Document NNe57raNQX3Y5LXRZ1Vvw8jZQ

PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT opiao.ft? AUTOMOTIVE &. INDUSTRIAL BRAKE LINERS FRICTIONS NON-METALLIC BEARINGS & GEARS HIM 1946 Mr. J. P. D. Rohrbach, Executive Vice President, Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., Stratford, Connecticut. Dear John: I am glad to have your letter of August 9th, and especially glad that you are going after Vandiver Brown with the Idea of getting some action from Dr. Gardner. Dr. Gardner's delay na3 extended over a period of years, and with hisyplan which will call for increased activity, I see no possibility of his being in any better shape when winter comes than he might be at the present tine. I do not know how much money our Industry spent with Dr. Gardner but it must be a considerable sum. I think we started out with a five year plan which was extended, and although promises have been made I see no indication on the part of Dr. Gardner that he will live up to his responsibilities, and if it Is going to take him two months to prepare the report I have much doubt that we v/111 ever get the report. I think we should insist, .therefore, on getting a report of his findings which he should be able to prepare on the basis' of his previous report which we understood was not final. In this report he established that dust of a particle size less than 5 microns was not injurious. In the same report he did establish that damage wa's caused by the heavier fibres, which we know can be arrested through the use .of approved types of respirators. With these two facts established, and without injec tions of possibilities of cancer, etc., etc., we would nave something definite and worthwhile to combat the claims of these country doctors who set themselves up as experts but who actually have had no experience beyond what they read in books, and whose statements have been accepted by the courts as more or less authentic because we have had no expert testimony based on such experience as Dr. Gardner's. I state finally that if Dr. Gardner will give us a report similar to what he. has already reported, and show in this PLAINTIFF'S * EXHIBIT I wv-oooil) 0 C S 3" GATKE CORPORATION kr. J. D. Rohrbacn, Raybeatos-Manhattan, Inc. August 12, 1346 -2 report juat what hia experience haa proven, that duat particlea. leaa than 5 microna are not injurious, or, should I say, have been found by Ilia testa not to be injuriou3, then I would be satiafied to wait until Dr. Gardner can make a report such aa he would like to make.. It is my opinion, however, that once we get the report he is in a position to furnish we could let the rest of it go by the board. Dr. Gardner certainly should feel some obligation to give us something quit.e soon for fear he might be incapacitated before the work ia done. They have been soliciting funds for a laboratory extension to which I have not yet subscribed, and gave as my reason their apparent lack of interest in the affairs of our Industry. I am writing this letter juat before taking a train to the Indiana Plant. It may be rather disjointed because I am trying to give you my innermost feelings regarding the whole matter which I hope you can make good use of. Y/ith kind personal regards. ' Your.a very truly, TLG:FP 0CS38