was very glad to get it and to find further evidence that all was well and things going on satisfactorily.
I wonder when that pound 50 is coming along?
I am sorry the ferry doesn’t give that little bump any more, I used to like that bump. I suppose the brothers are still running it?
Thanks for comparing me to a fly in the ointment; I am more like a fly in the amber, with no chance of getting out. Another day of alarums and excursions with nothing happening. I see a woman of 63 is now flying across the Atlantic: the other day two old dames of 91 and 90 went up in a plane here; they said they liked it no end.
Another reason why I shall be probably in Berlin permanently – barring this coming doubtful holiday – is the suit which our ex-employee, a German named L. is bringing against us. He claimed 6 months notice as a full editor (which he never was) but he has brought forward the plea that he had to tell the Americans on the staff who didn’t know German what was what, and there is some substratum of truth in that; at all events enough to support his claim which is backed up by the German Newspaper Editors Society, who naturally think these Yankees ought to be made to pay anyhow and so I’m afraid we shall have to cough up in the end. So of course the feeling in New York is now – no more young Americans there who don’t understand enough German to be independent of them, so there you are!
Love to all,
Jac.
Original Format
Letter
To
Bouman Family
Collection
Citation
Bouman, Jon Anthony, 1873-1958, “Jon Bouman to the Bouman Family,” 1927 August 31, WWP23142, Jon Anthony Bouman Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.