Document pBpLvdDM6Ej525BKJ7bOvmx76

I rotational 1 legtslaV, the de ns in the affixed at at Cotea. ishington. ihen, the C. Jones, rt. superupemsor Vzmirv "four, os- STR1ES J be held - Georgia 1938. ac- Am (o Georgia d ai Am ai indusa m j in (Intincermg demon* practice idustnes iidiurgy, nng die i mines, beast, vinsored a miniv urging likewise.. m riven d and lirinn m rtnivnt. id other canonal owlcdgc at voca: should iflg this ded the incaring Henry, tdder of -o< HILL AIR HYGIENE FOUNDATION FALL MEETING Approximately 350 persons, iaeludinf industrial leaden, teehaseai specialists, fovemmeaiai officials, physicaas, and engineers. attended the Fall meeting of the Air Hygiene Foundation at Mellon Institute. Pittsburgh. Fa., on Yovember 30. 1937. The assembly heard reports by the Foundation's Medical, Engineering, and Legal Commit* copy this code almost verbatim. After all: Yew York adopted it as the result of extensive investigation and hear ings. and it is unlikely that other states wiU assemble better information on which to base their codes. It is probable that substantially this same code will he adopted for dust exposures of all kinds. If so. it will mean that the upper tees on recent advances toward the control of occupational limit of dustiness us any kind of work and in any kind of disease and on current developments in the Acid of indus dust will be 100 million particles per cubic foot." trial health. H. B. .MrHer. Managing Director, announced that the Medical Report Foundation has arranged for scientific investigations at A. J. Lanza. Chairman of the Foundation's Medical the Saranac Laboratory, the University of Pennsylvania, Committee, stated that a great deal of work is being dune and the Harvard School of Public Health. He said that and that there is a clearer uiuicrstamling nf the problems more than I9<> companies are now affiliated with the or of industrial hygiene. ganization. a nonprofit, industry-wide movement, sup "Various tests arv canine to the lore in the effort to de it 1 i porting coordinated research to combat air-borne indus trial disease. termine the presence of possible occupational illnesses. Briefly, there has been developed a fairly accurate test to determine whether the individual is being expowd to Sods! Valves dangerous quantities of benzol, known os the 'urine tulfaie Willard T. Chevalier, Yew York. N. Y.. in a nontechni test,' Skin tests for alk-rgie reactions among workers ex cal address to executives. said the meeting indicated in posed to various substances are being developed mow and dustry's recognition of "social values as a very dcAaice more. Blood tests, particularly those of the nature which concern of its stewardship. depend upon the differential counts of blood corpuscles, "It is necessary for industry to think not only of how ore becoming more and more important and more widclv much it curls to get a day's work out of a worker, but also used. Research work is still being dime in the effort to de bow long a useful life will that worker have, what kind of velop means of detecting the degree of impairment in health will lie enjoy, what kind of consumer will he make pulmonary dust diseases, an important phone, of course. <>f for the goods and services produced by other industries. the compensation question. "Look Iwyond today's cost sheets." he urged, asserting "A group of hazards that has been attracting a great <k-al that the assumption of greater social responsibility on the of attention, particularly in the last year, is Hut lam part of indiisirv. toward the worker and toward the com auniher of ebcmicai substances that arc grouped under tin- munity. is ihr best antidote for trends toward collectivism name of solvents. The Massachusetts Depart mem ><l and roimiuinity interference in business. Labor and Industry. I understand, is almui m develop Colonel Chevalier. \~KT-Prcsident of the McCraw-HiU rather comprehensive list of permissible concentrui -i- m PuMi.tliiuc Company. recaiicd that after the passage of (he the atmosphere of working places of these various Workmen's Comiwnsation Laws, industry set out to elimi stances that arc grouped loosely under the bead of wtlvi-nt* nate ami leu t* Safety engineering, a new branch of sci "So this question is a live one. It is growing in ituiior. ence. was developed. The areident rate was sharply re lance hecau.se the manufacture of chcmwals in this i-oniury duced. Similar fureeful enupreation and united action is on the increase anti lias been ever since the war condi adviwated tiy other speakers as the effective tray to tions put an end to the importation nf IVerutan ilu iiiiuli cmnliai ireupattonal disvanr* now being mods compensable and developed the chemical industry in this muniry." in many -iau- Discussing the effects of various dusts ii|m the luultli Nw York Cod* Philip lirinki-r of Harvard University, Chairman of the Foundations Preventive Engineering Cummiucc, reported that "une of the most significant developments