[D8436A], Letter from Charles Batchelor to Thomas Alva Edison, January 16th, 1884
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Title
[D8436A], Letter from Charles Batchelor to Thomas Alva Edison, January 16th, 1884
Editor's Notes
[very useful annotation] Acknowledge your cable: "Get largest lamp royalty for founders no matter what lamp. Portion cash from licenses and two hundred thousand francs immediate cash for these terms veto power and allow other lamps dynamos leave details to Bailey." Since my return from Nice, we have been working at two points: "cash from licensees" and the $200,00 advance. Porges wont listen regarding the cash; Rau and Leon are willing to find some means of providing it but agree they cannot put it in the contract. Must find a way to do a loan on a small portion of the shares of the founder belonging to the Light Co. I wanted it not as a loan but as an advance royalty which in any case should never be paid back. But these people here object to that as they will own pretty nearly half of the founders shares and they say that it depreciates their value for them. Insull says will have difficulty raising the 200,000. The Light Co must have the money to pay its obligations# People here will likely raise this themselves: they may ask Eaton to let Wallerstein look over the condition of the Light Company’s books. Wallerstien will influence Rau and his friends. Rau is also a large holder of the European Stock, as is Leon (Puskas' stock having all been put on the market). Afraid that issue of 200,000 francs for Light Co has only been touched on very lightly; Porges dismissed it out of hand in conversation at Nice. Believe these people will never consent to licensees paying into the Light Co. "The fact is the negotiations are finished as far as Bailey is concerned." He takes the line of Porges and Leon as to "the utter absurdity of the Light Co" asking for cash. "I feel sure of this that if we press that it will break up this present arrangement. In my former letter I gave you a few people to whom Bailey owed much money and asked you not to use it however when Insul and I had an interview with Porges at Nice he gave us a full corroboration of all I had saw and much more. He furthermore told us that he had taken all power of negotiations out of his hands. He said he [Bailey] owed money where he had made negotiations." I will join today in cabling you that cash from licensees is impossible." TAE marg: "Major Eaton--Batch in cable today changed mind about 200,000 fr."
Author
Recipient
Mentioned
Date
1884-01-16
Type
Folder/Volume ID
D8436-F
Microfilm ID
74:3
Document ID
D8436A
Publisher
Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University