Mr. BARCUS. To the Messages and Papers. Senator ELKINS. The Messages and Papers of the Presidents? Senator ELKINS. The plates of which had been sold to you, or assigned to you? Mr. BARCUS. They had been leased to me. They had not all been made when I made this contract. But three volumes of plates had been completed. Senator ELKINS. Is Mr. Spofford still connected with you? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir. Senator ELKINS. When did his connection cease? Mr. BARCUS. About three or four weeks ago. Senator ELKINS. How long was he in your service? Mr. BARCUS. Something like two years; nearly two years. Mr. BARCUS. Mr. Spofford was with us from soon after the making of the contract with Mr. Richardson. I do not recall just the date. It could not be two years. Well, yes, it might be; nearly two years. The CHAIRMAN. You ought to be able to tell the time if you had to pay him a salary. Mr. BARCUS. Mr. Chairman, I personally have not had the pleasure of paying the salary, and I do not recall the details. I have not been active in this work. Mr. Spofford was very free and cheerful in his advice, and we thought it very valuable, and we then asked him to continue to advise us with reference to the advertisements and circulars, letters, etc., in order that we might be historically correct and have them prepared in good literary style. I was necessarily absent from the active business management all the time. I was in Boston and at the university during and up to last year, when I was graduated. The CHAIRMAN. From what law school? Mr. BARCUS. Columbia University. I was exceedingly anxious to have the wise counsel of Mr. Spofford in connection with the business, so that no mistakes would be made. I had every confidence in the young men who were managing the business, but at the same time his experience and learning seemed to me an advantage, because in writing advertisements and the like a good many statements were made as to the superiority of the book, and we did not want to exaggerate the statements. Senator ELKINS. State all you know of Mr. Spofford's connection with the matter and bring out the facts, because his name is mentioned and put down here. Mr. BARCUS. I gave directions that no innovation should be practiced in the business without Mr. Spofford's O. K. to the circulars or letters. I have here some form letters and advertisements, etc., bearing his signature, O. K.ing them after inspecting, and in many instances correcting here and there important errors, giving a different turn to the language or eliminating a statement which might not be quite correct. Senator ELKINS. Did he revise everything that went into the compilation? Mr. BARCUS. Do you mean the book itself? Senator ELKINS. Yes. Mr. BARCUS. He read, I believe, word for word, punctuation for punctuation, the entire index part of the book. Senator ELKINS. He was confined mostly or entirely to the index? Mr. BARCUS. Yes; with the compilation proper I think he had nothing to do. Senator ELKINS. You have your office here in town and Mr. Bodmer is in charge of the office? Mr. BARCUS. After we had been running some months. Our main office in the first place was in New York. We opened a branch office here, but it seemed the more natural thing to have headquarters for this particular book in Washington, and we moved to Washington. Senator ELKINS. You now have your main office here? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. And branch offices where? Mr. BARCUS. In New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Detroit, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco. I may have omitted one or two, and I may have stated one or two places where the offices have been discontinued. Senator ELKINS. What do the branch offices do? Mr. BARCUS. Their business is to make sales and send the orders in to the main office. Senator ELKINS. And to distribute the books? Mr. BARCUS. In some cases they distribute from their own offices. In other cases we send the books from here. Senator ELKINS. Who does your printing, binding, and publishing? Mr. BARCUS. The Werner Company, of Akron, Ohio. Senator ELKINS. Who compose that company? Have you any relation to it in any way? Are you a stockholder in it? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir. Senator ELKINS. You have nothing to do with it? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir. Senator ELKINS. The Werner Company does the printing and binding? Mr. BARCUS. They do the printing and binding. Senator ELKINS. At Akron, Ohio. Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. I can not give you the personnel of the company, but it is an organized company. Senator ELKINS. Who is president? Mr. BARCUS. I think Paul E. Werner is president. Senator ELKINS. You, as the Committee on Distribution, have a contract with them? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. For how long? Mr. BARCUS. It is not for a definite time, but for so many editions. Senator ELKINS. How many editions? Mr. BARCUS. We had a contract for the printing of an edition of 5,000 sets, which has been printed. He has printed two editions, I think. Mr. Bodmer is here and can give you the exact facts about that. Senator ELKINS. The contract was to print an edition of 5,000 sets. Is that it? Mr. BARCUS. Our original contract, as I recall, was to print two editions of 5,000 each. I think those have both been printed, and we have since made an additional contract for 5,000 sets. Senator ELKINS. Additional? Mr. BARCUS. And they are about to enter upon the printing of them. Senator ELKINS. I understand that you have printed and distributed and sold 10,000. Mr. BARCUS. We have distributed more than that. The first sets were printed by a New York concern. Senator ELKINS. Who was that? Mr. BARCUS. The Trow Directory Printing and Bookbinding Company. They printed two editions of 5,000 each. J. J. Little printed one edition of 2,000. I will ask you, if you have no objection, to permit Mr. Bodmer to prompt me on the exact figures? Senator ELKINS. Then the Werner Company have printed two editions of 5,000 each? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. That makes 22,000; and you have a contract for printing 5,000? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Those are all the contracts out for printing? Mr. BARCUS. That is all. Senator ELKINS. Then you have printed and sold, or got out into the hands of the people, that number-22,000? Mr. BARCUS. We have a good many on hand. Senator ELKINS. Is the business active, and is there a great demand for the books? Mr. BARCUS. Yes. Within the past year we have been doing a good, active business. It took a good while to get it to a paying basis. Senator ELKINS. You charge $34 a set? Mr. BARCUS. We charge $24 a set for the books in cloth, but we have a superior binding, the one which we exhibited here, for which we charge $34. Senator ELKINS. You pay Mr. Richardson the same royalty on the superior set that you do on the cloth set? