Document M44p5Qa46yyxvNdn685vkmOoM

ir i i / INTER-OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE Et hyl Gasol ine Corporat ion Chr ysl er buil ding 135 Ea st 42nd St r eet NEWYork January 19, 1931 mr . Earl Bartholomew} Dr. R. A. Kehoe; Dear Dr. Kehoe: As you gentlemen are aware, we have been working on the proposition of develop ing a better can for ETHYL fluid for shipment to the Navy, to laboratories, and other parties who might properly be entitled to receive it. It .was my opinion that we should develop a can of such strength so that to drop it or otherwise injure it in shipment would not cause a leak, to have the pouring spout on the side so that a minimum of dripping would occur when only part of the can was used, and a seal that could be operated by hand (without the use of a wrench) and be absolutely tight. John Schaefer made up several types of cans and sent them to me. The one that seems to give the best result is a can made of steel, welded at the seams, with a conical top on one side of which is inserted a pouring spout. Over this pouring spout, is a brass cap, the top of which is filled with lead. This cap has a brass flange on it permitting a considerable amount of hand leverage. The Cap may be removed by hand and then replaced f on the spout and each time this is done the top of the spout eats into the lead and forms a new metal seal. I have had one of these cans in my office for the last four or five days, have taken the cap off and put it back on a number of times, have shaken'it, and let it ', remain top down overnight, and not one drop of its content, which is dyed ethylene dibro mide, has come out. *' 7h.ile these cans cost somewhat more than our present tin container, the price is not prohibitive and I feel that we could afford to stand it if they are considered the best design that can be made up. Of course, it is oufc-intention to place these cans in an outside container the same as at present. One more feature of the can is that it can be destroyed; that is, placing it on the ground and jumping on it will dent it and push the sides together. One bad feature of it is that it cannot be lithographed because the annealing that is done during the welding would damage the lithographing of the steel. However, we feel that we can paste on the necessary labels in a manner whereby they will not be destroyed or come off. l i e are shipping this can of ethylene dibromide to Earl Bartholomew today. After he has gone over it and made such tests as he might desire we would thank him to please see that it is shipped to Dr. Kehoe. I would then like to have the opinion of you two gentlemen as to whether or not KF 0000604 Page 2, 1/19/31 you think it is an improvement on our present container and if you feel that it is the best design of small contaimer for ETHYL fluid that it is possible to obtain. Of course, any suggestions will be welcomed. If you approve of this container we will then adopt it for use. We are now in the course of obtaining the lowest possible price, together with a guarantee that the cans that are furnished us will be perfect. Of course they will be inspected, not only at the manufacturers* plant but also by us before any of them are used. K 0OM6O5