the various meetings and a collection of correspondence which go to show that many of these allegations are without foundation.  Some of them, I can see, are inferences drawn from misstatements of the facts and from misunderstandings of the real situation.

I have never so much as heard an intimation that any director of the company, or anyone else who knew of the transactions, protested against the sale or adversely criticised the amount realized.  On the other hand, the general impression among directors and on the part of the public seems to be that the Exposition Company realized more than was to be expected.  The salvage of the World’s Fair in Chicago sold for $80,000, that of Omaha for $37,500, and that of Buffalo for $67,000.

Before the exposition closed the management had begun to dispose of salvage in a small way, but the results were very discouraging.  It looked much as if the property of this exposition would go as had that of previous expositions, for a very small fraction of the cost.  At one time the directors of the company thought it might be necessary to organize a company and carry the salvage through a series of years in order to realize on it.  But the best that could be figured from such a course was from $300,000 to $350,000 for the same property sold to the Chicago House Wrecking Company for $450,000.

The only persons who raised any question about the sale and the amount realized were two disappointed bidders.  These bidders were given all of the time they asked.  They were furnished information in reply to their inquiries.  They could not be given lists of the property of the exposition because, after careful consideration of such lists, it was deemed inadvisable by the exposition to attempt a sale on that basis.  It was the conclusion that more could be realized by selling all right and title to the physical property of the exposition.  I believe that more was realized than would have been obtained on bids if an inventory had been furnished.

The Chicago House Wrecking Company was doing business on the grounds during the exposition and previous thereto.  The officers of that company have been in the wrecking business for years.  Looking forward to the time, they saved, as I happened to learn, clippings from the newspapers showing contracts let by the exposition; also clippings showing purchases of various kinds.  In fact, for months they were gathering through outside sources all the information they could as to the character of the company’s property.  In this way they obtained their information as to this property.  They were given no list from the company.  They were given no advantage over other bidders.  I know it to be a fact that the Exposition Company did all in its power to induce other bidders to come from other cities, and stimulated competition.  The correspondence and telegrams passing through my hands show this.  There was a great deal of