stefansson-wrangel-09-14-036-002

Mr. A.J. Taylor - 2

returned they are obviously for colonization and not for the use
of the ship in navigating to and from Wrangel Island.

No doubt, you will be able to let me have full
particulars separating the relief from the colonization expenditures.
Copies of the invoices would enable the analysis to be checked by
the auditors in England and I would ask you to give the fullest
particulars to satisfy them. We can then ascertain definitely
how much of the money which the public has subscribed for the relief
of the men on Wrangel Island has been appropriated for a purpose for
which it was not contributed.

With regard to your suggestion that the company should
give me a note acknowledging its indebtedness, I will not ask you
to do this because it would remove the responsibility from the
individual to the company which I have been careful to avoid up to
the present. As I explained to Stef in England the reason the
money was cabled to you personally was to be able to hold you
personally responsible for the money which was entrusted to me
personally, and for which I am personally responsoble. For the same
reasons I have decided not to accept the shares which you have kindly
offered to have transferred to me, even though these would cost me
nothing. I would prejudice my position as trustee of the public
money to introduce an element of personal interest in the concerns
of the company. The part I have hitherto played has been purely
for the humanitarian purpose of saving the lives of the four men who
were marooned on Wrangel.

With regard to the earlier portions of the account,
which however do not concern me personally, it appears that the
relief expedition last year under the command of Captain Bernard
cost for the charter and supplies, $1,222,95. Apparently the
Canadian Government contributed $3,000 for this purpose, in addition
to $3,000 which does not appear in the account contributed by Mr.
Orville Wright. Seeing that these contributions of $6,000. were
only partly utilized for the purpose of sending the "Teddy Bear", should
not the balance of $4,777.05 have been available for the relief of
the same men when the ice opened this year. It does not appear
clear why if there are 249 shares fully paid in cash amounting to
$24,900. and that this amount exceeds the total cost of the three
expeditions by several thousand dollars, why it should have been
necessary to ask for outside assistance.

There does not seem to be an entry of the $3,000
paid by the Newspaper Alliance, but this should surely be entered
somewhere, even if it has been misappropriated. The expenses
relating to the earning of the $3,000 are entered in several places
such as $150 for expenses "to New York re Pickering and Newspaper
Alliance", $20. "Expenses Roy Brown, Vancouver", several stenographers
charges, etc. Apparently Noice returned $835.75 out of the money
which you cabled for me to Nome, so even when charging the consider-
able items which were outside the purpose for which the money was
contributed there is this sum of $835 which should be immediately
reimbursed to the subscribers. The question of whether it can be