Now, with regard to other expenses you may incur or have incurred—­I find in my report made to me to-day, which was made at your request—­we have paid you up to this time for mileage and per diem in attending board meetings $16,856.  That includes the $3,000 for which no vouchers have been turned in as yet.  You can keep that, with or without vouchers as you please.  If you want your business in the proper shape, however, it is more businesslike for you to turn in the vouchers.  However, that lies with you.

Now, previous to the appropriation of the $100,000 the executive committee had appropriated $15,000 for the furnishing of the Woman’s Building, which building, as you know, cost us $100,000.  Of course, you could have gotten a building erected that would have answered your purpose as well and cost less than $100,000, but under the terms of our contract with the Washington University that amount was paid out of the rental fund of $750,000 which we paid for these buildings as they stand.

Besides that $100,000, we promised to give you $15,000 for the furnishing of that building.  When we made that promise we did not know you were going to get $100,000 from Congress which we would have to pay back. * * *

Now, in view of what I have said, we feel that we will give you the $15,000 for your building if you insist upon it; that is, we have made the appropriation of $35,000 for the creche.  The $15,000 toward the equipment of the Woman’s Building, under the circumstances—­it seems to me, we should be relieved of that $15,000.  I thought when I returned from Washington that the financial worry had been met, but I have realized within the past forty-eight hours that we can not open the exposition within the nineteen and one-half millions.  We will not go back to Washington, however.  We are economizing in every possible way. * * *

An official communication was received by the president of the board of lady managers stating that in the draft of the contract between the Exposition Company and the Treasury Department—­

It is provided that from the first payment of $1,000,000 there shall be set aside by the Exposition Company $100,000 to be paid to the board of lady managers according to the provisions of the act and for no other purpose whatsoever.

The attention of the Exposition Company was called to this provision, and on March 5, 1904, the two following letters were received: 

    ADMINISTRATION BUILDING,
    Office of the Secretary, March 5, 1904.