stefansson-wrangel-09-13-051

September 27th 1923.

Dear Taylor,

Mr. Brewer has shown me the carbon of a letter he has written you. He has been more disturbed than I was over the text of your cablegram which came yesterday, although it worried me a good deal too. Apparently I have failed to make clear to you the situation over here in England.

I give below the text of your cablegram as received yesterday morning and of mine despatched last night:-

TO: STEFANSSON INFALLIBLE LONDON: 26 SEP 1923:

NOICE RETURNED TORONTO YESTERDAY RELIEF EXPEDITION HAS COST IN EXCESS OF ALL MONIES RECEIVED FOUR THOUSAID DOLLARS WHICH MUST BE CABLED IMMEDIATELY AS ACCOUNTS PRESSING IN ADDITION WE OWE CRAWFORDS WAGES TWENTY TWO HUNDRED WHICH YOU MUST ALSO SEND NOT LATER THAN SIXTY DAYS STOP AMOUNT REALIZED FROM SALE OF FURS ALREADY USED IN PAYING ACCOUNTS STOP NOICE LEAVING TONIGHT FOR NEWYORK WILL TURN OVER KNIGHTS DIARY TO WILCOX NOICE SAYS SIBERIAN SEARCH USELESS

TO: TAYLOR COMBUSCO TORONTO. SEPT 26 1923 :

RELIEF FUNDS BORROWED BY MY FRIEND ON MORTGAGE STRICTLY IN HOPE SAVING LIVES WRANGELL NO MORE MONEY OBTAINABLE ENGLAND STOP MY LECTURES BEGIN LATE OCTOBER WHEN I CAN PAY CRAWFORDS AND OTHER RELATIVES FROM PROCEEDS SEE NO HOPE EXCEPT MY EARNING POWER HOW ABOUT MONEY FROM NEWSPAPER ALLIANCE SOME MEMBERS BRITISH CABINET STRONGLY FAVOR WRANGELL BUT DECISION NOW DEPENDS CANADIAN PREMIER STOP UNABLE UNDERSTAND EXCESS NOICE EXPENDITURES BEYOND ESTIMATES GIVEN BY HIM.

Mr. Brewer is very busy and expects to be able to spend in America only the time that the "Leviathan" is in dock. According to the schedule she lands in New

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York on the 15th and sails back for England on the 20th. He thought of giving two days of this short time to a trip to Toronto, upon which I would accompany him. Since, however, Noice is in New York and since it is he who knows all the details and reasons of the expenditures I thought it might be possible you could come to New York to meet us. This would cost less than having two of us, or three of us, go to Toronto. It will be necessary to arrive at a thorough understanding of everything, for it will be necessary, not only that Mr. Brewer have a clear explanation to offer to the contributors when he comes back to England, but also that this explanation shall be in full accord with all the facts - we must be sure that no new facts appear later which necessitate any change in the explanation we have to offer the public.

As we have made clear in the cables, and as Mr. Brewer made clear in his appeal in "The Times", the fund was for humanitarian purposes. Of cource there can be a fairly liberal interpretation. Noice was quite justified in buying dogs, dog sleds and skin boats and in securing an adequate crew for these, for they sight have been needed in the ordinary operations of rescue or if the "Donaldson" had to spend the winter.

According to the definite figures given us by Noice as to how much the ship would cost per day, and according to the time it actually took her on the voyage, we were expecting a substantial refund from the £11,000. It has both startled and confused us to find that not only is there no refund but that there have been additional expenditures even beyond the fox skins sold. Incidentally, we have no idea what the sale of the skins brought in.

Legally, and in every other way, it is impossible to charge against the relief fund such things as the wages due the men of the original Wrangell party.

It seems from your cable that there will be a heavy deficit, but obviously this deficit must fall mainly , or wholly, on the company and not upon the relief fund.

As I understand it, you have not yet received the 3,000 dollars from the Newspaper Alliance, nor yet any other sums for the sale of newspaper or magazine rights. I have sold in England the magazine rights for £300 and the bookrights on a 20 per cent basis, with an advance of £225. These sums will not be paid over until the manuscripts are received. I have agreed that the book manuscript shall be in the publishers' hands by November 30.

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It is difficult to negotiate at such a great distance and difficult to understand exactly what has taken place and why. I suppose you do not understand my situation or actions any better than I do those of Noice. It has been a hard summer and a thankless job for all of us and we must be careful that things are not further complicated by any misunderstandings. I am always grateful for everything you do and I know Noice has had the best intentions and has done is work well. You must similarly realize that in so complicated a situation as I have had to face in England mistakes of judgment were liable to occur at any point.

It will interest you that my chief opposition, so far as I know it, has come from Canadians, and I believe almost wholly from people who have neither read my books nor given the questions involved any serious thought - they are just against everthing on some general basis, which I doubt if they themselves understand. The men who have helped me most in England are Amery, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Hoare, the Air Minister, General Robert White (who was with Jameson in South Africa) and so forth. Sir Michael Sadler, who was in Canada last winter, has helped a great deal and so has Scott, the owner of the "Manchester Guardian". Sir Campbell Stuart, the Managing Director of "The Times", and Geoffrey Dawson, the Editor, have also been most friendly. There has been a very gratifying and unexpected support from such men as Lord Milner.

I enclose a list of all the contributions that Mr. Brewer has received down to date. You will see that there is a heavy shortage even if you add to it the contribution of £550 originally made by the British Wright Company, of which Brewer and Orville Wright are the chief stockholders.

I forgot to mention above two men that were exceedingly useful - Colonel House and Archibald Roosevelt. Col. House put me into friendly personal relations with a number of the Cabinet whom I might not have met at all otherwise, or at least would have met officially only. Roosevelt also put me in touch with a number of his father's friends who have been helpful. House and Roosevelt did this on the basis of feeling that it was a great deal better that the British Empire should have Wrangell Island than that it should go to the Russians. They knew that the United States want the island but felt

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that the American claim could not very well be pressed because of the jealousy of the Japanese who would be fearful if America were to reach over for an island so strategically situated with reference to Japan. The Japanese would not have the same fear of Great Britain.

I am glad to see by the press that the American Government are now definitely claiming Wrangell Island. As you know, I have always been well treated in the United States. If our wise men turn out to be unable to see the value of the island I shall be not badly pleased if it goes from us to the United States.

V. Stefansson

Mr. A. J. Taylor, Consulting Engineer, Bank of Hamilton Building, Toronto, Ont., Canada.