December 22 Friday – Sam and Rogers continued on to Chicago, eating breakfast in their parlor car after 9:30 a.m.

The colored waiter knew his business, & the colored cook was a finished artist. Breakfasts: coffee with real cream; beefsteaks, sausage, bacon, chops, eggs in various ways, potatoes in various — yes, & quite wonderful baked potatoes, & hot as fire. Dinners — all manner of things, including canvas-back duck, apollinaris, claret champagne, etc.

—

Then a couple of hours before entering Chicago he [Rogers] said:

“Now we will review, & see if we exactly understand what we will do & will not do — that is to say, we will clarify our minds, & make them up finally. Because in important negociations a body has got to change his mind; & how can he do that if he hasn’t got it made up, & doesn’t know what it is?” [Dec. 25 to Livy].

Based on Sam’s stated travel times, the two men would have arrived in Chicago about 3 p.m., eastern time. They would spend 24 hours in the city to complete their business.

Arrangements were made for an 8 p.m. meeting with all parties:

We telegraphed [George N.] Stone (counsel for Webster) [Towner K. Webster] to be at the Auditorium in the evening, & at 8 he arrived with Charley Davis [Charles E. Davis] & Mr. Dewey, (Vice President of one of the banks, & Webster’s right-hand man.) They said Paige’s Lawyer, Mr. Walker, would receive us at his dwelling at any hour before midnight. Mr. Rogers told them our plan, & they were visibly dismayed. They said Mr. Walker was the ablest lawyer in the West, a fine & upright gentleman; thoroughly despised his client, but would protect him sternly against one or two of the proposed chief requirements. Mr. Rogers was not disturbed. He said we would wait & see.

Henry H. Rogers was to do the talking. The men drove to Walker’s house, “sat grimly down & endured the unavoidable perfunctory light skirmishing about the weather…” etc.

Mr. Rogers began in a low voice & very deferentially, & gradually unfolded & laid bare our list of requirements. Toward the last it was visibly difficult for Mr. Walker to hold still. When at last it was his turn he said in his measured & passionless way, but with impatience visibly oozing out of the seams of his clothes —

“I may as well be frank with you gentlemen: Mr. Paige will never concede one of these things. Here is a proposed Company of $5,000,000. Mr. Paige has consented to be reduced to a fifth interest. That seems to me to be concession enough, I cannot & must not advise him to consent to these restrictions.”

After more discussion Sam asked what would be the situation should Paige, having a million in stock, sell $100,000 of the company stock and then the company fell insolvent — would the whole patent revert to Paige, or only nine-tenths of it? Rogers then withdrew “requirement No. 2,” and later told Sam his question was a “splendid shot” that “knocked away no end of troublesome rubbish.” Sam later wrote Livy that Rogers “gradually broke down Mr. Walker’s objections, one after the other till there was nothing left but his idea that in fairness Paige was not getting enough.” Rogers then listed the existing royalties which stood as mortgages on the typesetter. Mr. Walker had been unaware of how many there were. (Royalties were rights of payment for each machine sold, and in superior position to mere stock.)

Sam’s group got back to the hotel (unspecified) about midnight [details from Sam’s long Dec. 25 letter to Livy].