June 1 Friday – In Paris, France Sam wrote to Frederick J. Hall.

Mrs. Clemens & I have read your letter & are sincerely sorry for your hard situation. I wish I could make it better; I certainly would if I could. But the whole business being now in the hands of the creditors, I have no authority & can do nothing.

If the assignment was a put-up job I knew nothing of it, & never in the least suspected it.

But I believed that we were in very great peril from the bank, unless we could raise $3,000 right away — I knew from your own report of the president’s attitude. There was no time. Neither you nor Frank Whitmore had the custom of warning me about notes beforehand. In the present instance the bank’s ultimatum was not furnished me until the very day that the first of the two notes fell due. There was no choice but to assign. …

There are many things to write, but I will not attempt it, for time crowds me every day & all day. I shall see you early in July — then we can talk it [MTP].

Meanwhile, In New York, H.H. Rogers wrote to Sam, thanking him for the cablegram of condolence on the death of his wife, Abbie Gifford Rogers. After relating how each family member was holding up, Rogers replied to one of Sam’s letters about Webster & Co. matters.

I note that you are at work on some magazine articles. I think if you are to carry out the suggestion of reviewing all the novelists, that you will thoroughly advertise yourself to say the least. [This relates to Sam’s “Cooper’s Offenses” article]. Mr. Colby was obliged to follow me to Fairhaven in order to make proper transfers of the copy-rights to Mrs. Clemens, it being necessary to go into detail and specify each of the books. Colby is arranging for a meeting of the creditors within a day or two. I will attend. As yet the proposition for Mrs. Clemens to assign the copyright and waive royalties on your books for a year, on condition that you will be released has not been accepted. I think Colby now inclines to the opinion that if the creditors receive a proposition from you to agree to pay a certain percentage on liabilities and give to the assignee the power to sell off the stock and conduct business for a year with privilege of copy-right and the waiving of royalties, that it will be accepted, and on the whole the best way out of the matter. However, that need not disturb you for the present. I will attend the meeting and try to catch the temper. Business is so terribly depressed that it seems almost impossible to do anything in the way of selling books. Mr. Benjamin [William Evarts Benjamin, Rogers’ son-in-law]. complains very much about his business and tells me that the entire trade is prostrated.

Rogers continued that though Sam and Livy were willing to have Frank Bliss publish PW by subscription, he hesitated to approve, thinking it would be a poor sale with business conditions as they were. But he would discuss it further with Benjamin. Rogers promised to write after the meeting with the creditors (according to Harrison’s letter of this date, the meeting was not held) [MTHHR 59-60].

Rogers’ secretary, Katharine I. Harrison also wrote to Sam:

I received your letter to-day [not extant] in regard to the extension of time to Mr. Brusnahan. He has been to see me two or three times, and although he is working hard to sell the stock, he finds it pretty hard work, as the majority of those printers are such poor fellows, and in some cases they are not to be depended upon. He asked me if he might make an arrangement with Mr. Chas. B Knevals [Caleb B. Knevals] to help him sell the stock, and give him part of the commission.

John Brusnahan was the printing foreman for the New York Herald; he agreed to sell Livy’s stock in the new Paige company. (See May 7, 1894 for a TS of a draft of this arrangement.) Harrison thought the matter over and figured it didn’t matter who sold the stock so she gave her permission and hoped it met with Sam’s approval. No sales had yet been reported, however. She related that Knevals, a broker, was anxious to sell a great deal of the stock. She also intended to suggest to Brusnahan that he contact other union foremen in “two or three other cities” to sell the stock. She mentioned Rogers’ letter of this date and promised to let Sam know when she learned anything about the typesetter. Five shares of the stock would be sent to Orion the first of next week. This task had been delayed by Rogers’ absence. She added a PS after her signature:

P.S. Since dictating the foregoing I have had a call from Messrs. Colby and Rushmore. They have modified their opinions and are now hopeful that if we give the creditors the use of the copyright and waive royalties for a year, that it will be accepted. I am waiting in my office, subject to [a] call from them this afternoon they having hoped to get a meeting with Payne, Barrow and Whitford. If anything important transpires, I will add a few lines before closing.

Mr. Rogers wishes me to add that the meeting was not held after all [MTHHR 61-2].

Note: William H. Payne, president of Mt. Morris Bank; George Barrow represented the Barrow family, to which Webster & Co. owed $15,416.90; Daniel Whitford, who had been attorney for both the Mt. Morris Bank and Webster & Co., now a definite conflict of interest. He was suspected of taking advantage of previous knowledge about the Webster & Co. while now representing the bank, the second highest creditor.