Document QOVrBrgEGey4rMxovOa03p48

FILE NAME: Raybestos-Manhattan (RBM) DATE: 1935 DOC#: RBM080 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letters between Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville and Raybestos-Manhattan RE Limiting Publicity on Asbestos with Attached Newspaper Article y y & v>~ PHILADELPHIA, PA-, U. S. A. September 25, 1955. \ lir. Sumner Simpson, President, aybestos-'!anhattan, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn. Dear Sir: Y ou may recall that we have written you' o n occasions con c e r n i n g th-- p ublishi n g of information, cussion of, asbostosis and the wo r k w h ich has been, b eing done, to eliminate or at least reduce it. several or dis and is f ' Always you have requested that for certain obvious 'reasons we publish nothing, and, naturally your wishes have li been respected. Possibly by this time, however, the reasons for your objection to publicity on this subject have been eliminated, and if so, we would lilce very m u c h to re v i e w the whole mat t e r in "ASBESTOS" . Our thought is that we could either prepare from data which we have in our files, or o btain from-Mr. V/. A. Godfrey of the Cape Asbestos Company, London, who is much I n t e r e s t e d in the subject, an article on tin: work done in England and th-n follow it w i t h an article w r i tten by someone in your organization, as to -the wo r k done here. We understand from !ir. Stover that your Tlorth Charleston plant, contains very complete dust control ocuipm-nt and a descrip tion of such equipment, if you approve, would make a vory i n t e r o ? ting part of th-: article. Possibly even you could supply a photograph or two showing some, part of this dust control e.uip.nont. Cl We await w i t h much interest your reply. If there is no serious objection it would so-:m to bo a most interestin'; subject for th-.i pages, of "A3BE:'T0.T', and possibly a discxxrsion of it in "AS3.'.STCS" along the right lines, would serve to c^moat s,,me of the rathur undesirable publicity g i v e n to it in current newspapers. Bridgeport, Conn. Oct. 1, 1935 Mr. Vandiver Brown, Attorney, 'Johns-Manville Corp., 22 East 40th St., Nev/ York City. My dear Mr. Brown: Enclosed is copy of a letter re ceived from Miss Hossiter, of "Asbestos." As I sec it personally, v/e would he just as well off ro say nothing about 'it until our survey is complete. I think the less s.id about asbestos, the better off we are, but at the same tine, v;o cannot lose track of the fact that there have been a number of articles on asbestos dust con trol and asbestosis in the British trade magazines. The magazine "Asbestos" is in business to publish articles affecting the trade and they have been very decent about not re-printing the English articles. I shall be pleased to have your opinio# in the natter. Very truly yours, SS-G. Enc. President Rh n J o k n s-M a n v ille Tw e n t y -Two Ea s t Fo r t i e t h St r e e t New Yo rk .N.Y. SSt- October 3, 1935 Mr. S. Simpson, President, Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn. My dear Mr. Simpson: I wish to acknowledge receipt of yours of October 1st enclosing copy of the September 25th letter from the editor of the magazine ''ASBESTOS" . I quite agree with |-you that our interests are best served by having asbestosis 'receive the minimum of publicity. Even if we should eventual ly decide to raise no objection to the publication of an article on asbestosis in the magazine in question, I think we should warn the editors to use American data on the subject rather than English. Dr. Lanza has frequently remarked, to me personally and in some of his papers, that the clinical pic ture presented in North American localities where there is an 'asbestos dust hazard is considerably milder than that reported in England and South Africa. I believe the question raised by Miss Rossiter might well be considered at the committee meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, at which I understand both you and Mr. Judd will be present. Very truly yours, t '(X ttd fv s v i Vandiver Brown Attorney / f t . / I r ^ y (Ujr-s ' 4 -j9. 79V LX . K M ^ . > v ~ > *>* - ` \ r i ? $ f r * ~ ' - : i y r.': '". . '.;' ?