Document wgkwGejk5rEJpY5Y2bp0gJ9BQ

April 20, 1955 (306) MINUTES of the forty-eighth meeting of the Directors of the Manufacturing Chemists' Association, Inc. , held at the Union Club, New York City, on April 12, 1955, at 11:00 A.M. (EST). There were present; Messrs. E. T. Asplundh Howard S. Bunn J. Clarke Cassidy Paul L. Davies F. J. Emmerich John Fennebresque A. E. Forster William C. Foster John L, Gillis R. K. Gottshall J. R. Hoover R. C. McCurdy Charles S. Munson Ernest W. Reid Hans Stauffer William H. Ward Rothe Weigel M. F. Crass, Jr. Alternates: Carl A. Gerstacker (for Leland I. Doan) George Schneider (for John Fennebresque) Edward J. Goett (for R. K. Gottshall) W. p. Gage (for Charles E. Wilson) Sydney T. Ellis (for J. Albert Woods) Present by Invitation: David B. Dyche - Cincinnati Chemical Works, Inc. J. A. Martino - National Lead Company John A. Scott - Sinclair Chemicals, Inc. Charles H. Winship, Jr. - Phelps Dodge Refining Corp, Marx Leva - Fowler, Leva, Hawes & Symington I. GUESTS. A cordial welcome was extended to the guests by Chairman Emmerich. II. MINUTES OF MEETING. Minutes of the meeting of March 8, 1955, were duly approved as sent to members. III. TREASURER'S REPORT. Monthly Report, The financial report for the period March 1 - 31, 1955, was reviewed, and ON MOTION duly made and seconded, it was VOTED: That the report be accepted and placed on file. CMA 067245 (307) IV. PRESIDENT'S REPORT. (a) Chemical Progress Week. Plans for the Week are proceeding according to schedule, and the state committee organization is doing an effective job. Forty-one states have some type of organized activity, and approximately 1,000 CPW kits have been distributed. Good support, moreover, has been forthcoming from a number of national groups such as the American Chemical Society, Chemical Market Research Association, etc. Theme for the organized luncheons will deal with industry-education cooperation. A number of important speaking posts are still openr and the cooperation of the Board Members in filling some of these was requested, (b) Chemical Industry Facts Book. Pre-publication copies of the Facts Book were distributed last week to Executive Contacts and others, for purposes of review, as well as order solicitation. Comments can be received until April 20, with publication date set for May 2. The Teachers Guide, prepared with the cooperation of the National Science Teachers Association, will accompany orders, when requested. Those present were urged to purchase their requirements promptly. At the earlier meeting of the Executive Committee, inclusion in the Facts Book of the Association membership list was approved. (c) Employment of Claude E. Hobbs. Mr. Foster reported that, effective April 1, 1955, Mr. Claude E. Hobbs had been employed as Staff Counsel. Mr. Hobbs comes to the Association with an excellent background in private practice, education, and government experience. At the time of his employment, Mr. Hobbs was Assistant Parliamentarian of the House of Representatives. (d) Chemicals in Foods. Messrs. Foster and Leva reported that additional progress had been made in reconciling differences of opinion relative to legislative policy, and that draft legislation had been prepared for circularization to the Chemicals in Foods Committee and other interested groups. Although there is a question concerning whether or not food additive legislation will be considered during the current session of Congress, never theless , the Association, working with other interested groups, will proceed to facilitate prompt submittal of a bill to interested legislators for possible introduction. If a compromise bill, satisfactory to all interested parties, does not come out of the current discussions, MCA will proceed on its own in accordance with prior Board decision. (e) Renegotiation. Indications point toward early action by Congress in extending the Renegotiation Act for at least an additional year. Since hearings may not be scheduled, it was agreed that the Washington office should proceed to file a letter with the House Ways and Means Committee advocating amendment of the '^standard commercial article" exemption clause, to conform with recommendations to be made to the Congress by the Hoover Commission. (f) White House Conference. Mr. Foster reported that only three acceptances had been received out of eight invitations to membership on the Advisory group. It was agreed that some of these men should be approached CMA 067246 again, and that Drs. Julian Hill, Du Pont, and Arthur Wilker, Union Carbide, be invited to serve. Mr. J. R. Hoover, B. F. Goodrich Chemical Company, agreed to accept the Advisory Group vice-chairmanship, (g) Toxicological Institute. A follow-up letter to Board members brought additional responses to the questionnaire. Consensus of responses was overwhelmingly against proceeding with the Institute plan. On the other hand, sentiment concerning the employment of an Association Research Director was about evenly divided. On the basis of this, it was agreed that the latter proposal should be tabled for the current year. (h) Air Force Target Survey. Mr, Foster reported that the Air Force had dropped its plans for proceeding with the target survey, and that contracts with the