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. I understand Mr. Richardson gets 75 cents for one set. Mr. BARCUS. That is right. Permit me to make a suggestion. If you will allow me, I should like to put in the record the method in its logical order, showing the contracts, etc. It may answer some questions which may be asked. Senator ELKINS. I wish you would put them in. Mr. BARCUS. I offer first the agent's contract-the form of contract we make with the agent-which is uniform. Senator ELKINS. The Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. The contracts between your agents and the Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What is the date of that one? Senator ELKINS (examining). November 29, 1899. Mr. BARCUS. I show here the kind of references. Senator ELKINS. Is this the kind of contract you make with the agent? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Have you the contract the agents make with the purchaser? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir; I will introduce that in a few moments. day of Memorandum of agreement made this 189, by and between The Committee on Distribution, of Washington, D. C., party of the first part, and second part, witnesseth: of -, party of the First.-In consideration of the promises of said party of the first part hereinafter specified, said party of the second part agrees to represent party of first part according to instruction and not otherwise, and to devote his entire time and attention, during the continuance of this contract, to the sale of "Messages and Papers of the Presidents," under the direction and according to the instruction of said party of the first part; said books to be sold at the following uniform prices: $34.00 per set in half leather binding. $24.00 per set in cloth binding. Second.-Party of the second part agrees, as a condition precedent to receiving payment of commissions, to mail reports each day to the treasurer and to the assistant secretary of the committee at Washing. ton, stating the number of orders taken or the fact that none were obtained that day. Third. In consideration of the faithful performance of the above promises by party of the second part, party of the first part agrees to. pay party of the second part, for good orders, the following commissions: Half leather binding: $7.00 per order for full cash orders. $6.75 per order payable in two monthly installments. $5.00 per order for full cash orders. $4.75 per order payable in two monthly installments. $4.50 per order payable in three monthly installments. $4.25 per order payable in four monthly installments. $4.00 per order payable in $5.00 monthly installments. $3.50 per order payable in $4.00 monthly installments. $3.00 per order payable in $3.00 monthly installments. A good order is to be known as one on which sufficient has been collected to cover the commission, and on which terms are not in conflict with this contract. One-half the commission on immediate delivery orders for the previous week to be remitted to party of the second part on Monday of each week, less the amount collected and retained on orders secured during said week. Commission to be credited to the account of said party of the second part as received from subscriber; the whole amount of balance due and payable when sufficient shall have been collected on the order to cover said commission. Fourth.-Party of the first part hereby appoints party of the second part special agent to collect the amount of the first payment, or more, on any order taken by said party of the second part at the time of taking the order, but said party of the second part is not authorized to collect on account of said party of the first part any money on any order after the order has been reported to said party of the first part, and is not authorized to retain an amount of money collected on any order to exceed the amount of commission on said order; nor to collect any money, or in any way represent party of the first part, as a member of The Committee on Distribution or otherwise, after termination of this contract, under penalty of law. Fifth.-Said party of the first part agrees to reimburse said party of the second part for railroad fare, if paid in carrying out instructions of party of the first part, after party of the second part shall have taken twenty-five orders and same are proved. Sixth.-Said party of the first part agrees to render an itemized statement of the account of said party of the second part at the end of each month, and to pay all proved commissions to the credit of said party of the second part at any time when requested to do so by said party of the second part. It is agreed that this contract shall be in full force and effect from the date on which it is countersigned at Washington, D. C., by the treasurer of this committee, and shall continue thereafter as long as mutually agreeable, and that it may be terminated at any time by either party by written notice addressed to the last known address of the party notified. Countersigned, COMMITTEE ON DISTRIBUTION, [SEAL.] [SEAL.] COMMITTEE ON DISTRIBUTION, [SEAL.] WASHINGTON, D. C., November 29, 1899. JOHN LUCY, Secretary and Treasurer North Star Boot and Shoe Company. C. F. OSBORNE, N. W. Agent Erie Railroad Company, Guaranty Loan Building, Minneapolis, Minn. NOVEMBER 14, 1899. Mr. C. F. OSBORNE, Northwestern Agent Erie Railroad Company, Guaranty Loan Building, Minneapolis, Minn. DEAR SIR: Will you kindly advise me whether you consider Mr. Arthur E. Taylor as perfectly reliable and trustworthy in every respect? Please, also, give me your opinion concerning his qualifications as a salesman, and oblige, Yours, very truly, ERIE RAILROAD COMPANY, Treasurer. Mr. R. J. BODMER, OFFICE OF THE AGENT, Minneapolis, Minn., November 28, 1899. Treasurer Committee on Distribution, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: Answering your letter recent date, an answer having been delayed on account my absence from the city, beg to advise Mr. Arthur Taylor is perfectly reliable in every way, and I consider him a bright young man. His success during the past two or three weeks handling your work proves he is a good salesman. Yours, truly, C. F. OSBORN. Mr. JOHN LUCY, NOVEMBER 14, 1899. Secretary and Treasurer North Star Boot and Shoe Company, Minneapolis, Minn. DEAR SIR: Will you kindly advise me whether you consider Mr. Arthur E. Taylor as perfectly reliable and trustworthy in every respect. Please also give me your opinion concerning his qualifications as a salesman, and oblige, Yours, very truly, Treasurer. |