[D0012AAD], Letter from F E Drake to Thomas Alva Edison, November 24th, 1900
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/D0012AAD
Transcription
Letterhead of United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 PARIS OFFICES, [20?] AVENUE [RAPP?] November 24 1900. Mr. Thomas A. Edison, Orange, New Jersey. Dear Sir: In reference to your award and those recently made to some of your competitors, I have just been discussing the subject with your Mr. Kaiser and desire to confirm, by this means, my conversation, by stating that during the operation of the class and group juries it was decided that all phonographs should be examined by the jury of class 26, under which class your award was granted. It appears that since the adjournment of the class and group juries one of your competitors has taken an appeal to the Superior Jury and a delegation thereof, asking for an award in Class 15 "Musical Instruments" and has secured, in collectivity, a Grand Prix in connection with an allied company. In my opinion neither one of these two concerns could have secured a grand prix in either class had they stood alone, and besides which I assume that considerable local influence has been brought to bear upon the delegation of the superior jury, (which is composed of four French members to one foreigner) to have the award made in the grade of grand prix. <Randolph [Files?] [illegible text]> [TAE Marginalia] No doubt it is all perfectly regular but it appears strange that it could be possible for the same class of instruments to be judged by two different juries or delegations of the jury. I am sorry to report this situation but we have done all we could to prevent it. Yours very truly, F. E. Drake Director of Machinery & Electricity