The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-08-31
CLEMENS At VANCOUVER.
He Tells the Object of His Trip
to Australia.
The HumOrIst Intends TO Pay Dollar for
Dollar ON All the Claims Of His
Creditors.

VANCOUVER, i. c., August TO-
Samuel i. Clemens Mark Twain),
who is about leaving for Australia, in
an interview concerning the purpose
of his long trip, said:
My run across the continent cover
ing the first 1000 miles of this lectur-
ing tour around the world, has re-
yealed to me so many friends, of
whose existence / was unconscious
before, and so much kindly and gen
erous sympathy with me in my finan-
cial mishap that 1 feel that it will not
be obtrusive self-assertion, but an act
of simple justice to that loyal friend
ship, as well as to my own reputation,
to make a public statement of the
purpose which / have held from the
beginning and which is now in pro-
cess of execution.
1t has been reported that / sacri-
feed for the benefit of the creditors
the property of the publishing firm
whose financial hacker / was and that
L am now lecturing for my own bene-
fit. This is an error. L intend the
lectures as well as the property for the
creditors. The law recognizes no
mortgage on a mans brain, and a
merchant who has given up all he
has may take advantage of the rules
of insolvency and start free again for
himself; but i am not a business man,
and honor is harder master than the
law. 1t cannot compromise for less
than q hundred cents on the dollar,
and its debts never outlaw.
/ had two-thirds interest in the
publishing firm. whose capital fur
nished. II the firm had prospered i
should have expected to collect two
to pay all the debts. My partner
has no resources, and L do not look for
assistance from him.
By far the largest single creditor of
this firm is my wife, whose contribu-
tiOns in cash from her private means
have nearly equaled the claims of all
the others combined. In satisfaction
of this great and just claim she has
taken nothing except to avail herself
of the opportunity of retaining control
of the copyrights of my books, which
for many easily understood reasons, of
which financial ones are the least, we
do not desire to see in the hands of
strangers. On the contrary, she has
helped and intends to help me to
satisfy the obligations due to the rest.
The present situation is that the
wreckage of the firm, together with
what money / can scrape together
with my wife's aid, will enable me to |
pay the other creditors about so per |
cent. OF their claims. 1t is my inten- |
ton to ask them to accept that as a |
legal discharge and trust to my honor |
to pay the other so per cent. as fast as |
L can earn it. From my receptions |
thus far on my lecture tour L am con-
fident that if live can pay Off the |
last debt within four years, after |
which, at the age of 81, can make a
fresh and unincumbered start in life.
do not enjoy the hard travel and
broken rest inseparable from lectur-
ing, and If it had not been for the inn
perious moral necessity of paying
these debts, which 1 never contracted,
but which were accumulated on the
faith of my name by those who had
right to use it, / should
never have taken to the road at my
time of life. / could have supported
myself comfortably by writing, but
writing is too slow for the demands
that 1 have to meet. Therefore, /
have begun to lecture my way around
he world.
am going to Australia, India and
South Africa, and next year 1 hope to
make a tour of the great cities of the
United States. In my preliminary
run through the smaller cities on the
1orthern route L have found recep-
ion, the cordiality of which has
touched my heart and made me feel
now small thing money is in COM
1arison with friendship.
/ meant, when L began, to give my
creditors all the benefit of this, but L
begin to feel that / am gaining some
hing from it, too, and that my divi-
lends if not available for banking
purposes may be even more satisfac-
ory than theirs.