in the field of occupational hygiene during the past year has hem the adoption of the .Yew York Suit Cods governing dusiiitcsa of workmen. l*r. Lanza said `.here txevidi-urv i but couibma uons of dusts "act differently from any of thi * dn-i vIm inhakd by tbcm-wlvo." Thai utsiis quite a licit I |>s speculation. The same thing has been observed, fr.r ,n. stance, with gases. Hydrogen-SalAde Danger sod Cancer in rock drilling. M. R. Mayers, of th Yew York Division of Industrial "This cods divides all rock formations into two classes: Hygiene, for instance, has shown that carbon monoxide class i, those with less than 10% fret silica, by weight, and whefl inhaled in combination with hydrogen sulfide lx more class ff. those with mom than 10% free silica, tf drilling dangerous than cither carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulfide is done in class I rock, dust counts must be below 1(10 when inhakd alone. million per cubic foot, and if the reck fails in class II. "There is also a growing interest in the subject of eanevr below 10 million particles. as a possible result or ss possibly being associated with in "This means, in effect, that dry drilling can be used only dustrial hazards. With respoct toedust inhalation..all the wirh local exhausts and adequate air cleaning. It happens, evidence is negative; that (hare is no particular relation also, that wet drilling without ventilation will not achiev* ship between the inhalation of dust and the incidence of adequate air cleanliness in the case of the high quarts or cancer. Other forms of irritants, such as gass. fumes, i class II rock. etc., may have some such effect. That topic is a live one t "At this wntiag, it seems likely thst othentate* will and is being investigated, os is olio the possibility that fun- i angtrous particle sizes between the limits If tolerate a continuous exposure to pure lea (lesi than 10 microiu) per cubic foot - studies hare tailed to reveal evidence of ancentratioa regardless of extent of th Hazard w* first must determine the per* eonjideratioa One procedure commonly tions from samples of settled dust. That rijss or wherever you can find enough to ion of the content oi actual atmospheric J at or near the breathing levels in the re testing a dust, you want samples of the or and dust bag is an excellent device for ermiaing the full silica content of a dust methods. The chemical method map be sits. ent of the dust it then becomes necessary f particles of 10 microns and under per 1 here that trapping and counting of dust fiqus of the '* S. Public Health Service, e accepted, comparative data in the United ' is technique. It would be obviously ts made under dark field Xumiaa* Toe 3-million particle concentra- i count. There are dust counting devices ecks to see if there is any wide fluctuation the initial, basic determination follow the emee. ns supposing you find that five per cent of it you have a concentration of 200 million al assumption would be that you exceeded .card would be present. This may or may d oi dust present with the silica particles, appeared to be a dangerous silica exposure 30 or 33 million panicles per cubic foot nee gave no evidence that the silica was s. Microscopic examination showed that etefy coated with clay, rnvestigitors hart influence and probably inhibits the action dusts into three general divisions. Fine y carried away and disposed oi without nert that is dust which remains macdr# reaction; and third, proliferative, such aa and causes trouble. It is definitely known dust react differently, one type modifying . we have calcium which apparently exerts 'ect of pure silica wben the two are intro* e X-ray pictures of the lungs of individuate iea and :hose exposed to mixtures of silica eat characteristics. Always, however, the ' fret silica is the harmful ingredient. It free liliea is sot present even extremely high concentrations of dust will not produce silicosis or any other damaging lung luuiitiun. T.;cre Has been a tendency to call a concentration oi !>> million parades ut ;ion-ilicvus dust under lu microns per cubic toot of air dangerous to health. Tl::> concentration has not beta proved to be a hazard by clinical and experimental e.iiience snd therefore there is no iastsncatioa tor its control on medical grounds. Any attempt to do is to imply a health hazard and thus to create aa unwarranted tear oo the pan of those who stay be exposed. 