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KNABENSHUE #3

Contracts with foreign governments for the manufacture of the Wright Airplanes were made through their representative in Paris, but in order to make this possible it was necessary to give demonstrations and Wilbur undertook this job while Orville had the job of delivering a plane to the U. S. signal Corps at Fort Meyer, Virginia, across the river from Washington D.C.

Whenever possible I would run into Dayton and see the boys, always pointing out the possibilities of giving public exhibitions. During the height of the first Aviation Meet in America, held at Dominguez Hill near Long Beach, Calif. in January 1910, I received a telegram from Wilbur asking me to come immediately to Dayton as they were ready to go into the exhibition business. I became General Manager of the Exhibition Department of The Wright Company, and it was my job to secure the business to keep some eight or ten new pilots busy and to keep the name of the Wright Brothers before the public.

During the negotiations, it developed that the boys were skepticle [[skeptical]] about making over $50,000 for the year. the first contract I made was with Carl Fisher of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] this was for five machines five Aviators, with the stipulation that at some time during the meet all five machines was to be in the air at one time. After this I made numerous contracts with the large State Fairs and then made additional contracts to hold aviation meets. It was comparatively a simple matter to contract State Fairs, for they would receive the money paid us, on account of the increased patronage through the front gates. But walking into a citylike