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with Whitey and Henry and finally Whitey called Tom Knight and said we would take the job at $32000 or about the Whitcomb price plus the increase for Caterpillar engines alone. While Roy told me he thought the time for action was at hand, Tom told Whitey Wilson he thought French still wanted to do some "further investigating". French did remark re Hercules that nobody was going "to experiment" on his railroad. We decided it was time to throw Caterpillar into the fray to defend their product so we called Frank Blanchard at Peoria and arranged to have him in Boston tomorrow night to confer with Roy and Wednesday AM with B&M. Blanchard told me over the phone he had seen Bloss already and had been told the B&M weren't going to buy any locomotives this year - all of which sounded peculiar to me. Blanchard thought Ernie was "two timing" him someway. So the long battle of the B&M goes on.

En route to Boston.
Tuesday, May 14, 1940.

"Whitey" announced this morning he was sick and tired of being pushed around by Baldwin-Whitcomb and was in favor of establishing a price on the 44 ton Caterpillar at about $28000 and make them all come around begging for mercy. Whereupon a long discussion arose between him and Henry Guy, who is not in favor of price cutting and never has been. Personally I believe in the long run we would be money ahead to establish a lower price and get more volume - but I can't see going all the way to base cost right now.

I had to send out the 37 mm anti-tank gun proposition today which prevented me grabbing the