[LB052382], Letter from Thomas Maguire (Edison Employee) to Alfred Ord Tate, September 24th, 1891
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB052382
Transcription
September 24, 91. A. O. Tate, Esq., Edison Building, Broad St., New York City. Dear Sir:- Referring to your telephone message of to-day in regard to the two insurance inspectors who gained admission to the Laboratory last week without a permit, I have investigated this matter and interrogated every one here and at the Phonograph Works who would be likely to know anything about it, without, I regret to say, eliciting anything definite on the subject. How the inspectors in question got into the building seems to be a dark mystery known only to themselves. The boy in the gate house states positively that he did not admit them, and I have failed to discover any evidence that he did. It appears that the inspectors applied at the Phonograph Works shortly after the noon hour and were refused admittance. From there they must have come to the Laboratory, perhaps during the temporary absence of the boy in the main building. He has often to carry messages to people in the Laboratory from visitors [who want to?] see them, and he is very frequently obliged to come up to the office. This and the possibility of their having come in by the side gate on Lakeside Ave., which is often open, are the only theories I can advance to account for the presence of the two gentlemen inside the Laboratory grounds. Of course they may have jumped over the fence, but I think that is improbable. After it was discovered that these men had got into the building without a permit the boy was instructed to lock the door of the gate-house every time he had occasion to leave it. Yours very truly, Thomas Maguire