- ., . ' 1 * `J'^ . v , > 1-'.i'-t i , ^ ' : ' . P H I L A D E L P H I A 'R E C O R D Asbestos Mill Head Attacks Expose of Labor Conditions; Author Cites Facts in Proof Equipment Guards 'Against Dust Malady, Executive Asserts--Insurance Report Quoted in Reply by Spivak. _EDITOR'S SrOTE: John L, Spiyak, noted liberal writer, in a series of articles entittedr ul Interview America/* completed in . yesterday's Record, told of the suffering of workers in Southern asbestos mills. Today The Record prints a defense of the mills-by George S. Fabel, president of the Southern Asbestos Company, and a rebuttal by Spivak, By GEORGE 3. FABEL 2i.:or oi Tit Record; By JOHX L. SPIY A S dltor oi The Record; D?*r Sir: Sir:--I am very grateful for your I have in mv hands & copy oi your August 10 edition and re fer to a a article by John L. Splvak. To say that we are surprised th it a paper with your reputation courtesy in sending me George S. Kabel's letter and granting me the privilege of answering it. Mr. Fabel's assertion th a t "la re cent insurance examinations and P-hUched such obviously uncon- court trials it has been testified J *r v d dramatized t o n i m y r o t by competent doctors th at no one would be putting it mildly, If each one of Mr. Spivak's articles i- as far from the facts as Article 2<o. I, on the asoestoa mill evils, then you -snould not lend your columns aud certainly not place the editor's note preceding his ar ticle waich morally approves the) Licis to your reading public. (letting to the facts, the only mill he can refer to in O arlot-e, N. C.. Is ours. We are filiated with the Thermoid Com pany in Trenton, X. J., which also b j a textile mill and undoubtedly the Article referred to has come to the attention of their employes 0 well--unrest will be & conse quence. Taking his article In sequence ar.d trying to answer It without emotion (although that tear jerk ing style of Spivak's increases our fury) in recent insurance exam- has been known to contract asbestosis, or w h a t Is known as the dust malady, in textile mills within 13 months, as is alleged by Mr. Spivak," is quite important. I do not know where Mr. Fabel got the lS-month period. What I saul was. quoting Dr. Rey, Ihe city health officer: "T hey (asbestos mill workers) ca n 't last more th a n five to seven years if they're white." Obviously, if such testimony was given at court trials, then persons autfeting from asbestosia were seek ing compensation which had been denied them, for injuries they claimed resulted from their work. I t Is to be regretted th a t Mr. Fabel did not see fit to tell for which side the competent doctors he mentions gave their testimony. Were they not doctors paid by the asbestos milt to defend the claims against it? ln*:*93is and court trials It has Insurance F a per. K e n testified by competent doc to r s th a t no one has been known 3. G. Hopkins and L. E. Ludwig, to contract asbestos!*, or w hat is of the Penn Mutual lif e Insurance know n as the d u st malady, In Company, prepared a paper on "As textile mills within 13 months, as bestos Mills" covering conditions in is alleged by Mr. Spivak. the United States. The paper was Bared by X-ray. read at the Fifth Informal Inter l a one or two isolated Instances company Occupational Rating Con , i t w a s found t h a t asoestosis had ference a t the home office of the 1W u r c o n tracted by employes after John Hancock Mutual Life Insur- > j ^ \r.V/-,~<^r) .. ' ' *l ' >r li.'ai th before i q u ot e d f rom t hr ee pape r s dealing ,* ...... .... ''l ih,.it |i a l il i I ,iiliiu>iiMl V Ab*e*li`d i which ' nt sj.pMfertl frnm M ` Aby oHMvtinl **n.i but ftlng or tv** milv n|i|rar*t In (he IJittlsh Medical '! .v i w i i M in t\ piimitty rlutree by JfMMiiel of De c embe r 3, li.'7, pii, pined by t ir. Cook. Dr. M< Doniti! 'Un it* nf 1 opr. nu<| "(Im Mitoto. nt,f| Mir Ttmmiie Oliver n i follmva: Mo. it in ii . Till* rntii lrtlinonv (If Mplv/tk tUMir.l Mtln#m o | e r wh i ch th nvnr- IS... 1- p o r t e r y*I fiftllm h hkc employe w mk e, t0,, K wMh , 1|rrh ^sntilil Iti'v found Uita nvnll*bie pioterMv Uvl^, u,,,,t ^UmlM#l< Of <i fipi'tsi* e) aKo revrflh'd t i n t thj(\ HylrnM, ttmlwKire-Irttlen stnins* < r o n t o w d finnt Ihe aw pher r , wclMIghled, wrli-ventllntd h '..'t mill erpuMMo a f l ^ r com hutldlnga. preMrnt a decidedly mure lr.