1909
Friend Pettengill dropped in to see me but, unfortunately, I was out. He did, however, confide to my secretary that he is now living in Bermuda, and commuting to New York from time to time as business requires. Can you beat him!
I received the following letter from Molfatt too late to go into the last Spring issue of the MAGAZINE. However, this is such an interesting resume that I am quoting it:—
On January 25 you wrote me a nice long letter. When I got the enclosed letter ready to send I decided that I would not send it without a personal letter. So I have nearly two months, as I just do not get time to write many personal letters. It is still very hard to get good stenographers here at what we can afford to pay, as the Army and Navy are still using WAC (I)s and paying Army prices. So I have to get along with some beginner; it takes more of my time to educate her than it would take to write my own letters, as I do many. I carry work home from the office nearly every night, and work after dinner, at a time when I ought to be doing my personal work.
Mrs. Moffatt went home last July, as the doctors thought she would be better there. She has rather high blood pressure, and the altitude is not good for her in the hills at 7,000 to 8,000 feet, and it is equally bad for her to be in the heat of Bombay. But she has not been any better at home, and just now is at Clifton Springs for rest. Our oldest daughter, Betty, who is married to a Scotchman, and who has been in England and Scotland since 1939, when they went to leave for six months to England, has just reached U. S. A. She is trying to bring him in on the non-quota arrangements which allow an American wife to bring in her non-American husband, or vice versa, without so much red tape, as other aliens. They have a two-year-old daughter. Jim Locke, my son-in-law, is an electrical mechanic with the Hollerith Co., which is the English version of the International Business Corporation. He is from Glasgow.
Our second daughter, Nancy, who has been in the Social Welfare work of the State of Washington has been granted a scholarship of $1000 for refresher studies in New York, and is now there. My son, Marston, married, and with a two-year-old son, is still with Pratt & Whitney, Hartford, as a research engineer. He graduated from Harvard, and the others from the University of Washington, where my youngest daughter is still in college.
In your letter you mention that you took extracts from my letter for the January ALUMNI MAGAZINE. Strangely this seems to have been the only number I did not get last year.
I expect to come home early next year to stay. I was expecting to come back to India for three years, had I gone in 1945. I had asked to be- replaced as treasurer, in order that I might complete my work on property, and they were to send a man out in July, 1945. He has not yet arrived, so I have decided to stay out until next spring and not to return to India. I should like a few more years, but on account of my wife's health, I think I had better not come back. I may spend a few more years with the Mission Board in the New York Office. I have about finished the large task of the past fourteen years, clearing off a debt of about $1,200,000 on mission property. Besides the payment of the debt, we have paid another $150,000 interest. We are on the last $150,000. I have also given much time to the organization and financial reconstruction of our Church in India, and to the building up of the Inter-Mission Business Office in Bombay, which last year helped over 2,000 missionaries in their travel plans, sold $3,000,000 in exchange and carried on the treasurer's work of ten missions. Please do not quote these sentences—it sounds too much like boasting. [I think this should be published just the same so you will have it with no deletions.] I just want you to know that while I have not done much for Dartmouth since graduation, the College has had its part in India.
Today the radio announces that the Moslem League and the Congress have agreed to get together for discussions with the Cabinet ministers, the first real encouragement I have seen in the Delhi talks. They are miles apart and nothing may come of it, but there are hopes. The enclosed letter will give you the background. I hope soon to get out another which will give the sequel. Perhaps in another year I may see you. In any case I hope to come around for our 40th.
I also received from Norm Catharin a letterhe had received from Merrill Follansbee, toolate to get into the Spring issue. This was ac companied by pictures of Merrill's ranch that really would make your mouth water. While some of the information is a little late I know all of you will be interested in the type of life Merrill is leading:
The ranch is getting along fine. The grapefruit crop will be a little less as the trees have to rest after a heavy production year as 1945 was. They had freak rains last August and September in the desert and the resulting humidity just about ruined the dates. We had about a fifth of a crop in the whole valley. A farmer has to take such things along with the good crops and not worry about them. The fronds have come out wonderfully this spring; my man has probably three thousand pollinated and the crop should be OK if we do not have those damn fall rains down there. The new date crop will start to get ripe and picking will start by October first. Now the packing company is picking the grapefruit. I always reserve a few trees so when we come back from there we have the trunk of the car loaded with grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes, so we are never without fruit and we give lots away to our friends. The last time I was down I took a big basket of Meyer Chinese lemons over to Mr. Frank Morgan, the movie actor who has a house nearby but who has no trees. These lemons are not a commercial variety as they have thin skins and do not keep very long in the stores. They do keep well on the trees and stay on ripe for six months, so we pick them as we use them. They last about a month off the trees, but that is not long enough for stores. They are fine for Tom Collins' or other drinks, or to drink the juice mornings.
Secretary, Wm. Filene's Sons Co. 426 Washington St., Boston, Mass.
Treasurer, 16 Wall St., New York 15, N. Y.
