[1] MACKAY & CO. 14 Wall Street. New York, June 7, 1932. Mr. George B. Hoffman, c/o Fred C. Adams, 408 Citizens National Bank Bldg., Los Angeles, California. My dear George: Your night letter received this morning. Malcolm’s death has been a terrific shock to us all, as it was absolutely unexpected. Of course he had been under a good deal of nervous strain over the last two years, but he seemed fine and well. About three weeks ago he went to the dentist, some man uptown, to have a tooth pulled. They gave him Novocaine [sic] and it affected him very badly and made him very sick – so much so that he was unable to go home – and Helen came in with the family doctor to take him to a sanitarium near the dentist’s, where he stayed all night and the next day until he was in shape to go home. After a couple of days he seemed to be all right, and although the doctor told him to be more or less quiet, he went about his regular routine and came to the office for two days. He seemed to feel sort of rocky, though, and the doctor then put him to bed and told him he must stay quiet for a couple of weeks until this inflammatory[sic] condition which had developed in his spine, which they thought was the result of Novocaine[sic] poisoning, or something like that, cleared up. He had been home about ten days in bed and was getting along fine; the doctor had assured the family there was absolutely no danger and that the condition would clear up gradually. Saturday morning he was particularly good – Helen thought he was much better. In order to keep him quiet and amenable to the doctor’s orders they had had a nurse for about a week. The nurse was giving him a sponge bath at a- bout eleven o’clock and he said to her out of a clear sky, “I never felt so strange in all my life”, and with that, just snapped out. It has been a terrible blow to all of us and to the family. Malc was too young to be spared and he was too necessary to the community. I showed your telegram to Bud and he was very grateful and [2] aked[sic] me to thank you. Enclosed are copies of articles which were in the Times and the Tribune. With kind regards. Sincerely, (signed) C. E. Murray CEM: CB [Transcribed by Lauren B. Gerfen, 2012-05-03]