157 EAST 82ND STREET
NEW YORK CITY
December 7th, 1931.
FROM GEN. ALBERT E. TRUBY
My dear Colonel Truby:-
Yesterday in Washington I telephoned your
office to ask for an appointment to see you. When I learned that
you were out of town I thought that I should do better to write
you and tell you what I want to see you about. I had been talking with General Kean who mentioned your name
in connection with Walter Reed's work on yellow fever in Havana in
the summer of 1900. I was seeing the general because I am writing
a play which describes that experiment step by step from Reed's
first decision to go after the mosquitoes to the certainty of
his New Year's Eve letter to Mrs. Reed. I am pretty thoroughly
saturated with the facts of the story. I need all I can get of
it personal side. When General Kean spoke of you yesterday as a
close friend of Reed's during those days I made up my mind to
ask you for an interview. What I do ask of you, therefor, is the time for a fairly long
conversation, for any anecdotes you care to tell me that will
help me as a writer to enrich the characters concerned in the story.
If you can see your way to granting this request I shall gladly
go down to Washington on any day you name. I know that this is an imposition. I know that I may easily
waste your time and my own because it may be extremely difficult to
find a manager who will be willing to invest his money in producing
a play on a subject so special. I am very serious about it, however,
and I am determined to finish the job as honestly and completely as
possible. I don't like to talk about myself as a writer but I feel
that I owe it to you to refer you to my record in Who's Who. I feel
that you will look on the story as well worth telling and that you
may look more kindly on me if you know that the chances are good
of my doing decently by it. I shall look forward to hearing from
you and hope to see you at your convenience either before or after
Christmas . Very Sincerely Yours,
Sidney Howard
. Colonel A. E. Truby.
| 