1: I may be permitted to refer to the types of dust with which I am most familiar n::i: actual experience, let me point our that is very careful and tdeazine studies in :l:e cement industry we have beta enable to and the slightest iota of evidence that lung exposure to high concentrations of cemeat dust Has anted any type or kind of lung damage or damage m the respiratory tract. It may be interesting in passing to briefly enumerate the thingj that the cemeat industry has done in aa honest effort to determine whether or not cement plant dust was or is in any way harmful. Oust counts and dust analyses have been nude m many mills in various locations. The workers in these mills have undergone a rigid phvsicai examination with stereoKspk chest X-ray* In the trulls thus tar studied :'>) ,-cr cent oi the employes sre over 30 years os age and 33 per cent of the total vi ail employes examined have been employed os the cement industry more than 13 rears with individual periods of serricn ranging up to 43 years. It ie inconceivable to believe cn the basis of these cliniai and X-ray findings that any possible health hazard could exin without being discovered. Yet in the fan of this evidence and in the face of evidence from similar surveys of ether industries, there are those who still maintain that dust per se is harmful The investigations were carried on by za cutjide agency. The industry had nothing to do with the findings. In addition to making studies cn the composition and concentration of dusts and os :hc physical condition of employes, the cement industry tabulated death rates of cement .v .-iters from recordj of sick benefit association* and greup insurance. As rshcrtal- < is the most dependable indice of a hazardous dust exposure it is <-ne of tiie im? r.zr.z things to remember in any consideration of a dust problem: Tubercu losis is a revealing indicator of hazardous dust. It was naturally gratifying to find that the tuberculosis death rate of cement workers wae much lower than that of the general population and of ether industrial group*. As a further check cn the various findings a cartful tabulation has been made of absenteeism causes snd the morbidity rates show no abnormaltica. In other words, we tuned imm scratch. U'c made dust counts and analyses of dusts, made physical examinations to if there were any physical deviations or abnormalties, made interpretations from `tersescopic X-rays, and after that we were not satisfied and took the absentee reports througiv'm -He industry to see ii ary abnormal rate of any type of illness existed and :n sre if any health hazard was overlooked. I would be plad to give derailed in formation on procedure and findings to anyone interested but ntr main purpose in mentioning this work has been to indicate how unfair it i* m seres* dust of being damaging without attempting to get the facts and incidentally whir ut knowing the facta. Xo ii-cusv f :h* dust problem would be complete without tome mention of the erT'.stc-us c ::cc?tk-n of silicosis as a disabling disease. Search the medial rcexrds and y -n *:3 'rave difScultr in finding a reference to death aucd V pure uncomplicated ii!ic.*su. The layman, and to bn sunt many of our medical brethren, -fccvt the fact that silicon's as demonstrated by X-ray is disabling and usuaiire"th* fatally. Tie effect f this .vneeptiwi is to strike fear into the heart of every 'r'-cr who may rave imale uacomolicated tilcetis. whereas in reality there * a<* reason why he iheuld rot work out his normal span of life. .AH of this scare about _ 43 silicosis has had an unfortunate social into. When roe imply because a man has silicosis and it is disabling and it is some insidious disease that is going to kill he is 81 washed op. and it is a pit}-, gentlemen, but it is true that the workers have been kidded into thinking they vert disabled, sod if they believed they vert die* abled sod it v-as advertised they vere disabled it would make it very, very difficult for them to get gainful employment. In almost every instance silicosia becomes dis abling only when tuberculous infection it present. I should say is practically every' instance it is impossible to find assy incapacity or disability unless tuberculosis is present is the lung. Knowing this fact, it it safe to say that absolute protection can be given to the old employes who may in the past have been exposed to high cos* centrations of tree silica by removing from employment those who have tubcrculosis. Xo one an hare a quarrel with that proposition. If he has active tubcrculosis certainly he would not want to continue working and jeopardise his of curing himself, and then there is the danger of mingling and mixing with the other mem He should be removed because he is s sick man. and if he is removed h is for his own and the good of his associates. It is quite likely that if tuberculosis is stamped out the problem of occupational disability from dust win be solved. The silicotic not interred with tuberculosis should be kept oa the job and the employer should be protected against unwsramtd and unjust claims brought oa the basis of aa X-ray piaoru. This is not to say that dust control measures are unnecessary in many Vwatinni. Where dangerous concentrations of free silica or asbestos dust exist in dm working environment, methods of dust removal and elaninslion should he provided. I man to say if you cu eliminate tuberculosis you have very little danger, or practically no danger of disability from dust in the air. That is no reason why you