stefansson-wrangel-09-28-043

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When Mr. Taylor saw Mr. Pickering, he found that all
arrangements had gone far. On understanding by telephone from Toronto
that Mr. Noice was entitled to make a sale, Mr. Pickering had purchased
world rights to the story based on the diaries, for fifteen hundred.
dollars. Financially this was a bad bargain for us, even if we got the money, for world
rights (which naturally included British rights) were being sold at the very
price I had already received for British rights alone. The worst feature, Legally, the situation was bad, for Mr. Pickering was that he had immediately re-
sold British rights in England. Our company was, therefore, in a hope-
less position. Acting as president of one company, I had sold the ex
clusive rights of the narrative to the Amalgamated Press; but acting
as the company’s agent (as Mr. Pickering understood it) Mr. Noice had
sold him British rights and he had resold them to the Daily News and
the Manchester Guardian. Besides the appearance of bad faith, we might
therefore have damage suits on our hands.

But the feature that worried me most was that part of
the proposed narrative had already been written and had been sent out
to the subscribing newspapers in various parts of the world. I feared
the publication of, it, which it was now too late to stop, would spread
misapprehensions that which it would be almost impossible to correct later.
Not being as familiar with polar conditions as I am, Mr. Taylor had
not realized till I pointed them out the wrong implications in Mr.
Noice’s original cables and, until now, he had not suspected that the
story being formulated and sold by Mr. Noice would be in any way mis-
leading. It seemed to him for the present only an issue of money.
Noice had pocketed three thousand dollars with which we had intended
to pay part of the expense of the Wrangell Island supply ship, and he
was trying to get for himself a further fifteen hundred which in our
view belonged either to the company or to the relatives of the dead.
Mr. Pickering agreed immediately to withhold further payments from
Mr. Noice, but insisted on going ahead with the publication of the
story, taking the position that he was an innocent purchaser who had
dealt in good faith with an authorized agent of our company.

This was the substance of the story which Taylor and