SIR:  My election to the Senate of the United States from the State of Montana imposes upon me duties which render it quite impracticable for me to devote the time and attention necessary to a proper discharge of my duties as a member of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Commission.  I therefore respectfully tender you my resignation as a member of the Commission, and in doing so I thank you sincerely for the cordial and unfailing support and consideration you have always extended to me as a member of that body.

    Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
    THOS.  H. CARTER.

    The PRESIDENT,
    Washington, D.C.

Mr. John M. Thurston was thereupon unanimously elected to succeed Mr. Carter as president of the Commission.

At this meeting Mr. John D. Waite, of Lewistown, Mont., recently appointed by President Roosevelt as a member of the Commission to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Carter, appeared and took his place on the Commission.

At the same meeting the secretary of the Exposition Company requested the privilege of making a personal explanation with reference to the disposition of the salvage.

From his statement it appears that he was not connected personally with the transaction, which was conducted by a committee, of which the president of the Exposition Company was chairman.  The secretary did not leave any written statement or explanation, but in general terms said the exposition officials were entirely satisfied with the amount of money received for the salvage; that it was more than they expected, and that they thought the result of the sale was a subject for congratulation.

Upon the suggestion of the Commission the secretary of the Exposition Company on March 23 addressed a communication to the Commission on this subject, of which the following is a copy: 

    MARCH 23, 1905.

DEAR SIR:  By way of supplement to the letter forwarded to the National Commission March 7, and in accordance with suggestion made verbally by the Commission at the meeting Monday, March 20, I submit this statement relevant to the tenth allegation on page 3 of the letter from President Carter, dated February 28, 1905.

Tenth.  That the specifications were misleading, in that one item of copper wire, valued at $650,000, was omitted; also 5,000 (500,000) electric lights, 5,000 tons of iron piping, 3,500 tons of other piping, the railway system on the exposition grounds, the fire apparatus, etc., were omitted.

Answer.  The Exposition Company purchased under contract with the American Steel and Wire Company, dated April 3, 1902, copper wire to the amount of $320,160.33.  The estimated salvage under this contract as furnished by the electrical engineer of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company on or about November 14, 1904, was $121,753.68.