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129

Had lunch with Fred Barden, who asked me to cash a check for $10 for him and Mat Tate thought I was crazy to do it. Mat thinks there's something funny about Fred. Maybe there is but he's rather interesting to me. He told me all about his breakdown, his recovery on a farm owned by a rich Philly friend and subsequent rest at a W. Va. resort. He doesn't know yet what was wrong with him except he had bad dizzy spells. Many thought he simply wanted a good long vacation. Now he is going to write a history of Transportation Branch. 

^[[(]] Frank Birbeck brought in Vreeland. Kaiser engineer, formerly WPB I&S man, to review locomotive situation and it didn't sound quite as bad this time. If engines at G.E. go out as now scheduled, they can live with it but will have to get a couple of used steam for the two Alco 100 ton scheduled for next June. Frank accompanied me to Erie tonight to make a first hand check-up.^[[)]] Bob Banell was on the train too. ^[[(]]We made the usual stop in Harrisburg for an ale before retiring for the twist over the mountains. Frank, a big, tall, broad shouldered red head with a nice, pleasant face, is a former Stanford football man and son of a big vegetable and fruit grower in California. He got a lower on the train tonight when he met Martin Clement on the street - Clement is a friend of Frank's dad, a big shipper, and arranged for the lower when there had been none.^[[)]]

Erie, Pa.
Friday, Sept. 18.'42

When I walked into Whitey's office this morning he shoved a piece of paper at me - an extract from the newspaper "PM". It told of C.E. Wilson's acceptance of a "Dollar a Year" job with WPB as Donald Nelson's assistant in charge of expediting production! So after all the hell the Big Bus has raised

Transcription Notes:
corrected typos. [[lower?]] refers to lower berths on the train. Thanks!