May 23 Friday – In Riverdale, N.Y. Sam wrote to James R. Clemens.

Insert: Planters House Hotel, St. Louis

I am thanking the both of you (& Muriel) very much, & am accepting for June 5th, 6 p.m., & next day & maybe day after. With many thanks.

I leave here per N.Y. Central at 9.20 p.m., May 27th, & am due in St Louis‘ (at the Planters) at 7.30 a.m 29th (or maybe it’s 10.30;) leave there at 2 p.m. the same day & reach Hannibal at 3.15, where I remain 4 days & go to Columbia June 3d.

I leave Columbia the 5th at noon for St. Louis, & then am clear of duties & formal engagements & ready for a rest in the society of all the Clemenses we can get hold of.

I shall hope to see you at the Planters the 29th; you can’t be more than half a dozen blocks from there. I don’t go there to sleep, but only to wash. Bring some soap with you, & a towel [MTP]. Note: Planters House, originally built in 1837 as the largest hotel in the West, burned in 1882 but was rebuilt. James Ross Clemens was a cousin, and father of Cyril Clemens. Muriel Clemens was James’ infant daughter.

Sam also wrote to Philip H. Goepp to decline an invitation, as he was leaving for Missouri and wouldn’t return till mid-June [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore, declining an invitation, advising of his departure for Missouri, and sharing H.H. Rogers’ advice about a selling price on his Farmington Ave. home.

Mrs. Clemens will be here to ’tend to business. And I told her a low price now, would be better than an expensive wait, & would be the equivalent of $5,000 more 12 months hence or $10,000 more two years hence. I arrived at this argument by a talk with Mr. Rogers, who said, “In my experience, when a man offers $35,000, he will stand from $5,000 to $15,000 more—you can’t tell which till you find out. If your agent knows the man, he can guess his limit; but a stranger can’t. Anyway, sell the house, & sell it now; even if you have to let it go at $40,000.”

That is his advice, & of course it is sound, & one must accept it, for Mr. Rogers is an old hand, & knows [MTP].