To Charles William Eliot
75 Monmouth St
Brookline, Massachusetts. December 1, 1897
Dear Mr Eliot,
I see by the notice and the cheque I received this morning from the Treasurer that my salary for this year has been reduced to $1500 from $1750, which it was in 1895–1896. I venture to call your attention to the fact, as possibly the change was not intended.
You may remember that two years ago I spoke to the members of my department of my unwillingness to continue at Harvard unless there was some prospect of my promotion. I afterwards suggested taking a year away and returning for this other year with my former standing, in order that the Corporation’s plans for the Philosophical Department, which I understood were not yet fully decided upon, might be arranged in the interval. I should naturally be glad to hear as soon as possible what the decision in regard to myself is likely to be, so that if I am not to remain here I may make other arrangements.
Yours very truly,
G Santayana
From The Letters of George Santayana: Book One, [1868]-1909. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2001.
Location of manuscript: Harvard Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge MA