Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2985

Typed letter to Heath from Spencer MacCallum at 11 Waverly Place, New York City 3

February 18, 1960

 

Dear P.D.:

I thought about you this afternoon as I was reading a couple of interesting articles by Arthur Holden in the public library. I remembered your once saying that you thought his stuff was good, but that he was too material­istic — too much concerned with physical structures and too little concerned with the spiritual or psychological aspect of society. This afternoon, I read the close of his book which he wrote in 1940 on the function of banking, entitled, MONEY IN MOTION. I thought you’d enjoy it, so I’ve copied it out as follows:

“It is our belief that banking has the capacity to become a spiritual as well as an economic force which will lead our civilization beyond that point where other civiliza­tions have turned to decay and dissolution.

“The urge to serve and to exchange services is evidence of a civilized society. The urge to require specialized competence in order to increase the benefit of services exchanged is evidence of a developed society. Failure to realize the benefit of potential specialized competence is evidence of a society which has reached the turning point. Failure to grow; failure to build, after special­ized competence has been achieved, is evidence of failure of spirit.

“America will not cease to build; America will not cease to grow, if the banking judgment, which is the arbiter of the relationships between productive civilized individuals, realizes its potentiality. The banking function is not a passive function; it is a progressive spiritual force. As banking increases its effectiveness as a social agency to facilitate and measure exchange, we may look forward to the liberation of the full potential energies of mankind and the equitable exchange of the fullest services which men are capable of performing.”

     I was glad to note three sonnets of Arthur Holden’s published in the March, 1959, issue of the Journal of the American Institute of Architects.

     If you like what he wrote about banking, it would be nice if you’d send him a short note to that effect. I haven’t tried to get in touch with him yet, so he doesn’t know I’m in New York.

If the Foundation wants three legs to stand on, it could consider the work of Holden, Riegel and Heath — three contemporaries all of whose work needs publicizing by some organization like SSF.

 

      The girls have both gone to Florida for a three-week auto vacation, so I’m looking after my own meals and such again. They certainly had me spoiled — especially Elfriede.

                            

                            Best wishes,

                      

                               /s/ Spencer