|
Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Clifford V. Church (Crowley's Lawyer)
Mr. Clifford V. Church, 35 Boulevard Haussman, Paris.
November 1st, 1928.
Last night Mrs. Bass [Kasimira Bass] owned up to a course of double dealing in this affair of the investment. I am sorry to say that the confession was not spontaneous but wrung from her conviction that discovery was immanent. She did not come across frankly, with the intention of settling the matter cleanly, and in the course of the confession itself attempted all sorts of shifts.
The principal points are these. She has been borrowing money on the grounds that she had not got any of her own at all, but it now transpires that she has for some time had $800.00 or so in the Bankers Trust or The American Express Co.
Mrs. Reynolds [Rosa Reynolds] of Los Angeles, who holds her power of attorney to collect this $10,000, was induced by her to send a fake letter to be shown to Mr. Yorke [Gerald Yorke] for the purpose of deceiving him. This letter stated that the money would not be available for a year or more, whereas it is the impression of Mrs. Hunt, who saw the genuine letter covering the fake, that the cash was now available. This letter has been destroyed.
It is obviously impossible for the situation to remain in this shape.
My own personal position is a little complex. In my private capacity I should be prepared to shoulder the whole responsibility and replace from my own resources the $2,000.00 or so which represent roughly the extent to which Mrs. Bass has benefited by her spontaneous offer to invest this capital, but the money is, at the moment, not on hand.
In my capacity as the principal party interested in the business which we are trying to do, I am responsible to the lenders that their money is used directly for the purpose of the business. There are several of these lenders, and only Mr. Yorke is in a position where the loss of his money would not very seriously embarrass him.
If Mrs. Bass is willing to invest this money, the help that we have given her is a justifiable expense.
Now, supposing that Mrs. Bass does not invest this money, that she evades doing so by means of these fake letters and other forms of falsehood, I make myself an accomplice if I acquiesce. I owe it to myself, on the point of my personal honor, as well as to the lenders on the point of their interests, to clear up this matter completely.
Mrs. Bass repeated last night that the money was not available at present, but that it if were she would be glad to invest it. She offered to go to you and talk things over. This is excellent, but in view of the fact that she has made so many false statements I think we are justified in requiring positive evidence of her good faith in the matter.
On the 11th October, Mrs. Bass left this apartment without informing me of her intention, removing her clothes, etc. secretly under cover of the night. This however appears to have been a more or less nervous gesture. She returned on Oct 23rd on the strength of a memorandum handed to her by me the previous day. The essential passages are as follows:—
She has hitherto evaded compliance with these terms. Last night however she offered to go to you and talk the matter over
Now, it seems to me that if she has been throughout, and is now, acting in good faith, she can very easily prove it by making a legal transfer of her claim against Mr. Sieber, her debtor in California, to Mr. Yorke as trustee, authorizing him to collect the money for the purpose of this investment.
If she thinks that Mrs. Reynolds is the best person to deal with Mr. Sieber, as I dare say is the case, there is no objection. She can write to Mrs. Reynolds saying that she has transferred the claim to Mr. Yorke and asking her to collect the money for Mr. Yorke's account.
I wish to make it abundantly clear that we have at no time pressed her in any way. When she presented the fake letter I said "All right, can't be helped, we must just do the best we can."
I may add that we should have at no time counselled the investment, or rather acquiesced in her spontaneous proposal to make it, unless we were convinced that it was the best thing possible for her material interests. Mr. Hunt [Carl de Vidal Hunt] is a well known and very reliable expert in these matters and he says that he has never in his life handled so promising a proposition. The results of his work so far tend to confirm us in our highest hopes.
We have never at any time expressed any doubt of her good faith. It is she alone who is responsible for exciting distrust in our minds.
Now, I hope you will impress upon her that she must absolutely clear up these doubts once and for all by means of some definite action, such as I have outlined above. We are ready to meet her in any reasonable way with regard to the details of the scheme. The question between us is not a question so much of money, as of loyalty.
But I do not feel justified in spending a single penny further in her support unless this matter is settled. I shall be obliged to set on foot a full investigation not later than Tuesday morning next, as this investigation will involve writing to Los Angeles by the mail which leaves Tuesday afternoon.
I hope you will impress on her the seriousness of the position, and not allow her to get herself deeper into trouble. Any overt act, such as another secret departure or the withdrawal of the funds at present in her possession with a view to evading this question, would leave me no choice but to resort to public action.
I am personally convinced that she means perfectly well and that her foolish actions have been the result of her nervousness, but it is in just such circumstances that people do the most foolish things and create the greatest possible trouble.
Yours very truly,
AC / ir [Israel Regardie]
|