"Einstein, following the steps of Ernst Mach, took a bolder view. The reason Michelson and Morley were unable to detect an ether wind, Einstein said, is simple: There is no ether wind. He did not say that there was no ether; only... [that the ether] is of no value in measuring uniform motion."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Relativity_Simply_Explained