three organizations employed for this purpose had been cancelled without prejudice. Letters will be sent by the Air Force to industrial firms in due course. In the meantime, the Association will make an announcement to this effect in the next General Bulletin. (i) Chamber of Commerce. The Annual Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States will be held in Washington during the first week of May. As an organizational member of the Chamber, MCA is entitled to one official delegate who cannot be a member of the Associa tion's staff. Suggestions concerning the name of a delegate were solicited from those present. (j) Armed Forces Reserve Plan. Early last month, Mr. Foster appeared before a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee to present recommendations concerning the proposed reserve plan and the utilization of scientific and technical personnel in connection therewith. This was followed up by the subsequent submittal of suggested legislative language to provide for the policy referred to in the testimony. On April 19, additional hearings will be held on the Hinshaw Bill, and it was agreed that the Association should file a statement patterned along similar lines. (k) International Organization of Employers. A meeting of this group will be held in Basel on May 12-13. It will be recalled that President Foster attended a comparable meeting last October at Frankfurt. Primary purpose will be to discuss the recently concluded ILO Chemical Industries Committee meeting in Geneva. It was reported that Dr. A. P. Beutel of The Dow Chemical Company will be in Europe and may find it possible to attend this meeting. V. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) May 10, 1955 Board Meeting. Following discussion, it was the consensus that the next meeting of the Directors be held in Cleveland, Ohio, and that invitations be sent to all Executive Contacts located in the Cleveland and nearby areas. CMA 067247 (309) (b) Proposed Budget for Fiscal 1955-56. Mr. Ward reported that a meeting of the Finance Committee had been held the previous evening, and that the following recommendations from that Committee were presented for consideration: (1) That the chemical sales basis for determining membership fees be deferred until the 1956-57 fiscal year, excepting that new members be placed immediately on the sales basis following their admission to membership. This is for the reason that insufficient time exists, in the opinion of the Committee, for the assembling and processing of chemical sales data as a basis for membership fees, prior to June 1. It was recommended, however, that the Washington office proceed promptly to gather 1954 chemical sales data from member firms, in order that a proper factor may be worked out as soon as possible for fiscal 1956-57 fee assessment. If this can be done, announcement of ultimate financing plans can be made at the 83rd Annual Meeting. A change in the By-Laws will be necessary to implement this recommendation. (2) That 1955-56 fees be assessed on the basis of composite contributions (excluding special plastics contributions) made by member firms during the current fiscal year. Each member would, therefore, be requested to pay the Association the sum of its 1954-55 membership fee, plus its contribution to the Carnegie Tech research project. Those members who did not contribute to the research project would be assessed on the basis of their 1954-55 fee, plus an additional amount equal to 10% of that fee. (3) That a budget for fiscal 1955-56 be set on the basis of anticipated income from membership fees, publication sales, interest, and surplus from special meetings, etc. It is estimated that approximately $590,000 will be forthcoming from these sources. If this amount is not realized, a limited withdrawal from surplus, for this one year, is recommend ed to meet the budget. (4) That in evaluating 1954 chemical sales figures in terms of membership fees for fiscal 1956-57, the Boarc consider application of a straight percentage factor to apply to the entire membership, with suitable minimums and maximums, and that the present classification system in the lower brackets be eliminated. On the basis of sales data received from Board members, it would appear that a figure in the neighborhood of .008% to .009% of sales would raise an amount comparable to current fee income. Following discussion of the foregoing, it was moved, seconded, and unanimously VOTED: 1. That the chemical sales basis be deferred for one year, under the conditions set forth above. CMA 067248 (310) 2. That a proposal to amend Article IV, Section 2 of the By-Laws, to accomplish the foregoing, be submitted to the membership at the 83rd Annual Meeting. 3. That 1955-56 fees be assessed as recommended. 4. That the fiscal 1955-56 budget be set at $600, 000, it being understood that a small withdrawal from surplus may be needed to finance this amount. 