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New York,
Wednesday, May 15, '40.

As I didn't get in until 10 AM and Roy and Blanchard had a date with Dave Reid at 8:30 AM, I simply waited at the office for them to return which turned out to be about noon. I found Blanchard a big, somewhat misshapen, middleaged man who kept looking like different people to me - Doc Whitney, Edward Arnold, Babbitt, and other fleeting figures hard to retain in the memory. He seems to know his engines, is a very interesting talker which is fortunate because he has a tendency to talk too much. He tried very hard to please us, even suggesting off hand a Caterpillar-GE tie-up. He and Roy reported that the B&M was still talking 193 HP for Hercules and I phoned Gouldy to mail me a photostat copy of a Hercules letter in which they told us the engine is 165 HP net to our generator shaft. Roy reported that my letter on the engine situation which he had delivered to the B&M this morning, had gone over big. Blanchard had a lot of things to say about Hulegard, the Whitcomb sales manager, and none of them were complimentary. He said Hulegard was bent on filling up his shop and would sell at any price to get business. Sometimes I'm inclined to agree with Whitey - the way to deal with an outfit like that is to established a price so low, they will have to come to terms. This Whitcomb outfit seems slippery as hell to me - I want to lick 'em on this job - oh, how I want to lick 'em. And without putting any heat on the B&M either - just on straight selling.