Whitafcer ana Ray were people who had a successful 

 country store In 0alt and had a lot of surplus 

 money* When the Bancrofts wanted to sellt two of 

 the eiaployees got Whltaker and Hay to buy the 

 business and let them run it* One of them soon 

 got out of it* I worked for the one who resutined* 

 Charles M* Wiggin, who finally got the controlling 

 interest in the business* 



0ilbt How big a capital dit the firm have? 



Cogginst I neirer did know* I presume it was not more than 

 #100,000 or #150,000* 



Oilb{ Was that the only pulbli alter ia th« Vtit at that 

 tia»? 



Cegginss No* Therf were Tarious«**lots of people published 

 their mai stuff* Paul Elder was doing publishing* 



^ Alec Robertson was publishing George Sterling* 

 Both were booksellers* Every once in awhile 

 •cM»b«dy would imblish a book at his own expense* 

 Sometimes they would succeed. George Wharton James 

 either published his oim books or sold his own 

 booki* H« would llictrdNi and sell them at his 

 lectures* He was quite a person at that time, 

 very well known* His book on Lake Tahoe, fhe Lake 

 and thai Jlqr j has just been re-issued after forty 

 years* There was some relation between him and 



