The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-22

an excuse for coming nome anu DrooAiI
his contract with company. BEFORE ne
left for thu Klondike he said mourning W
us about his injured leg, though ne was
aware that one of our stipulations was
that the members of the party should DO
physically sound.
81 never sold dollars worth OF sup
plies that did not tell the boys apou0,
though as a matter of fact 1t was none
of their business how much sold, so long
as the company carried out It's agreement
| w th them-to furnish them food, Trans
portation and shelter for Is months. Mr.
jackson does not complain nor mas ony
| complaint come from any other member
of the expedition that the company mas
| thus far fallen short of living up to tna1
contract. / was general manager OF the
company and was delegated with apthor1-
ty from the directors to use my best
| Judgment in all details.
~ sold four barrels of the company
-four. because we had more -four than
would be needed to carry us through the
winter, and I needed the money Tor tne
purchase of sugar, Of which article our
supply was running short, and for other
purposes of the company. Owing to the
| fact that I had stocked up more heavily
than had been anticipated, the company
funds in my custody were running low,
II consider that had perfect right,
as manager of the company to dispose OF
4
toned. And believing that we had on
hand more butter than would Keep
through the summer, fail to see where
in exceeded my authority in disposlng
of some of 1t.
''These men seem to have overlooked
the fact that the supplies belonged, nos
| to them, but to the company. They had
received in exchange for their investment
of $1,000 apiece 1000 shares Of the compa-
ny 3 stock. So long as the company car
| ried out it's contract with them they
had no reason to complain"
The charge that he had disposed of any
of the gold pans and sspicks Mr.. Jeffrey
denied He said that when they reached
Lindemann lake the pans. picks and
about 200 ounds of nails were missing.
| The supplies had been taken from Long
lake on Yukon sleds, drawn by mules.
There had been an occasional shift OF
drivers, and he believed that one sled load
of their supplies had been overlooked and
left behind, becoming buried in the snow
during the progress of the transfer.
After leaving the summit of Chilcoot pass
their supply of provisions was found to be
SO or go pounds short, but it was evident
that the loss had resulted from the
crowded condition of the small area on
| the summit of the pass, and the heavy
fell of snow which had buried the piles of
goods and hindered the thousands of tray
ellers in identifying their own goods. =
| In reference to the allegations that he
| had pocketed comm isSion on the sup
plies purchased at Dawson. and that he
had overcharged the revenue duties, Mr.
Jeffrey said his accounts, in the hands
of the officers of the company, refute that
| charge His accounts were all made up,
| and the commissions credited to the COM
| pany, before there was any trouble in the
camp. The books had been handed over
| and the accounts audited before the direc-
tors read to him the letters of complaint
| that had been received from the members
of the party.
| In conclusion, Mr.. Jeffrey said:s IA
person who has not been there can hardly
appreciate the responsibility of taking
| into the Alaskan country SO large party
of prospeotors According to their con-
tract, they were to give IS months time
and to retain 40 per cent of the product Of
their toll, the remaining 81 per cent to go
to the company, of whose stock they hold
| 1000 shares apiece. The success of the
expedition depends entirely on their in.
dividuaI effort. OF course there is great
| hardship and risk attending such an ex-
petition. 1t is not at al remarkable That
there should be fault-fnding among so
large a company, but the accusations
against my integrity and honesty are en-
tirely unjust, and somebody will have to
answer for them. AS to the ultimate sue
cess of the expedition have not the
slightest doubG"
DR.. W. J. Maybury of Saco, treasurer
of the company, is surgeon general on
Gov. Powers staff. To the Boston Herald
correspondent who interviewed him to-
day, DR.. Maybury said:
| "Mr. Jeffrey is most excellent organ.
| izer, and has done good work for the COM
pany. l believe he may have been indis-
Greet, and that before disposing of the
goods in question it might have been
wise for him to consult the members of
the party; but there is no question that
he had right to sell the overp1us of sup.
plies, if his best judgment as manager of
the company dictated such course.
GAS treasurer of the company can as
sure you his accounts are all straight,
and the commissions on supplies. rebates
| from the Grand Trunk railway and re-
ceipts from the sale of the goods properly
| credited.
beyond this, however, I know moth
| ing more Of the merits of the case than
you. There are two sides to the story of
will be thoroughly sifted, though of
course nothing can be done till after the
IS months period expires and the men,
bers of the party return. A letter from
Manager Stackpole says the shortage OF
supplies is 998 pounds.
| Treasurer May bury read to the reporter
q long letter just received from Roy
| OpooNPoA0 VI o1uuC1otuJ dOOiAAS A1ihdoSoA
of the company, giving the descriptions
of 10 claims the Maine party has staked
out on Scroggie creek and seven on
Excelsior creek. Staokpole says good pay
dirt has been struck, and he Is confident
Of success. Another letter from DIR. Har-
wood gives practically the same informa.
ton. lie is building cabin on his claim
| on Excelsior creek.
| Attorney Fred Emery Became of Halo
we'll, president Of the company, confirms
the statement Of Treasurer Maybury, that
Jeffreys accounts are straight. He also
upholds the claim that as manager of the
company Jeffrey did not exceed his rights
in selliDg surplus of supplies If the
money was needed for other purposes,
but beyond this President Became takes
no side in the controversy. He says Mr..
Jeffrey will not return to the Klondike as
manager.
NJ. Beane says that the company has
thus far lived up tu its every obligation.
1t does not owe dollar. and has suit :
Gent funds to carry on the work. There
are about $4,000 shares of its stock out.
standing, most of it held in Maine,
though in the list of stockholders all the
New England states, and many out
1