5. That 1954 chemical sales data be collected promptly in order that financing plans for fiscal 1956-57 be facilitated. V. COMMITTEES. (a) Air Pollution Abatement. The appointment of Mr. Jerome Wilkenfeld, Hooker Electrochemical Company, replacing Robert F. Schultz on both the Air Pollution Abatement and Water Pollution Abatement Committees was approved. (b) Patents. Reference was made to S, 995, introduced by Senators Kilgore and Dirksen, providing for the return of vested German assets. This is a similar bill to that introduced in the last session of Congress. Since a number of vested chemical patents, licensed by the government to private industry, have already been exploited, the MCA Patent Committee has the bill under consideration. Should S. 995 come to hearing, the Association will urge insertion of proper safeguards to protect the chemical industry. (c) Labels & Precautionary Information. The Secretary briefly described a "Read the Label" program developed by the LAPI Committee and concurred in by the Public Relations Advisory Committee. It was the consensus that the program should proceed, provided stipulated provisions as to participation by other interested organizations, and adherence to certain principles, be observed. (d) General Safety. Winners of the Lammot du Pont Safety Award for the current year were reported by the Secretary on a confidential basis. In the large-member category; i. e. over 2 million man-hours of exposure, American Potash and Chemical Corporation is the winner with a percentage decrease in frequency rate of 74%. The runner-up is Stauffer Chemical Company, with a decrease of 63%. In the small-member category; i.e. under 2 million man-hours of exposure, two firms are tied, with percentage decreases in frequency rate of 100%. These are Detroit Chemical Works and Tennessee Copper Company, with the runner-up being Eastern Gas and Guel Associates with a decrease of 84%. Because of the tie, the Board concurred in the General Safety Committee's recommendation that duplicate awards be presented. Plaques will be presented to the three winning firms at the Annual Meeting on June 9. 067249 (311) (e) 'Water Pollution Abatement. (1) Reference was made to the 3rd Water Pollution Abatement Regional Workshop which will be held in Chicago on April 28. (2) In accordance with authorization previously granted, the Association will present a statement before the Senate Public Works Committee on April 26, with reference to S. 890 - To Extend the Water Pollution Control Act. An additional bill, S. 928, will be heard the same day, this providing for amendment of the Water Pollution Control Act to include features for air pollution control at the Federal level. Since the hearings will be held simultaneously, a representative of the Air Pollution Abatement Committee will also present testimony. (3) Those present were handed copies of a memorandum relating to recommendations of the Water Pollution Abatement Committee for modification of Association-sponsored research at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Of the three projects originally undertaken by the Academy, following the Association's 3-year research commitment at the rate of $15, 000 per annum, two will have been completed at the close of the current fiscal year. Since it will not be feasible to begin work on the third project - river recovery study - the Academy has recommended, with Committee concurrence, that the Association sponsor a 5-year study of the Schuylkill River, and that it contribute $10,000 per year for each of five years to this end. It was agreed that action on the proposal be deferred until the May meeting, pending further study and consideration. VII. MISCELLANEOUS. (a) 83rd Annual Meeting. The Association's official mailing was sent to member representatives on April 1. Outside speaker for the Business Meeting, June 9, will be The Honorable Harold E. Talbott, Secretary of the Air Force. Guest speaker at the Joint Banquet, June 10, will be The Honorable Charles A. Halleck, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. A substantial number of reservations has been received to date, and a record turn-out is expected. (b) ASA Pump Standardization Project. The Secretary reported that a conference had been held on April 7, under the auspices of American Standards Association, to discuss a recommendation of the Pump Standardization Subcommittee, Chemical Industry Advisory Board, that a standardization project for chemical-type centrifugal pumps be inaugurated on a sectional committee basis. The Board of Directors had previously authorized the designation of MCA as the sponsor organization under ASA procedures. Action taken by the Conference resulted in a unanimous vote recommending that consideration be given to inviting MCA and the Hydraulics Institute to accept co-sponsorship of the project. The Hydraulics Institute is a trade association of pump manufacturers. 1 CMA 067250 f (312) Mr. Leva then discussed the proposed project from the standpoint of legal considerations. Action by the Board concerning the co-sponsorship feature was deferred, pending further consideration. (c) BDSA. Board members were reminded that a replacement for Mr. Herbert W. Bertine, Director, Chemical and Rubber Division, Business and Defense Services Administration, will be required by June 15. Their cooperation in nominating qualified replacements was solicited. There being no further business to come before the meeting, it was unanimously resolved to adjourn. APPROVED: F. J. Emmerich Chairman M. F. Crass, Jr. Secretary CMA 067251