1

Office of the [JAG?]
Washington, October 8/42

Dear Tom:

It was a pleasure to have your air mail letter yesterday. I often wish I could drop in for a good talk. The idea of your having a peace on our appeal board strikes me as an exceedingly appropriate one, and I very much hope it is realized. It is a very important type of work which you would do most excellently. The Dept of Justice would be fortunate to secure you, and I should think they would know it. Such work [sleeker?] [one as?] far more likely to [give?] you lasting satisfaction than anything you're apt to find in an A.S.C. appointment. Doubt how well you'd like life in Washington, however.

We stopped at the [Willard?] [few?] days ago to see Graham, but he was out. He called me on the phone later,

Oct 12

At that point I was interrupted, and then I failed to take the letter home with me to finish on Sunday. [We?] officers get a rush order, when some document [had?] to be [drafted?] in two or three hours, a couple days, or some other brief period, and all else has to be dropped. I enjoy this variety, it is such a change from the long-line jobs a prof. does in ordinary life.

As to the A.S.C. once more. My guess is that the desire to [stem?] the tide of applicants for comissions in the Army of the U.S. (i.e., the [keeperong?] part of the Army) was at [best?] as great a factor as the War Department's desire to avail itself of personnel not otherwise obtainable. The A.S.C. was organized with certainly an adequate staff of generals and colonels, whose job was procurement of [other?]