South Improvement Company, which was represented to them to be a measure altogether hostile to them.
Q. Do you know what these misrepresentations were?
A. I only know by what I have seen stated in the papers and what persons have mentioned to me.
Q. Did you make an effort to correct the false impressions?
A. I did; the papers called for the other day by the committee, and which I have here to-day to produce, will show that.
Q. Were your efforts to correct these misrepresentations successful?
A. No, sir, they were not. I will read the despatches which I sent for the purpose of endeavouring to do that, and you will see from them the nature of the efforts I made.
Q. Sent to whom?
A. I sent a despatch to F. W. Mitchell through S. P. McCalmont of Franklin, which I have here.
The Chairman.—We will not stop to read them.
Witness.—It will answer your question in a great deal shorter period than I could answer it verbally.
The Chairman.—We will put the answers themselves in as testimony.
Witness.—Then I will read this as my answer, if you please, because it expresses as fully as I could express the facts you desire to know.
The Chairman.—Very well, you may hand the despatches to the reporter, and they will go in as a part of your testimony, and save the committee the time of reading them.
Witness.—You can hardly comprehend the answer without hearing the despatches. There were three despatches, showing the efforts I made to have the producers understand that the whole arrangement was one which looked as much to their interest as to any other.
The Chairman.—Very well, you may furnish them to the committee; we will not stop to read them now.
Witness.—I then offer you first my despatch to S. P. McCalmont, dated New York, March 4, 1872. I next offer another despatch from myself to F. W. Mitchell, dated New York, March 5, 1872, and also a despatch from myself to the same party, dated New York, March 6, 1872.
The despatches referred to are as follows:
S. P. McCalmont, New York, March 4, 1872.
Franklin, Pennsylvania.Your telegram received. Please deliver the following communication to F. W. Mitchell, or, in his absence, to somebody else who will make its contents known to the principal producers attending the meeting to be held to-morrow at Franklin:
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