stefansson-wrangel-09-12-121-001

August 28th 1923.

Dear Mr. Anderson,

Your letter of August 14 shows that I must have failed
to make clear to Mr. Taylor and yourself the financial
situation here in London.

My confidential information as to the discussion of
the Wrangell Island case by the Cabinet was to the effect
that they approved of what we had done but thought that
the interests of the Empire would be best served if we
continued the enterprise privately as heretofore. I told
my informant (a member of the Cabinet) that this had always
been my opinion and desire and that I had come to the
Government for support only because both myself personally
and the Steafansson Arctic Exploration and Development Co.,
Ltd., had come to the end of their financial resources. I
suggested that Members of the Cabinet might try to help
privately to get the money. Two members of the Cabinet,
the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Secretary of State
for Air, did try to interest several wealthy men in finan-
cing the Wrangell Island supply ship but without success.
They were willing to continue and might possibly have been
successfull but time was passing so rapidly that it was
manifestly unsafe from the point of view of the men on
Wrangell Island to delay further. At this point a personal
friend of mine, Mr. Griffith Brewer, came to me with the
offer of a secret loan sufficient to enable the "Donaldson"
to sail, provided we would keep the loan secret for some
time giving opportunity for an appeal in the public press.
I agreed to this. It was he who sent you the 10,000
Canadian Dollars. At the same time there was inserted in
the London "Times" the appeal, of which I now attach a
copy (page torn out of "The Times" for August 2, 1923).

Mr Brewer is the chief stockholder of the British
Wright Company. Most of the remainder of the stock is held
by Orville Wright (the inventor of the aeroplane) who is
one of my best friends. Feeling sure of Mr. Wright's
support Mr. Brewer (without consulting Mr. Wright who is in
America) induced his directors to vote a gift of £550
sterling for the relief ship. Mr. Brewer tells me this
morning that public subscriptions to the amount of about
£500 have come in since. It was Brewer also who sent the
1,000 dollars to Nome. I think that was American dollars