|
Correspondence from Karl Germer to Louis Wilkinson
K. J. GERMER 260 West 72nd Street New York 23, N.Y. Endicott 2-6799
March 22, 1948.
Louis Wilkinson Esq. 17 St. Leonard's Terrace London S.W.#. England.
Dear Mr. Wilkinson,
I have given your letter of February 28th and the letter of Feb 2nd from Mr. W.J. White from the Department of the Official Receiver a great deal of thought. It seems to me then that the Official Receiver has turned down my offer of the £300. We had made this offer from a sentimental attachment to a man whose books we had known for many years.
You ask me to make an offer for the literary material, books, etc. Most of this is not saleable. All the books were privately printed and have a limited market, because there was no publisher who saw a profit in them. I understand that the packing and carriage to London has been paid. I am willing to offer the sum of £25.0.0 for this material less the carriage charges that have been paid so far.
Re Cash of £460 found. I am not a legal mind and do not know the difference between "Trust Monies" or any other. I only know reality and plain, simple, honest facts. These were stated in my letter to you of Jan. 21. They are briefly—Mr. Crowley was penniless; we wanted some of his books printed. We in the U.S.A. combined to supply the funds and commissioned Mr. Crowley to have the printing done in England.
Suppose we had printed in the U.S.A.—as we contemplated doing. Would the Official Receiver still hold that the money we raised and paid for the job would be the property of the creditors in England? My cables of Feb. and March 1947 show that it was a toss-up for the bookprinting, plus about £100 for the binding. This was fully paid by us and is among the cash assets.
Both books [Liber Aleph and Golden Twigs] were promised for July-August. To a great extent it was the printer's fault that they were not finished on time. We expected them on the market in the U.S.A. for September. If the printer had kept his promise and if Mr. Crowley had not been severely ill for 5 months prior to his death, this problem of whose money this is would never have arisen. The Official Receiver should understand this.
From a legal point of view I can only reproach myself for not having foreseen Mr. C.'s death, and not insisting to give the order to the printer and binder, and send the checks from here. Surely, this lack of knowledge of legal intricacies does not change the simple facts of the case? We on this side have paid for the books in full. We could not understand it if the Receiver expects us to pay for the book twice.
There is a further complication: On March 18th I received a Statement from the printer for a balance of the printing costs in the amount of £123.10.10 as of Feb. 20, mounting each month at the rate of £6.0.0 for rental of type. The printer wants the amount due by March 31. I cannot pay it to him as I have paid it already. In fact since the death of Mr. Crowley the cost has already risen £19.0.0 and keeps rising. There is danger that the printer may destroy the set up type to avoid further losses, and it is for this reason that I trust the Official Receiver will agree to release the amount due to the printer immediately.
I feel rather strongly on this point because we had undertaken and commissioned the books, the printer knew that they were fully paid for by us/ He is nearly half through and to refuse payment of the balance would be fraudulent.
As to the remaining cash I maintain the justice of my claim. Nobody, I think, doubts that the money came from us. The sole reason the money was not paid out by Mr. Crowley was that he was so ill and unable to attend to business. We wish that the bills for doctors, nurses, rent, funeral be paid. This is only fair.
However, if to establish my claim to the cash would demand action in the Courts, I must confess that I am not in a position to consider this. I will, therefore, withdraw my claim.
Please let me know at your earliest convenience that the printer is being paid.
Very sincerely yours,
K.J. Germer.
|