shouldn't dean op dost, and there is every justification in the world for cleaning up alia dusL It would be impossible to attempt to recommend, even if I were capable of doing it specific measures of dust control (or the wide variety of operations and conditions m industry. However, the matter of good housekeeping cannot be stressed too strongly. It is rarprtVttg how much dasr can be eliminated and how much more pleasant the working place can be made by simple measures and by regular and con sistent clean-up. It is unnecessary, perhaps, to point oat that a vacsrnn cleaning system is very elective in removing dust collections from beams and ledges and from the floor. Every employer has his own problems to work out. If ho suspects a dangerous dust esreesurasion he should study the possibility of subsentinf nonhsiardcsu for hasardous materials. Frequently be can isolate particularly dusty operations without s great deal of revision. Often simple improvements can be made in the vectCsricn system which will keep the dost down to saft levels. The possibility of using local exhaust systems should not be overlooked and m this con nection let me refer yon to a. recent publication of the American Standards Associa tion entitled. 'Design and Operation of Exhaust Systems." Certainly any exhasst system should bo carefully tested for adequacy and efficiency. It should ham fre quent inspection and should be regularly recheeked to make certain that k is doing the job it is intended to da I recommend that highly to any of yon interested in finding on the best process for eliminating dost it in source. It is quite recent I think within the last couple of month*. I have a copy with me if anybody would like to sew it pn on by the American Standards Associstiea 21* West 3Wl 5treat Xcw Vork Gty. I hare skipped over a number of different things and realize fuB weB that thb discussion has left many important things unsaid about the dust problem, and I fear that I have mentioned things that should be interpreted in more detafl. We eoold go on all night ailing abon the medical aspects of dost diseases, the mgiaeering probloB* of dust centre arbitrary in spots and ; L The dust-health 1 All dusu are nt X Free silica is ti silica docs not mean th* A Admixtures of X There is a differ complicated silicosis is t thing to ftar and to be a* X Eliminating the of long disability eaused ?. Silicosis can be justification foe forcing hasardous to health. X To determine a 1 composition of the dust suspicious confirmatory e X-ray findings. In other can be sure. In dosmy I would 1IV f course, irenonane* of is only a picture just like and it is possible for the use stereoscopic X-ray pic 1ft ]. J. hiasow, Fit emery dust? The men es. Mi. Busnxm.: ! . doubt if that is hannfuL auncr to apply s local ex to control it would seem rare about emery dust. be. on record without being r Ma Mooes. Fisher E tell us what you have dor controlling tin's dust probl yon ted me what you har Ms. Bcshxoi: I t hazardous and therefore n worked periods up to forty ogy or health hasard in the keeping that is not to bo housekeeping campaigns, are in the business of ma the process of manu factor the working environment, comfort. We do not have determine whether we did am but we do not have a their ordinary routine weald logically be the hei case a hag splits sad in a I set When you imply because a man hat injidiom disease that is going to kill him, anen, but it is true that the workers have bled, and if they believed they were dis* ibted it would make it very, very difieult Jmost every instance silicosis becomes dis- present I should say in practically every paety or disability unless tuberculosis ia is safe to say that absolute protection can the past have been exposed to high eon- om employment those who have rubercu- tat proposition. If he has active tubercu- tinue working and jeopardise his chances danger of mingling and mixing with the se he is a sick man, and if he is removed iatet. It is quite likely that ii tuberculosis I disability from dust will be solved. Tha mid be kept on the job and the employer d unjust brought on the basis of an problems of dust control and the medico-legal problem. I have chosen to be rather arbitrary in spots and now present sty conclusions: L The dust-health problem in industry has been greatly over-rated. I All dusu are not harmful to health. - 1 Free silica is the only ausaave agent of iHicasts but the presence of free silia docs not man that a silicosis hazard exists. 4. Admixtures of certain dusts modify the action oi fra silks on the lungs. 3. There is a difference betwea `medial* silicosis and disabling silicosis. Un complicated silicosis is seldom if ever actually disabling. Silico-rabereuiosis is the thing to fear and to be avoided. 1 Eliminating the cases of activa T. 8. win go far toward solving the problem of lung disability aused by dust. T. Silicosis can be entirely controlled by dust control measures but there is no justification for farcing control measures on opensions unless the dust is really hazardous to health. 