stefansson-wrangel-09-20-062

Maurer

December 28, 1923.

Dear Mr. Maurer:

I have just been rereading the copies you sent me of Fred's letters to various members of the family, and I note that you lent him the thousand dollars which he invested in shares which he used to help finace the Wrangell Island undertaking.

I am not going to take time now to make a full statement of how I expect to handle the financial affairs of the expedition. For one thing we seem to be gettung nearer to a settlement with Noice. He has married a wealthy woman ant it seems not impossible that we may be able to get out of him both the money we have let him have and what money of ours he got away with without, as we think, a legal right.

But about this investment in particular, I want to say now that it is my intention when the immediate bills are cleared up to repay next the loan made by Griffith Brewer in England which made it possible for the Donaldson to sail this summer. When that is done I hope to buy at par value the shares which all the boys took to help finance the expedition. My lawyers have advised me that as an officer of a limited liability company I shall have to take care of the legal claims first. I am going to do that but I want you to realize that I consider the moral claims of the families just as strong as the legal ones and that I shall be taking care of them later only because I might otherwise be charged with letting my sentiments run away with my sense of business responsibility. I think most people would feel that as a private person I could pay first whichever debt I wanted to, but the point of view is different with regard to company funds.

It is probably that the company will never as a company redeem the shares taken by the boys. It will be I personally who do that. But at present all my earnings must go into the treasury of the company to be paid out by them to Mr. Brewer and others.

I had breakfast this morning with your brother Tom and was very glad of the opportunity. Luckily, I was able to have there also Carl Lomen, an old friend of Fred's and the other boys, who told your brother about the outfitting in Nome and gave him other details which he will pass on to you.

There seems to have been one misunderstand this morning. Your brother asked me if I had seen Fred's last letter to his

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mother and I said that I had not seen it. Just after we parted I realized I had been speaking thoughtlessly, for I have a copy of Fred's letter of January 29, 1923, which is doubtless the one your brother had in mind. He said he would ask you to send me a copy. That will not now be necessary.

Mr. John Maurer, New Philadelphia, Ohio.