From what I saw there in the anteroom and in the presence of the salvage committee the several times we were there I am convinced that the Chicago House Wrecking Company was furnished inside information and that they were shown favoritism. Mr. W.B. Stevens, the secretary of the Exposition Company, was not present in the committee room at any time while I was there talking over the bids and he does not know what was going on in there, except what has been told him and what he has gained from the papers he handled. The contract between the Exposition Company and the Chicago House Wrecking Company, which is of record in St. Louis, bears date of November 30, 1904, while I note by a letter dated March 7 and signed by Mr. W.B. Stevens, he states the contract was not closed until December 13, 1904, on which date the board of directors of the exposition met. This was eight days after my letter of December 5 was delivered to Mr. Stevens in person by Mr. Ranstead. If the sale of the exposition buildings and the property to be disposed of had been properly advertised there would have been much more competition in the bidding. If a list of all the property to be disposed of had been furnished the bidders much higher bids would have been made. If the property had been sold at public auction, building for building, and other property in detail, so anyone could have bought what he wanted and had use for, I am confident that the Exposition Company would have received more than a million and a half dollars. I consider the manner in which the salvage committee handled the bids very irregular in that great secrecy was observed, and will state that the awarding of the contract to the Chicago House Wrecking Company for the sum of $450,000 was unjust to other bidders, and detrimental to the interests of the United States, the city of St. Louis, and the stockholders of the Exposition Company. S. KRUG. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of March, 1905. My commission expires on the 15th day of October, 1905. [SEAL] HARRIET A. Dumas, _Notary Public._ STATE OF ILLINOIS, _County of Cook, ss_: Before me, this, the 28th day of March, 1905, personally appeared Mr. George J. Schmitt, who, being duly sworn on his oath, says: