Where I was going to lay a side $80 per mo. I aint laying nothing a side & they dont seem to be no chance of ever saveing a nickle un lest we dont eat nothing & you know Charley I wasent never the man to starv my self to death. I told the man down to the bank a bout the radiators & the bath tub & he says I should ought to of had some sort of writen contrack with the archeteck so he couldent keep hanging them things on me all the wile but its to late now & any way I guess they wont be no more trouble tho I wisht they would go a head & not worry me to death asking them questions.
Rgds. to Mary.
Chicago, Feb. 2—
Brother Charley. Well Charley Im up against it now right. We was so busy down to the station & a round town that I dident get out to Allison for 2 wks. & I went out there yest. & went to the house & they wasent no body working & I seen 1 of the naybers & they says they hasent been no body working for a wk. tho the weathers been grand & they should ought to be husling on the job to get it finnished before the 1 of march.
I called the archateck up & asked him what was comeing off & he says the contrackter couldent do no more till he got some more lumber & the lumber Co. wouldent let the contrackter have no more because it wouldent trust him for no more money & if I would garantee the money all right. What do you know a bout that Charley?
I says why should I garantee the money when its all down to the bank & the archateck says that dident make no diffrence to the lumber Co. because the contrackter all ready got all the lumber that was called for in the contrack & now he wanted some more & I says what for & he says the contrackter used more lumber then the archateck thot they was going to need. Well I says I wouldent garantee nothing & the archeteck says he wouldent neither if he was me but if we couldent get no more lumber the work would be held up till we did get some so there you are.
I talked to the man down to the bank & he says the contrackter wasent no good & dident have no credit & if he used more lumber then the contrack called for he should ought to pay for it him self. I called up the contrackter & told him a bout it & he says he was sick of the job any way & I could go jump in the lake because he wasent going to do no job where he was loosing money.
I told them that down to the bank & the man says I could make the contrackter finnish the job but if he couldent get no credit & dident want to finnish the job I wouldent have no house for a yr. or just as long as the contrackter felt like. I says no because it says right in the contrack that the house must be all done by the 1 of march & the man at the bank says yes but suppose it aint done then what will you do a bout it. I says I will sue the contrackter and they says you couldent get a nickle because theys no penalty in the contrack for him not geting threw by the 1 of march & even if they was you couldent get nothing out of him if hes broke & hes probly broke or else they wouldent be no trouble a bout him geting credit.
So I went to the archateck & talked it over with him & he says the contracter under bid on the contrack & seen he couldn’t build no house like mine for no $2,000 & thats why he wanted to quit & I says that may be so but what do I care if he looses money its his own falt & we will make him go a head & finnish the job.
Then the archateck says yes you could do that but you couldent make him finnish it in no spesifide time & he might be 10 yrs. doing it so the best thing you can do now is let me get a boss carpenter to finnish the job & let all the sub contrackters go a head with there part & the carpenter can do the work the contrackter was going to do & you can pay him by the wk.
I says how much more will that cost. He says hardly any more & you will get the job finnished quick that way so I says all right go a head & hire a carpenter so hes going to hire a carpenter but he says they aint no chance in the world of getting the house build by the 1 of march & may be not till the middle of march & I & Grace all ready had the flat sub letted to a famly from the 1 of march to the 1 of May & they was going to keep it after words for them self so now I & Grace will half to stay at some hotel or some wheres from the 1 of march till the house is finnished & it will cost us some more money besides storeing our furnitur for a couple wks.
But may be by the 1 of march the house will be so as we can stick the furnitur in it but I dont know & they got me worred & the archateck aint worrying at all tho thats what he gets payed for. I give him $100 to worry for me & then I take his job a way from him. If it would do me any good to go out to that contrackters house & brake his
