the amount required by the specifications.

From the above it is my belief that the Chicago House Wrecking Company
was shown favoritism and that they were favored from the beginning of
the deal.

I was never furnished a full list of the property to be disposed of by
the Exposition Company. I personally requested a list two or three
times, as did Mr. Dunphy, but we were unable to get one. Had I been
furnished a list of the property that I learn has since been turned over
to the Chicago House Wrecking Company under their contract I would have
gladly bid $800,000, and would have made a very handsome profit on the
deal at that price.

I consider the value of all the property turned over to the Chicago
House Wrecking Company on November 30 was more than $1,000,000.

I consider the manner in which the bids were handled was very irregular
and not the usual custom in that the bids were opened in secret and not
in the presence of the bidders, as requested by a majority of the
bidders present, but as requested by Mr. Abraham Harris, who represented
the Chicago House Wrecking Company. This is not the customary procedure
when bids are called for by the city or the Government.

From what I saw there in the anteroom and in the presence of the salvage
committee the several times we were there I am convinced that the
Chicago House Wrecking Company was furnished inside information and that
they were shown favoritism.

Mr. W.B. Stevens, the secretary of the Exposition Company, was not
present in the committee room at any time while I was there talking over
the bids and he does not know what was going on in there, except what
has been told him and what he has gained from the papers he handled.

The contract between the Exposition Company and the Chicago House
Wrecking Company, which is of record in St. Louis, bears date of
November 30, 1904, while I note by a letter dated March 7 and signed by
Mr. W.B. Stevens, he states the contract was not closed until December
13, 1904, on which date the board of directors of the exposition met.
This was eight days after my letter of December 5 was delivered to Mr.
Stevens in person by Mr. Ranstead.

If the sale of the exposition buildings and the property to be disposed
of had been properly advertised there would have been much more
competition in the bidding. If a list of all the property to be disposed
of had been furnished the bidders much higher bids would have been made.
If the property