Mr. Hay to Mr. Choate.
Washington, January 10, 1900.
[Mr. Hay communicates to Mr. Choate the substance of the reply of the Pennsylvania Milling Company to Mr. Choate’s telegram of January 9, as follows: That their flour was sold in regular course of business, as has been done for years past in Africa, shipment being made of so many bags monthly to their regular users who anticipate their ordinary requirements; that their present interests were uncertain, some of their drafts having been already returned unpaid and the return of others being expected in due course, and that whether [Page 549] paid or not the drafts would finally have to be lifted by the company, they being the final recourse. Meantime the holders of the bills of lading were unable to communicate, and the condition of the flour was being imperiled on account of climatic deterioration, its value being also largely reduced in its present position on account of changes, Cape Colony duties, and loss of market.]