stefansson-wrangel-09-20-086-001

Maurer

December 13, 1924.

Dear Mr. Maurer:

I had been hoping that at the end of my lecture tour
I would be able either to stop in New Philadelphia on the way east or
ro arrange for a meeting in Cleveland as you had suggested. However, it
was very pressing that I should return immediately to New York. One
reason is that Mr. Noice has been threatening a law suit. It does seem
that the grounds for it are absurd and wholly made up out of his
imagination, but still some of my friends in New York thought he was
serious about it. He has also been making certain threats which are in
the nature of blackmail and which had alarmed some of my friends. These
and many other things made me hurry east.

I think it is just an over-night ride from your home
to New York. If you do not happen to be very busy just now, could you
not come to New York and be my guest for a day or two, preferably probably
about a week or ten days from now when Mr. Taylor will be coming down
from Toronto? I should like to pay the expense of the trip because the
relative expense would be the same as if I went to see you, the difference
being that you would be doing me a favour in saving a day or two of my
time - and also there would be the advantage of meeting Mr. Taylor. Both
he and I are very anxious that you and all Fred's relatives shall under-
stand thoroughly how everything is and how everything is going.

Meantime, won't you let me know briefly how your family
feels about the publucation of Fred's letter to his wife in view of the
strong urging of the Crawfords that it should be published. You have, of
course, expressed yourself already. I am only asking if you have changed
your mind at all recently. As I told you before, my own feeling was
against publishing the letter and I think you had the same reasons in mind
that I had.

I have not written Mrs. Fred Maurer directly about
this as yet, partly because I did not want to be responsible for any
dissension between you and her. It would be awkward to have a letter from
her urging publication and one from you opposing it. On the other hand, if
your entire family and I can agree between ourselves that the letter ought
not to be published, I think my explaining that to her will incline her to
agree with us. Probably she does agree with us in any case. The book must
go to press now within a week or ten days. Everything has to be settled
before then. The text of the chapter on the documents in the case has been
greatly altered from what you saw. This was necessary after we received
Mr. Noice's retraction.

Mr. John Maurer,
New Philadelphia, Ohio.