their overcoats or hats on.  They had left them in the room where the salvage committee was in session.  Mr. Dunphy, Mr. Ranstead, and myself were then requested to enter the room where the salvage committee was in session.  Mr. Frank and Abe Harris waited outside until we got through.  The same members of the salvage committee present at the morning session were present at this meeting, including Mr. John Scullin, but Mr. Scullin only remained a few minutes after we entered the room.  There was another gentleman present, but I do not know who he was.  President Francis told me later that he was an insurance agent and that he held insurance on all the buildings then.  I handed the bid, or rather Mr. Dunphy handed the bid to President Francis, who in turn handed it to Mr. Kennard, who opened it and read it aloud.  The bid was for $101,000 for the buildings mentioned in the specifications, the intramural stations, the fence around the grounds (except the stadium fence), and the bridges.  Mr. Francis held a whispered conversation with Mr. Taylor, and then turned to us and said that the committee had decided to let the contract that day, and that they would not wait until Friday for the bid on the other material, that is the rails and the copper wire, and that it would be necessary for me to put in my bid that night, as they would be in session until 11 p. m.  I stated that I could not make an intelligent bid on such short notice, unless I was furnished with figures showing amount of rail and wire purchased by them.  Mr. Taylor spoke up and asked me if I knew a man by the name of Evans, of Chicago, who was in the wrecking business, I told him that I did not know a Mr. Evans, of Chicago, who was engaged in the wrecking business, and that I was well acquainted with all the prominent wrecking concerns and contractors in Chicago but had never heard of or met Mr. Evans, the gentleman referred to.  Mr. Taylor asked me why I could not get in a bid in the same time that Mr. Evans got his in, and stated that Mr. Evans had submitted a bid on all the property from Chicago by wire in three hours.  I stood up then and spoke to President Francis and said, “President Francis, how do you know but that this bid of Mr. Evans may be a dummy?” President Francis arose from the table and stood opposite me, and, scratching his head, 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.