University of Virginia Library

Thank you for your letter of February 5th. I have discussed its contents with and shown
it to Dr. Macrae, and he has asked me to communicate his wishes to you.

Dr. Macrae has great confidence in Miss Jeannette Bricault and wishes to repay her in
some small way for her kindness and consideration in looking after him in the declining years of his
life. He has told me that there will be ample funds available in his gift to the University of
Virginia to enable the administering authorities of the University to pay Miss Bricault the $1,000
per year, payable quarterly, which has been the subject of correspondence between Mr. White and me.
It is Dr. Macrae's feeling that the principal of his gift to the University will be sufficient to
enable the first $1,000 of income to be paid to Miss Bricault, leaving a sufficient income over and
above this for the purposes of the endowment. He is willing to grant the administering authorities
the right to make inroads on the principal of the fund provided that Miss Bricault be given the
option of accepting a sum in an amount less than $1,000 a year or the full $1,000, a portion of
which would constitute principal as well as interest. Dr. Macrae feels that her interest in the
fund is a real one and that she should be given the option of accepting a smaller amount before the
principal is invaded.

On the question of repayment by a beneficiary of the fund, Dr. Macrae's feeling stems
primarily from the fact that in the formative period of his life, his lot was not easy one. Through
the goodness of others, he obtained funds sufficient to secure an education and later on repaid the
funds. He does not feel that it is a good thing for any young man to simply have the means of an
education given him without a corresponding assumption on the part of the young man of a moral
obligation or sense of duty to repay. Dr. Macrae does not wish to impose this feeling as a legal
condition of an award which would place the University in the position of collecting it. He does,
however, feel very strongly that his thought should be made known to the beneficiary at the time
the award is made.

I tried to explain to Dr. Macrae that if too many hazards and hedges are placed upon
his gift it would certainly impede the orderly administration of it and if the conditions were too
onerous they might very well prevent the University from accepting it. I trust that the foregoing
will not be found impractical by the Board and prevent the acceptance of the Endowment. Would you
be good enough to let me have the Board's views as well as your own on the proposed "Macrae Endowment".