said: "Well, Mr. Drug, you
have got me a guessing. There may be something in that."

President Francis said to me, "Mr. Drug, I made a mistake this morning
in giving you the number of tons of steel rail; there are 4,000 tons
instead of 2,000 tons of rail." I then told him that it would be
impossible for me to give him any kind of an intelligent bid without
some kind of a list of the property to figure on. President Francis
stated that the matter would be settled that night and that I had until
11 p. m. to bring in my figures on all the property to be disposed of as
shown by the specifications, and including the intramural stations, the
bridges, the fence around the grounds, the copper wire, and the railroad
rails. We then left the room, and as we were passing out President
Francis asked our names and where we were stopping as they would call us
up later on that day.

As soon as we walked out of the room Mr. Frank and Abe Harris of the
Chicago House Wrecking Company went in.

We left the fair grounds immediately and went to the Lindell Hotel,
where we prepared a new bid. About 7.30 p. m. we decided to put in our
bid by telephone. Mr. Dunphy called up Mr. Taylor's office and was
informed by the party who answered the telephone that the salvage
committee had adjourned at 7 o'clock p.m. Mr. Dunphy told me that the
salvage committee had adjourned, and I supposed they had adjourned to
get something to eat and would be back shortly. I told him to call up
again. About 8.30 p. in. Mr. Dunphy called up Mr. Taylor's office and
was told that the salvage committee had adjourned at 7 p. m. and would
not be back that night. About 10 p.m. he called up President Francis's
residence and was inform that President Francis was not at home, and
also received the same reply when he called up Mr. Taylor's house, and
when he called up Mr. Holmes's residence he was informed that Mr. Holmes
had gone to bed. We were unable to reach any of the salvage committee.
were not called up that evening, nor did we hear anything from the
salvage committee that evening, although we waited in the corridor of
the Lindell Hotel until after 12 o'clock midnight.

During our conversation with the committee nothing was said about fire
engines, office furniture and furnishings, hose carriages, fire hose,
horses, buggies, wagons, steam rollers, roadmaking machinery, three
steel greenhouses, with plants of every description, surveying
instruments, engineering tools