Subscribed and sworn to before me this 16th day of March, 1905.  My commission expires on the 22d day of July, 1909.

[SEAL.] IRA C. MONEY, Notary Public, City of St. Louis, Mo.

STATE OF MISSOURI, City of St. Louis, ss:

Before me, this the 16th day of March, 1905, personally appeared Charles
L. McDonald, who, being duly sworn, on his oath says: 

My name is Charles L. McDonald.  I reside in the city of St. Louis.  Am connected with the St. Louis Steam Forge and Iron works.  I saw by the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of October 17, 1904, that Mr. Isaac S. Taylor, director of works of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, had requested sealed proposals addressed to the “Committee on Salvage and Sale of Buildings,” for the wrecking and removal of certain exhibit buildings now on the World’s Fair grounds, and that specifications and instructions for the above-mentioned work and drawings and specifications of the buildings to be wrecked could be seen at the office of Mr. Taylor.  All bids were to be in Mr. Taylor’s office by 12 o’clock noon of Thursday, November 10, 1904.

The specifications and instructions as prepared by Mr. Taylor for the wrecking of the buildings, and for which sealed proposals were requested, only applied to the following buildings:  Mines and Metallurgy; Liberal Arts; Education and Social Economy; Manufactures; Electricity; Varied Industries; Machinery; Transportation; Forestry, Fish, and Game; Agriculture; Horticulture; four dairy barns, octagonal; live stock forum; Live Stock Congress Hall; stock barns; steam, gas, and fuel buildings and cooling towers; Festival Hall; terrace of States, including pedestals and statuary; two pagoda restaurant buildings on Art Hill; four fire-engine houses; five toilet-room buildings; five band stands; and excluded, or rather did not include, all electrical wiring, piping, plumbing, roadmaking machinery, fire hose in the various buildings, two hospitals complete, Jefferson Guards’ uniforms and accouterments, railroad tracks in the various buildings, the Intramural Railway, which included all the equipment (except the cars), hothouses, horses, wagons, and vehicles of all kinds, and many other valuable items.

I submitted a bid on one of the buildings only.  However, I was associated with Mr. Albrecht and others when he submitted a bid on all the buildings as shown by the printed list, and was also concerned with him in his proposition of December 5, wherein he offered $400,000 cash for the property, and more if a list of all the property could be secured.

The conditions embodied in the specifications and contract, with reference to the time limit for the removal of all the debris from day to day as the work progressed were too exacting, in that they did not allow sufficient time, and if the same were strictly enforced by Director of Works Taylor would materially add to the expense of the contractor.  The time was too short for the amount of work to be done.