`ctlng It wore mil furMi*r nf fcrt nl . In o t he r words the disease year#***1* ,,lctur* than in former . is not piogre^Riv#. ' We ! n v r employee In o u r mill "We do. however, fee 1 that unlit ] ' wh o otetteit with ue over 15 yea r s we bave the benefit of our enarri* * r.xo nnd bnv* worked u n d e r the *?c f t t h class of w or ke rs we - condUloMs t h a t Spi vak at tacks. wshhooulmd acyonbtoineuxepotsoedlootok luaprgoen qtuhaonu Texhaeiyifiihnaavtiennpsn-taoedwhth'ceh mIot awt acsarepfou*l- tities of dust, inch as employes rible to subject them. P re ce d i n g srncrseaegneiUn g inandthecarodpinegn,inga,s tp-UicIkc*ingto, 'JM1 Store Opens at S to re C loses * *.. EXTRA , ,,4 . ! valu > V. >. V - c' Jf . J *> I .I W a s B B jO e liai ---- s .4 - . J iiti Just about 50 of these handset. - Northcru-itcal-dyed coney, Bcavcf-dvr 1 'ey, Cara cul, Lapin, Leopard cat, Ri * oony and other furs in the group. D O W N STAIRS ST0R2-- WAR- * c^p. v*,J v.*rV(in*j in n u r t v l i . ^ au t c X hrstne plant lor to abort a period *4 Splvnk clnlme. - * JlccoriU Quoted * Inquiry .Supported, "Our personal inspection of plants Spivak quotas the testimony of ft N e g ro about "lint /r o m iibe4ios in yom bmps.'* It fipivnk actually pot t>32it te riJm ony t )>#n th a t aam r N egro also probably believes in voodoolxm. lie evidently doesn't kn o w Negroes. TVh<n th e y refer to lint In Rsbectoe they mean the largo particles of Rsbestos w hich le not injurious to workers' health. ! Competent medical authorities are on record that worker* will not contract Asbrstosls from lint and ran only become afflicted when they have a weakened lung condition to bcrrir. with, and then a fte r exposure o \er long periods of time to dust containing particles less than ten m icrons in size. With respect to hie *ta.tementa . . . convinces us that all those who are engaged In operations prior to the spinning And w eaving of asbestos are subjected to extremely huge quantities of dust that must, from Its natural chemical form, contain a high percentage of In jurious materials. Our conversation and correspondence with physicians in these towns bear out to some cxlent the unfavorable findings of our honored investigators abroad-" Dr. Bey's denial th at he said precisely what I quoted strikes me as rather sad. I can account for it only as an incident in the life of a city official who recants w h at he said because of the influence, if not control, of mill m anufacturers over the city's political life. It is par about the stretch-out system, that ticularly sad to me because Dr. i t ?.V 3? ; 4 , , /. ' ' j pure unadulterated hokum since the article refers largely to colored workers or at least relies on thei testimony. No stretch-out system *ln ou r asbestos milt has ever been attempted in any sense of the word with respect to colored workers Approximately a year ago in our twisting department, where white help is employed, due to lack of experienced twister help, we did give operators more spindles to get greater production but in so doing the operators earned more money and not lc*s money. Clean Bill of Health. * I n 1029 a tw iste r m a d e $18 per Week f o r 60 hours, A f te r the" code tw iste rs earned $10.74 pe r week for 40 hours. I t is true t h a t N. R. A. Investigators, because of such agl tators as Spivak, did make an in vestigation of the c o m p l a i n t against our company known as the stretch-out system and the re suit of their investigation is a mat ter of public record. It gave the Rev's letters regarding masks lor w o rk e rs are on Ale a t the U nited States Department of Health in Washington. Now, as to Mr. Pabel's vehement denial of the stretch-out system. Of course he would deny it; em ployers alw ays do. But, possibly Mr. Fabcl can give us a statement from' A. F . of L. h e a d q u a r te rs In Charlotte, or from Mr. Jackson, whom I quoted and who was a m em ber of the N. R. A. board, th a t there was no stretch-out system? I am afraid a simple denial from a m anufacturer is not enough. W ork ers told me otherwise and though Mr. Fabel casts aspersions on the pathetic tales told by Negro workers, I, who have seen them coming from the mills after a day on the stretch-out, believe them. Mr. Fabel m ight also look up the complaints in the local N. R. A compliance board In Charlotte against his company. 