August 17 Wednesday – In Elmira Sam wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore, questioning increasing office expenses for Paige’s office. He noted receipt of a statement from Webster & Co., and questioned whether his agreement with Webster required him to put in more cash at this point. If Whitmore was in doubt, would he ask Henry C. Robinson, attorney? The summer was coming to an end.

We shall all be home one month from to-day. If I can have financial peace until then (which you seem to doubt), I shall be where I can act — without having to stretch my arm half across the continent. [¶] Keep Paige in a good humor — it is the first consideration [MTP].

Frederick J. Hall wrote to Sam and advised, “We have written the lady…that she might use the selections in her letter” [MTLTP 225n1], which refers to her use of excerpts from Grant’s Memoirs (see Aug. 13 from Arthur W. Wright, and Aug. 16 Sam to Webster.) It is noted that Sam was having some difficulty at this time obtaining his own permissions to use older material for the Library of Humor, as Hall described responses from Houghton Mifflin over the issue as “very offish” [MTLTP 227n1].