r told you or said anything that would justify
you in believing that the Exposition Company accepted the
contention that the National Commission has the right to approve
or disapprove the awards of the superior jury before they are
final. It is true I did invite you into my office after the
receipt of your letter of October 18, and also true that I
stated to you I regretted the view taken by the National
Commission of its prerogatives or its duty, but none the less
true that I also said that, inasmuch as the rules governing the
system of awards had been promulgated and acted upon after
approval by the Exhibition Company and the National Commission,
that neither the Exposition Company nor the National Commission
has the right to review the awards or overturn them. I did state
that no official announcement of awards would be made until the
Exposition Company and the National Commission should be advised
of what they were, to the end that, if there had been any
irregularity in the awarding, any errors or omissions, or any
fraud, the same might be corrected; but at no time have I ever
said anything that would justify you or anyone else in the
conclusion that either the Exposition Company or the National
Commission had the right to review the action of the superior
jury with the power to overturn the awards on the ground that
they were not justly made on the merits of the exhibits. It was
certainly my understanding when we parted after the conference
in my office that the situation was clear to you, and I have a
distinct recollection, as does Judge Ferriss, who was present at
the conference, that Mr. Betts accepted the situation. You
offered no definite objection, but did state in an interrogatory
tone that you were not yet ready to relinquish the right of the
National Commission to approve the awards. I have had no
conversation with you since that date on the subject, but Judge
Boyle tells me that in conversation with Mr. Betts on the
subject, after the interview in my office, he told Mr. Betts
that the superior jury was progressing with its work and had no
objection to any member or members of the National Commission
being present at its sessions; and further, that as fast as the
work progressed the results would be informally communicated to
the National Commission, so that if