[D9211AAJ], Letter from West Orange Laboratory to American Watchman's Time Detector, Arthur Gibson Morse, June 30th, 1892
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/D9211AAJ
Transcription
June 30, 1892. The Am. Watchman’s Time Detector Co., A.G. Morso, Esq., Sup’t., New York Dear Sir: Your favor of 29th instant returning bill is received and we are much obliged for the correction in the latter. From your remarks we infer that in withdrawing you claim for the three stations you consider that you have made a concession. We do not agree with you in this; in our judgement you have done nothing more than what you agreed to do. You say that you put in what you were asked to put in gratis, in reply to which we would point out that you were not asked to put anything in. On the contrary, your company asked to be allowed to put the clock in operation, and after the request had been repeated several times, Mr. Edison accorded the desired permission. A sentence in your letter reads this: “Three more (stations) were located and constructed than the plans called for, which we regarded as an order to have work done.” Considering all the circumstances involved, we cannot make any sense out of this, and would like to know by what process of reasoning you arrived at the conclusion indicated. Why you should have regarded as an order the locating and constructing of three additional stations, when the “locating” and “constructing” were done by your own men, upon their own responsibility, the writer fails to understand, more especially as your own proposition comprehended the re-establishing of the system as it was originally installed, which included some 29 or 30 stations, and there are not but 22. We certainly are of the opinion that we were warranted in considering the presentation of a bill on your part for any expense whatever connected with the rebuilding of the instrument as inconsistent with the offer which you made to Mr. Edison. We are still of that opinion and are surprised that our previous letter did not convert you to this view of the matter. Mr. Edison would not shrink the payment of a just bill; all that he expected was that your company would live up to its agreement. We regret exceedingly that there should have been any misunderstanding in the matter. The clock is now working perfectly and is giving us much satisfaction. Its use shall be continued at the Laboratory, but at present we are not prepared to arrange for any additional stations. Yours very truly, The Edison Laboratory.