stefansson-wrangel-09-20-062-001

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 state-
ment 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 possi-
ble 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 expedi-
tion. 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