From John Adams
AL (draft): Massachusetts Historical Society
<Passy, September [6?]-13, 1778: In order to understand our
affairs and to be able to account to our constituents we should
decide which expenses we will pay jointly and which separately.
I think we should pay jointly for the rent of the house
and furniture, hire of coachman, horses, and carriage, wages
of maitre d’hôtel and cook, and table expenses. We should pay
separately for our clerks and servants, clothes, books, newspapers,
and other expenses. I also feel we should keep an account
of our common expenses and take receipts and that each
of us should have a copy monthly. Memoir, September 13:
This letter, written a week ago, was never sent. This morning,
while Mr. Austin was present, Mr. W. T. Franklin brought the
accounts for his family and offered that I should in future keep
them.>
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