finally reached me yesterday on business matters and from Halske himself have left me deeply discontented. This calls for a quick and thorough change! No one is thinking, working, or pushing forward. No one gives reasons for the passive resistance that accompanies every task. At best, there are unmotivated and shallow biases! They are like old women who accept the good in silence, and when something goes wrong, speak up and say «I told you so!» — and nothing else! Halske is at least consistent. He never wanted to be anything else other than a ouvrier mécanicien. In the past he used to at least subordinate himself, but now he has turned to my friend Meyer with his narrow horizon and wounded vanity. Their negativity leads to nothing other than making it impossible to continue running the business. It won’t work as a purely-Berlin shop, and I don’t want it that way, either!
THE DAMNED CABLE Werner writes to his wife and tries to make it clear that all is not lost, just because there are differences of opinion at the company and Halske doesn’t believe in the cable. Don’t let yourself become infected by the unsavory resentment against William, my dear. He has his faults as we all do, but he is good, hard-working, and capable, and now has a firm foundation for his future, due in part to his reputation as an engineer, and also to the results of the oven building and the cable manufacture. What Halske «constantly» calls the damned cable is, despite it all, the happy solution to the problem and will outlast us all.24
MAYBE HALSKE HAS A POINT? Mathilde recognizes the impact of the highly-emotional departure of Werner’s partner and provides — as so often before — her understanding, but also critical, remote diagnosis and advice — for even Werner’s age-old friend Meyer is proving to be difficult. 101