Dear Ed: I am referring to the letter you have from Arthur dated February sixteenth. I think he is pursuing a mistaken course.1
In the first place, I do not recall that we as a family ever gave the Foundation at Abilene any money whatsoever. We merely gave it the old property, which we did in lieu of tearing down the house and then attempting to sell the land.2 Beyond this, I do not feel that we should be in a position of allowing someone else's bounty to take care of our parents' graves.
My next thought is this. You and I know Kansas summers and winters and how bleak the best of ground can become unless it is cared for. The mere placing of flowers on the graves at specified days in the year strikes me as being a beautifully inadequate way of expressing anything of the affection and debt I feel to our parents. In lieu of what Arthur proposes, I suggest the following.
A. We propose to Emmett Graham at Abilene that the Foundation undertake, as part of its activities, to administer a special fund that we boys (especially Arthur, you, Milton and I) would build up.3 The purpose would be to use the income from this little fund to take perpetual care of the plot.4
B. I imagine that if one of us could get out there, we would find that the plot itself is now not in good condition. Consequently, an initial expenditure of a few hundred dollars might be necessary in order that the income from the little capital fund should thereafter be sufficient to keep the place in good condition.
C. My idea of a start would be as follows:
1. If Emmett Graham will agree that the Foundation can undertake this responsibility, each of the four of us put $500 apiece into it at once.
2. As an initial capital expenditure--assuming that the place now needs some real rehabilitation--each of the four donate an additional $100 for this purpose.
The first step, of course, would be to telephone Arthur and ask him whether he would agree. I can almost answer for Milton, but I will contact him very quickly.
The next step would be to contact Emmett to determine whether the Foundation would undertake this job for us.
Now I wonder whether you would from this point take this chore in your hands and try to follow it up.5 I don't mean to be shoving off a burden on you that I might be doing, but I am just too busy to follow through on the details.
If you disagree with any of the above (and some of it, of course, is exactly what you have already proposed) please let me know by return letter.
Love to Lucy and Janis, and of course all the best to you, As ever
