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Mr. J. Ross Clark, Second Vice President, Los Angeles, Calif. Lear Mr. Clark:- I have a letter from Mr. McDermott in which he says he is finally rid of the Stewarts, and as he expresses it, ""boss of the ranch." He mentions a "bill that has been presented by the Stewarts, amounting to $460,00, for cultivating and putting in crops subsequent to the contract of sale. I know nothing about this except what was re­ported to me by Mr. McDermott after his first visit to the ranch. It seems the Stewarts were allowing the see,son t o go by without putting in any crops or doing anycultivating, and Mr. McDermott agreed that if they would do this work and the purchase was made, he would recommend pay­ment of the actual expense. Mr. Stewart telegraphed me,just before the deal was closed, that she would expect to have the arrangement made with Mr. Dermott carried out. I had Mr. Gibbon wire her, under his frank, that I would recommend payment for any work that Mr. MeDermott had authorized and which had been approved by him. Ihen the matter was brought to Senator Clark’s attention, he at first was inclined to be displeased because the expense had been incurred without his authority, and after I explained that it was to prevent waste and deterioration of the property, he seemed to take a more favorable view of the matter. The amount seems high, but Mr. McDer­mott will know as to this. I should not favor paying them a dollar more than they are actually entitled to, in view of the manner in which every little thing that was not specifically mentioned in be deed or