Untitled Page 3

Mar. 23. 1905

Mr. Montford S. Wilson,
Mills Building,
San Francisco, Cal.

Dear Sir:

As to the matter of the bottle of bicarbonate of soda
which had gone stale, Mrs. Lathrop heard the conversation. Mrs. Stanford
as she understands had taken some of the bicarbonate at the Hotel Vendome
in San Jose from this bottle. She said that she ought not to have done so
because it came out of the house in the city and it was stale. She said
she would throw it out and get some fresh. This she got soon after, as
I understand it, in Palo Alto. Mrs. Lathrop understood Mrs. Stanford's
remark to refer to the fact that the soda had been in the house for some
time, and especially in the house in the City, but there was no indication
given that it was bitter. I think that is could be shown that Mrs. Stanford
had this bottle with her in San Jose and took a dose from it. I am coming
to be more and more convinced that the bottle was tampered with on the
night of Mrs. Stanford's death.

The conversation as to the bicarbonate being stale was apparently not
in Bertha's presence, but the talk about getting the fresh supply may have
been as she remembers something of that kind.

Very truly yours,

[Unsigned]