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IOWA ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

SECRETARYS OFFICE

Des Moines, Iowa Feb 2 1880

Prof C. E. Bessey

Dear Sir: I did not happen to see your note in the
Register of Jan. 25th until today: and I want to thank you
for it. [illegible] Paige would some of our members
believe that he could and would do great things for our
state museum project if we would only give him a "send
off" as President of our association to keep him in his pro
posed "scientific" (!) [illegible] around the world in the
interest of the Chicago Times. And enough if our mem
bers were [illegible] by this high pretentious promise of his
to make a majority and elect him to the nominal Presi
dency. (It is only nominal for he has never once been present at a mee
ting of our society.) I offered the scheme at the time as[illegible]
and a fraud: I know it was a grave mistake and I am
quite sure it couldn't be played on us again.

Many of our own members who voted for Paige do not hesi
tate to say they consider him "a kind" yet because they
[illegible] induced to believe that if we gave him the refute