[LB047213], Letter from Alfred Ord Tate to Sherburne Blake Eaton, February 3rd, 1891
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB047213
Transcription
February 3, 1891. Major S. B. Eaton, #120 Broadway, New York City Dear Sir:- I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 31st ultimo, enclosing copy of notice served by you in Mr. Edison’s name and behalf on the Edison Phonograph Toy Mfg. Co., terminating the foreign license of August 6, 1889, on account of nonpayment of royalties due. I was not aware that this notice was to be served or I should have informed you in regard to certain statements that I made to the Board of the Boston Company appertaining to these royalties and in which Mr. Edison acquiesced at the time. It may be that notwithstanding these statements Mr. Edison had a perfect right to serve this notice, but it seems to me that all the circumstances should have been taken into consideration before this notice was issued, which so far as I am concerned or aware, has not been done. Unless something else has occurred with which I am unfamiliar it will be an easy matter for the Boston Company to prove “bad faith” and I will be one of their principal witnesses. In Mr. Edison’s memorandum to you of Jan. 7th he said “How would it do to notify them (the Toy Co.) that no further extensions will be made and that we shall demand and expect the sums due on date?” Prior to this I had a conversation with Mr. Edison in which I reminded him that with his authority I had stated to the Board of the Boston Company that he would waive the royalty due October 1, 1890. Mr. Lippincott, on behalf of the N.A.P. Co., also agreed to waive the royalty due that corporation at the same date. Our papers were not prepared because we were waiting for Mr. Lippincott to send his to us, as he agreed to do. Mr. Edison’s idea was to notify the Boston Company that there would be no further waivers beyond the one assented to, and in asking you to notify the Boston Company of the termination of their agreement on account of non-payment of royalty due October first, he must have misunderstood your letter. Your communication of Jan. 9th ought to have been handed to me before any reply was given. This was not done, it having been answered from Mr. Edison’s note. I will call and see you about this matter the first time I am in town. Yours very truly, A. O. Tate Private Sec’y.