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198

[[strikethrough]] Then commenced a series of experiences that were rather sad to say the least. Many people put their money in the circus business and in the end lost everything. Frank Spellman would not do what was recommended. For instance, I recommended that on each truck there was to be a winch containing a 500 foot 5/8 inch steel cable with which to pull themselves and the other trucks out of the mud. But he said, "We don't need it; one truck will push the other." It hurt me to see poor people who had invested their all get nothing in return.

Spellman had agreed to a contract to appoint me as chief engineer at a salary of $500 per month, and it was to be my business to keep the circus running. He never executed such a contract, putting me off from day to day. Finally, before the show was on the road, we parted company and I charged up the experience to a loss with nine months valuable time washed out.
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During early spring in 1916, I received a proposal to build spherical balloons for the U.S. Signal Corps. I made my bid and was awarded a contract. As the contract was for one balloon, I rented a store room on 42nd Street in the heart of New York City and finished the balloon and netting there. After delivery I paid a visit to Washington to inquire about further contracts and was put off for some time. Finally, an officer informed me the trouble was that I had no factory, no equipment and no work force.

I located a factory at Northport, L. I. and rented it for a year. I again made a trip to Washington and after some delay, received a contract to build observation balloons. Before I had delivered one half of my contract, the First World War was at an end and I was notified to liquidate. To do so at this point would have meant ruin. However, I had a friend living in Washington who