1 saw several of them. & .y r. wT. y VV-1 iy<v SM . Southern Asbestos Company clean bill of health. The statem ents m ade by Mr. S pivak involving D octor G. T. Key are absolutely denied by Doctor Rcy. We are receiving a letter to th a t effect both as to any knowl edge In connection w ith tbe in formation given in the article or t h a t he knows of the colored fel* Jew referred to by Mr. Spivak J&: We supply each and every work er in our plant with a respirator free of charge. Including a mask which Is approved by the Govern m ent Bureau of Standards. No employe ran start work with us unless he has signed up and agrees to use the respirator and every one of our employes has received one. No Railroad Near. a As f u r t h e r ei'idcnce of th e lack of truth or understanding in these alleged reporlorial qualities of Spi vak, picnic be advised that the section of Charlotte called "Blue Heaven" is fa r away from any railroad, although ho talks about "Wo sat for a long tim e talking and a freight train load with tex tiles and asbestos rattled past." As to the help being colored to the e xte nt of IK) p e r c ent, only 22 per cent of our employes today are colored and they are tised as un skilled laborers in receiving, ship ping and power house departments. You undoubtedly have heard from thlf Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, who have taken ex ception to the article. Now, out of lairness, we .k you to reprint Uils in renaonnblv pro m in en t space, Called Misleading. We have felt certain heretofore that the Philadelphia Record was ono of ihc finest Journals. How can you print such misleading propa ganda? We have had inealrulnblc expense thM ftr-t half (evidence our *tnl*mrut) becam e of "walk* (ng clelenai***" Ilka Spivak a g ita t ing and Instiling unfounded f*nr in the poor Negron*' minds. Fair plav and vmir ohlignUon to conairu n iv Industry In your vicinity sh> **11l 11 quiii* vmi to print this, Vc?y truJv v iim , <;*'> r r ^ " r i ' Free Respirators. Mr. Fabel says th at he supplies all his workers with respirators free of charge. Granted that that is true, Jt would be interesting to know since when these respirators have been supplied and how many compensation actions have been brought against' the company for Injuries to health as a result of the absence of these masks or with the use of these masks. It is very significant that Mr. Fabel'a company compels e a c h worker to sign to use the respirator. Mr. Fabel knows as well as I that you make a worker sign to use a certain object only lor the legal defense of the employer. It Is of no value to the w orker except to make it difficult or impossible to collect compensation should he be come ill -despite the respirator. Lastly, Mr. Fabel denies that there is a railroad running near Blue Heaven as I described it. Un fortunately, I do not have a picture in my possession, but if Mr. Fabcl will visit Blue Heaven, he will be short-sighted Indeed if he dqes not see the railroad. Agitation Denied. Mr. Fabel harps on the belief that my report of w hat I saw and heard will "cause u n re st," t h a t "because of such agitators as Spivak, N. R. A. investigators did make an inves tigation of tbe complaint against our company about tbe stretch-out system " and th at 2 am "a walking delegate agitating and Instilling un founded fear in the poor Negroes' minds." No, Mr. Fabel. I am not the agi tator. T he a g ita to r in th e mill owner who foiees his workers to nbor under conditions which arc t shame to this country and to hu m anity. All the a g ita tio n in the world cannot take root w herrw oik- r* are r o n to n u d . W hen mill ownrji will elim inate th e conditions that 1 saw and which the workers sn tragically described to me, th en mi will have no fear of such rep o m a* mim* causing unresL v * -v t ' M' b e tw e e n . S tra p s a ll 'rou n d. T ) ee -w a y lock fastening. Tan only. M a il anti phone orders, coif JlIT tf honte 1000. DOWN STAIRS STORE-- GALLERT -CENTRAL S e p e sm b e r ^ le ! H a t h t a b l e t s -- 1/ ^ p r i c e R egular 10c, Septem ber price 5c cake. Seven popular sc e n ts. Can be assorted if desired, in these special boxes. 20 cakes in box___________ SI .`16 cakes in box_____ 1.7." Cold cream--white." Rose--pink. Violet--orchid. Carnation--blue. Verbena--yellow, Palm--green, A lm o n d --w hite. Ilonflcur cold crcnm sonp White, green, blue, peach. 40 cake*-- ---- 1*30 Health sonp nml v egelsih lo oil eonp Each regularly 50c dozen,___ 2 0 O J iliO M 7**io M all mid phone onlcr>i-- 1000 DOWN STAIRS STORE-- CP .*1 4