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at any moment), Tom Sawyer to deliver the main address. So I jotted down a little speech and decided to say that and nothing more. The short notice rather demoralized me at first but I calmed down as I realized it couldn't be too bad and I had a good alibi if it was.
     
Spent most of the morning with Bill Hamilton promoting new 70 tonners now it really appears we are at last to get rid of #1 - Tomorrow we hope. Bill was quite interested and my hopes are rising that our unprecedented fiasco on #1 has not completely ruined us. Had a brief session with DeLoss Cummins, here today, on the engine and DeLoss, a lanky, cadaverous person reminding me slightly of Cooper Bessemer's Charlie Reagle seemed to make a good impression on Bill who remains faithful to his choice of the Cummins engine although George Wakeley is said to be recommending he throw at over. I think it only natural for Bill to defend his first choice, and perhaps it will ultimately turn out to be a happy one- I hope so.
  
Maynard Allen drove Bill and Jay to Buffalo about 12:15 PM but I couldn't get ready in time and caught the 2:35 PM train upon which I met George Dean also en route to the meeting. I was glad of the opportunity to have a good talk with George, the guiding spirit of the East Erie Commercial Railroad, owned about 95% by the G.E. Co. but for business reasons, run distinctly as a separate organization. One of George's greatest headaches is to keep it as such. George is a great talker and it didn't take more than a few interested questions here and there to keep him going very entertainingly all the way to Buffalo. To the accompaniment of two liberal Pullman sized