8. To determine a hazardous exposure it is necessary to determine the mineral composition of the dust and tha concentration and particle size range. If this is suspicious confirmatory evidence should be obtained from physiol examination and X-ray findings. Tn other words, you have a check om against the other before you an be sure. insures are unnecessary in many locadona. In dosing I would like to emphasize the importance of X-ray 'mterpretadons. and iilica or asbestos dust exist in the working of coarse, importance of proper technique in taking X-rays. After slL an X-ray d elimination should be provided. I mein is only a picture just like any other photcgraph. The lights and shades play tricks, m >--t very tide danger, or practically no ' and it is possible for the pictures a be distorted. In all studies we have tried to i no reason why you shouldn't dean . use stereoscopic X-ray pictures, double pktara which giro e third dimension. m world for cleaning up silica dust: It Ml J. J. Masox, Fisher Body. Cleveland: Mr. Speaker, could yon tell u about '' mend, even if I were capable of doing it. emery dust? The men complain about that wide variety of operations and condition ;ocd housekeeping cannot be stressed too Ml Bits KNTLi: I must beg off as far as actual knowledge is concerned I st can be eliminated and how much more doubt if that is harmful. I am not sure, bat it would seem it would be a simple y simple measures and by regular snd ecn- matter to apply a local exhaust oa a wheel and control that dust. If it is impossible aps. to point out that a vacuum cleaning to control, it would teem to require that the employee use a respirator. I am not st collections from beams and ledges and sure about cmtry due but I don't think it is barmfuL I don't warn to pot myself own preblems to work out If he suspects on record without being sort I study the possibility of substituting non* Ml Mocil Fisher Body, Cleveland: I listened to your talk. You failed to e*iccntly he can isolate particularly dusty tell us what you have done ia the industry to protect year mem You speak about sion. Often simple improvements can be II keep the dust down to ate levels. Tm controlling this due problem at ita toura. which ia a very good thing, but could you tell me what you have done in tfao way of protecting your men.* should not be overlooked and in this con* Ml Btrsstxtu: I thooght t made it dear that cement plant dust is non ication of the American Standards Associa- hasardous and therefore no protection is needed Wo have examined men who have Exhaust Systems.* Certainly any exhaust worked periodj up a forty-five yean and haven't been able to find a trace of pathol equacy and effleiesey. It should hare fro- ogy or health hazard in the industry. However, as a matter of deaniincss snd house rccltecked to make certain that it is doing keeping that is not a be associated with the medical problem, we hare arried on md that highly to any of yea interested so housekeeping ampaignL If any of you are in the cement business you Imow wo ting dust at ita source. It ia quite recent. are in the business of making dusL All the way through the operation dust ia in I have a copy with me if anybody would standards Association. 23 West 33th Street. (ho process of minufactor* but this docs not mean that excessive dust is present in the working environment. Respirators an used occasionally as a matter of personal comtoR. We do not have a health hazard \Yt have made careful investigations to fferent third and realize full well that this i unsaid ib-tat the dust problem, and I fear 1 be Interpreted in more detail. We could il aspects oi dust diseases, the engineering determine whether we did hare, and if we did we wwald take steps to protect the men but we do not have a health hazard and the men do not need to wear respirators in their ordinary routine operations. In the packing department when the dun would logically be the heaviest we lave local exhaust systems to carry the dust in case a bag splits and in a fear of tho mills they have dust collectors throughout tbe 40 Bulletin of the American Ceramic Society--Motes and News jus diseases of (he lungs, perhaps, arc more common than we have supposed" Mfled d Protector Ousts Leroy U. Gardner, of the Medical Committee, discussi-d the research be is undertaking for the foundation at the Saranac Laboratory on "mixed" dusts and "protector" dusts. He said. "The evidence now available makes it seem improbable that a silica hazard is denned solely by the number and size of the silica panicles in industrial at mosphere. The other components of a dust modify its action. Sense may inhibit, others retard and perhaps sotne wiS be found to prevent its injurious effects. Be cause these possibilities are recognized, it becomes difficult to set up definite standards of permissible dustmens in in dustrial atmospheres. "Not enough