Q.  And  it  was  you  who  importuned  Mr.  Holdhan,  as  he
testified  and  as  you  testified?  A.  It  was  I  that,  having  been  em-
ployed to  secure  a  contract  with  the  company,  sought  to  achieve
that  purpose.  I  don't  think  I  did  obtain,  or  cause  the  sending  of
a  representative  from  the  offlce  of  Tracy,  Boardman  &  Piatt  to
the  Governor.  I  know  the  fact  about  that  office  sending  someone
to  the  Governor  to  ask  that  the  bill  be  signed,  but  whether  I
have  gleaned  the  fact  from  recent  development,  or  whether  I
knew  of  it  at  about  that  time,  I  cannot  tell.  It  is  my  recollection
that  I  did  explain  the  facts  of  the  bill  to  the  Governor  and  re-
quested his  signature  to  it.  I  was  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  any-
one else  had  also  made  the  same  application;  I  think  no  one  had
before  I  did,  but  I  may  have  been  reinforced  by  someone  else.
Q.  If  you  had  already  explained  the  matter  to  the  Governor^f
whv  was  it  necessarv  for  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Tracv,  Board-
man  &  Piatt  to  do  it?  A.  I  don't  know,  I  didn't  make  the  re-,
quest  to  that  firm,  I  don't  know  who  did.  I  was  the  active
counsel  at  that  time.  I  have  a  recollection  that  Mr.  Soule  made
an  argument,  or  addressed  a  letter,  or  did  something  in  respect
to  the  bill,  to  the  Governor.  I  do  not  know  what  argument  I
made.  I  have  no  idea  what  ground  it  covered.  I  made  the  same
argument  to  the  Governor  as  I  had  already  made  to  the  com-
mittee and  to  Mr.  Cutler.  I  went  as  directly,  and  fully  and
honestlv  over  the  features  of  the  bill  as  I  knew  how.
