He then explained that he was the son of Mr. Baker, the man who had built the Baker boat, and whose experimental work was responsible for the appropriation of $200,000 by the government for building a submarine. I then said to him, "Well, then, who are all these other gentlemen present? "He knew most of them and obligingly pointed them out to me, saying, "There is Senator So-and-so and Congressman So-and-so, and Mr. So-and-so the great lawyer," etc. I then said to myself, "Well, Lakey, it looks as though you were not going to have much of a show here." I submitted my plans and specifications, however, and returned to Baltimore and to my other business. I was much surprised, therefore, to receive, some time afterward, a telegram from the editor of the _New York Tribune_, a Mr. Hall, stating that he had received information from Washington that my plans were looked upon most favorably by the majority of the Naval Board and that they were going to adopt my type of boat. He asked for an interview and a description of the boat. I did not go over to Washington, expecting to receive notice in good time that the award had been granted--which is proof positive that I was still young and ignorant. Nothing further was heard of the matter until I saw a notice in the paper that it had been decided not to build any submarines at that time, and that the matter had been postponed indefinitely. Some years afterward I met the late Admiral Mathews, and he informed me then that he had been a member of the board, and that four of the five members of that board were in favor of adopting my type of boat and of having the government start the development of a submarine on those lines, but that the constructor of the board opposed it on the grounds that when the boat was running on the bottom on wheels she might run off from a precipice and go down head first, and reach so great a depth as to be crushed, evidently not realizing that her great static stability and the use of her hydroplanes would prevent this from happening. Anyway, they did not arrive at a conclusion, and any action was postponed for the time being.