is known about tbr action of protector substances to warrant the recommendation that they be employed to prevent silicosis in industrv. Our aim should be to reduce existing dust concentrations rather than to increase them by adding more dust. I would strongly oppose the recommendation that protector dusts be used to attempt to prevent silicosis at the present time. But l do believe that we should attempt to discover more about their action. Some. like gypsum, seem to combine with the silica in the atmosphere, forming dumps which are too heavy to remain suspended io air and too large to past the barriers of the aoae and upper napiratnry tract. With such information at hand it may be possible to apply the knowledge in a practical manner." X-JUy Studios 5. Reid Warren. Jr, of the Moors School of Electrical Engineering. University of Pennsylvania, described the investigation which the Foundation is sponsoring at that institution on improving runtgenograpbic (X-ray) tech nique for industrial applications. The medical profession emphasises the necessity for X-ray films and their proper interpretation in the diagnosis of dust diseases of the lungs. Dr. Warren described the progress in this direction and outlined the work still necessary to make this technique a standardised took The projects of the Saranac Laboratory and the Uni versity of Pennsylvania constitute the continuation and advancement of fundamental work which ha* u-Vii 4l.. complisbrd at these institutions in the past. Drilling D. Harrington, a member of the Foundation * Hoard of Trustees anti Chief of the Mi-aith and Safety Branch. U a. Butvau of Mines, summed up ihe whole matter of drill ing" as follows; "Dry drilling is. of entrsc. vvry much mors of s iiu>i producer than wvi drilling, prol-ahly in the ratio nf ft >, or possibly 1'* to I. Wet drilling |>c.liicv- -one dust......... But if reasonable pret-auitim* are taken ru h wet drilling, and suitable precaution* are al*u taken a* to the ventila tion. wetting the muck pile, lime at whieli the blasting is done, and precaution* which are taken after gning itack to the face after blui-tiiif. we feel, in fact we know, tliat under the present day tiwuiiikm* mine* ran be so conducted......... that these need he tut particular harm to worker* in (tone places as far a* du*i ilisra.-*-* an- nnwmK.il." Legal Date A. U. Mirth. Chairman, rveirwxil the- work of tbr L-gal Committee lu date. Hr explained that tbc Foundation's legal surrey* digest more than 400 separate occupational disease cose*, bominane* are given of the (awe of the various stales as u rvctipatimtal diwntsr. along with tbc imcrpmaiwwis piai-nl upon thew law*. T. C. Water*. Cbairtnan of the Maryland Ocvui>atiunaJ Disease Cimimission and a incntUw of the Legal Commit, tee. reviewed a forthcoming critical analysis of eompenmlion legislation which he has compiled for the Foundation and trbieb will be Issued in the near future. He stated that 'during the past year, nretiparional disease aii.-mdmcots to nisiing Workmen'* Cuntpensation lav- have been enacted in >i.\ -lares: Delaware, fmliana. Mieliigan. Pvntii-ylvania. Ohio, and Washington. Today llierr are 21 -laics wlnr-w law* proeidw istmpettsaiinn fur uretifiational di.*eaM.-s. State couiinurinn* have Iwvii 3|>t.-uunl for the purpose of studying ami reeremn-.iuling tvnnpen-aiiret in eight other -iaie*: Abtlmma. Arutma. Georgia. Kansas. Maine. Maryland. New Mrtim. ami t-in-gmi. . In lb: course of the next few years all the utilu-irial >iaii-- probaldy will liavc cuacted law* for lhi- pur.MiM-." More than l*ti*npanic* were ngirv**-ni*l at the unit ing. Tlr Prkillings, vuniainiflg the ik-iaiki.' rvprt. jtr mihlik- fwilhisil ni). GLASS CLOTH VAU. PAPER IS LATEST "WRINKLE" New Yotk Architect Ffoacoring in New Idea---Low-Cost Fireproof Fabric Can la Hong by Ftpcrhangcn Andrew J. Thomas. .N't* Vork City architect, is pioneer ing h a fasciaating application of Fiberglas cloth aa now being produced by the diacoverere of today * method 'o manufacture (lass in llhroua form. Examining a new type of cloth created recently by the Fiberglas divisioa of tbc Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Mr. Thomas became intensely interested in its possibilities as wall paper. Aware of tha trend to "canvass" walls in modern build ings. that is. to paste woven doth onto wafli instead of ordinary wail paper, (he 0\.-n*-Illinois research men began a senes of experiments for Architect Thomas. The practice of clothing walls grew out of a desire to cover plaster cracks that are revealed under the surface of wall paper, and to lake advantage -if tha interesting tex ture and decorative possibilities. Mr. Thomas was enthusiastic over the possibilities of giai doth for such purposes because of the lustrous quality, rejection of light for increased illumination, and the fireproof qualities of such fabric. Tests proved to Mr. Thomas that he could use Fiberglas cloih advantageously on walls of stair wells and other usu-