Document oDdr14OeqryzkJ9oYMxMy3O37

I y IN T E R -O FFIC E CORRESPONDENCE E t h y l Ga s o l i n e Co r p o r a t i o n Ch r y s l e r Bu il d in g 135 Ea s t 42nd S t r e e t NEW YORK December 31, 1931. Dr. R. A. Kehoe, Dear Dr. Kehoe: Thanks for your letter of December 28th regard ing L.C.L. shipments of Ethyl Aviation fluid to Standard Oil of Indiana at Whiting. I am today writing them in . accord with attached copy of letter which is self-explana tory. C:C HE 0000571 V December 51* 1351* Hr. J* F. Hewson, Purchasing Agent, Standard Oil Company (Indiana), ' 910 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Dear Mr. Hewsoni I have gives careful consideration to your letter of December 18th with regard to the transportation expense involved in shipping Ethyl Aviation fluid to your Whiting refinery* We realize that with the advent of the tank ear mixing in stallation at that point that this involves additional expenditures by your com pany and, for that reason, referred the matter to our Medical Director, Dr. Kehoe* As you are aware, we adopted a policy several years ago of insisting that all of our licensees order ETHSL fluid la jainisMim carload lots. Before that time ire made a number of less than carload shipments of the material but these sere al ways looked upon by oar Medical Department as an unnecessary hazard and set with their serious objection. In 1929 on of our field representatives who was located in Texas was called,on th `phone by e steamship eoapeny to ask what should be done about a shipment of some bottles that had been drenched .with ITHU* fluid. \:Upott^in vestigating the matir, it was found that these bottles had been shipped in a less than- carload'lot-and loaded into car containing. 3 drums of STBTl'fluid* 1.$ of the drums of THL fluid had sprung a leak, undoubtedly due to rough handling at a jimc-- tion point and about half of its content had drenched the cartons in which the bot tles' were shipped and.also the corks of the bottles* Mobody recognized the danger and in due time the bottle reached the Atlantic seaboard and wore loaded on to the ship. When the stevedores in Taxes started to discharge the hold in which these bottles were contained the air was saturated With lead vapors. After much tele phoning and wiring the steamship company found out what it whs all about and communi cated with us* le had to put the shipment of bottles os a barge and, under the supervision of our field representative, take them out to sea and dump them over board. It is indeed fortunate that no one was hurt by this exposure to the con centrated ITHIL fluid. " '' ! As & result of this instance the Medical Department decided to adopt a rigid ruling that it would not permit any sore less than carload shipments* The Medical Department objects to even express shipments hut we have had the matter up with the express companies and in several instances in which leaks have occurred our Plant has been promptly notified and we have been able to have our field staff go to the point of destination and take care of the situation* Under date of December 28th Dr* Kehoe writes! 81 can see their point and I can appreciate the difficulties from your point of view and yet I do not feel that the mere fact that fee railroad will accept less than carload shipments Is a justification for taking the KE 0000572 Mr. J. F. Hewson, -2 12/51/31. theoretically risks there would bs somewhat sore point to the objec tion. However, we have already sees that the risk is more than a hypothetical one and I do not feel that 'we can afford to shift the re sponsibility for this condition to the railrad company, char only safety in these natters lies in anticipating and understanding dangers which we would hardly expect common carriers to appreciate since they do not have all of the information which is available to ourselves. To expose other people to dangers merely because they do not appreciate the dangers would be as unethical as it would be shortsighted9 We regret, under the circumstances, that we cannot see oar way clear to agree to less than carload shipments of Ethyl Aviation fluid to Whiting unless you could order this sstierial in sufficient quantities so that the railroad' would agree to the sealing of the car at our Plant and routing it through to destination with out touching its content. Some of our licensees have been able to get the rail roads to agree to such shipments on the basis of 12 50-gsllos drums of ETHXX fluid but these instances have been mostly short hauls. Such shipments, however, so far &3 we are concerned, are practically the same as carload shipments except of course the less than carload freight rat Is charged because the minimum weight is less than the required amount for the carload rate to be effective* There is a substantial saving in freight to your company in tank car shipments as compared with- drum shipments of commercial ETHIh fluid by reason of the elimination of the weight of the drams, fe t dink that you will find even though express rates on the shipments of a few drums of aviation fluid may be somewhat more expensive, never theless there will Tbsa substantial over-all saving to your company by reason, of the tank car shipments of large quantities' of BTHL fluid, and if your aviation business increases to the. point where you are justified in ordering, say, 12 50-gallon drums of Ethyl Aviation fluid then we do not doubt that you will be able to arrange ship ments on a less than carload basis on a through-routed car as indicated above. y We of course wish to cooperate with you to the fullest extent and if you have any other suggestions as to how this matter should b handled to effect a saving and yet comply with our medical regulations, we will be glad to give them every consideration. Very truly yours, C*G KE 0000573