Letter from Alfred J. T. Taylor to Vilhjalmur Stefansson, 6 September 1921

Sept. 6th, 1921.

V. Stefansson, Esq., c/o American Geographical Society, Broadway at 156th Street, New York, U.S.A.

My dear Stefansson,

I have received this morning your letters of August 29th and 31st, and in regard to giving Crawford an option on ten shares on the terms suggested in his letter to you of August 18th, I see no objection to this except that at a time limit of say a year or at the most two years for the payment in full of the shares should be placed on the option. Otherwise the transaction would be decidedly one-sided, and would be too generous on your part. Believing and hoping that Crawford will be sailing in the course of the next week, and thinking to encourage him, I have told him in my wire of this morning that you are arranging to sell him the ten shares he requests, and we will make a suitable entry in our books here to show that the option has been granted, that is, unless in the meantime I hear from you to the contrary.

Your letter of August 31st to Mr. Payzant of Victoria is splendid, and I agree thoroughly with everything you have said and will deal appropriately with any communication that Mr. Payzant may address to us here. I feel that after the turn of the year, and once the boys have actually sailed, there will not be andy difficulty in getting a few thousand dollars' worth of the shares sold. I would not under any circumstances sell enough to relinquish control.

I was very sorry to learn from Crawford's wire of the 2nd of the hitch in regard to the boat, but it looks from his wire of the 4th as though he was going to be able to secure a suitable boat in the "Silver Wave",

V. Stefansson, Esq. -2- Sept.6/21.

although I am quite in the dark as to what he has to pay for this boat. I know he has tried to tell us in his wire, but it is not very plain to me, and I hope his communications to you have made the position more understandable.

I am attaching now copies of all the wires that have passed between Crawford and me during the last ten days, as well as copies of wires I have sent to you. This should make your file complete.

I am so sorry that I am not able to take the whole burden of these arrangements off your hands, but inasmuch as you are the only one among us with experience and are most vitally interested, I have considered it best to get your advice prior to committing the Company here to any course of action that your experience would not sanction.

I see from your wire this morning that you speak of commencing a lecture tour on October 25th. Does this mean that you are going to make your trip to England in the interval, or that you are postponing the trip until later in the year. I have no doubt that your next letters will tell me something more definite about your plans.

Yours sincerely,

AJTT : W Enc.