Document x5j2O4J2BqxLnBpywb668oXQ1

G.H WOALL. *** * **4C* J. R. Higgins. *i * nmmo Geo. B. GilmO#, au nu6(i William V. Bunuv. ****&t A. 0. 5**61*?. Co-o^c W. j. HAWLCY. Ai& T COtOut National Lead Company Dutch Bor Wnitc lxao StJLouia Brmskch 7X2 CMtSTNUT STRICT Outcm Sot, Mott mctal, motnwsti*n amo law*twee Ulao Pmoooct* February 15, 1940 Mr. F. E. Wormser, Secretary Lead Industries Association 420 Lexington Avenue New York, N. Y. Dear Mr. Wormser: I believe that a lot of our own people are still a bit hazy on what the Lead Industries Association is, what it has done, and are now doing. If we had a brief summary along this line we could, I believe, use it to advantage. Very truly yours, IWS:LG I 002404 / COPY The Lead ladvis tries Association was organised In the Fall of 19f3 and unlike other metal associations comprises lead Dining* smelting refining and manufacturing companies all under one Associa tion Mr. Crane* the President of the largest cininr company the St Joseph Lead Company Mr Brownell President of the /norlean Smelting and Refining Company the largest smelting and refining company * and Mr Cornish^ then chairman of the largest lead consumer the National Lead Company, were the three sen most responsible for establishing the Association. Their belief was that the eenoonent ?srts of the lead industry were all vitally interested in many probems relating to the welfere of the lead Industry as a whole and that with combined efforts greater and sore economic progress could be made in solving then than through individual associations represent ing miners smelters refiners and manufacturers respectively. How well their plan has succeeded I an content to leave to the record. The work of the Association concerns itself with the following main sub-divisions * 1 Statistical - Statistics of both raw net*rials and finished products are gdhered by the Association and distributed promptly to all members of the Association This enables then to obtain a broad perspective of various related sections end products of the lead industry Legislative - The Lead Industries Association has teted promptly on federal and other legislative matters affecting Its welfare saving ouch duplication of effort. It succeeded ecrly n its career in procuring e chance in the drawb: ck lavs permitting substitution for drawback purposes o change th't had been *tteepted ndlvldually for 40 years prior to its organization but without ttccess. This change in the law Sc.vea our members thousands of ollars annually. ' The Association has helped to protect the lead industry n tariff matters. It has been successful so far in preventing a reach in the lead tariff structure threatened repeatedly by the sclprocal trade treaty negotiations of the present administration* . In E.R.A days the Association was instrumental In nrotettttt thm white lead industry from discriMnation in I.F.A' codes r soceoasfolly resisting an effort of the paint Industry to inirporate white lead In its own mode . ' . v. 3m Lead Poisoning The Association has supported 4 leal rearaaTead poisoning at Harvard University ever since a tmeoptimu It has devoted and is givta* a large amount of time ; attention to lead pollening problems arising in the use of mtous lead products which cause ttm Industry a large amount of oufela and unfavorable publicity Through its efforts a better predation of the medical position of lead is being witnessed in United States but progress is ns^egsarlly slow. o 4* z times s year a magasis*. S______A. -_____________ - * - Association bbM.k" great marry unsolicited compliment.' ry letters from readers sake us believe that this project is well aorth its cost. 5. Litharge Research - The Association is invest!grtinf the threatened displacement of the use of litharge in the petroleum industry for the refining of gasoline. , Promotional Actlrltlag. 0,a) _Plum__b_ing Promotion! _ _ - The AssoeiatW. primarily at the sug'ggeessttion of HHrr. Beschoraan of thhe Rational Lead Company, several years ago undertook to see what could be done to save and increase the use of lead in the plumbing and water works field. Starting modestly, the Association now has three field representatives, spends a small amount on advertising in the trade magazines, publishes c plumbing magazine, "Plumbers* Forur*", copy of which is attached and has been successful in definitely rc-stor ing lead to the plumbing codes of dozens of cities, snd has been directly responsible for the use of hundreds of tons of lead dumb ing goods where they ordinarily would not have been considered. Considering the modest expenditure for this work, averaging about f33,033 per year, end the results obtained, I think it is a good illustration of what the Association can Jointly do on a croble* affecting its industry, without duplicating any of the Individual member's activities, rithout the assistance of the Lead Industries Association's carpalpi, the National Le r Company vnd other r.enber companies would have had to devote their own energies and funds to preventing changes lr. niu-Mn.- codes disadvantageous to lead, and working ?;ith the caster and Journeymen plumbers' associations, work of an indispensable nature. I leave it to your own imagination as to what the cost would be to individual companies if left to them for action. (*>) -tobX....ir^.:^S- This program was suggested by Ur. F. M. Carter and the lr te 7.iHard F. o Melton of the Eagle-Picher Lead Company, and was designed to -rouse c\j the lumber industry to the common problem it had, together -1th the paint industry, of making certain that only quality lumber end paint are used in home construction. Here again a program was tackled which individual member companies could not heve undertaken. At an {*-* expenditure of about t5,000 per year, two rr.d three men have been kept in the field continuously end an extraordinary amount of rood- will has bees cultivated among the important lumber associations #ueh as, the Uestenx Pise, Red Cedar Shingle Bureau, Southern Cypress Redwood and others, which I am sure our paint competitors would pay hecdsooely to have for themselves. I as sure this brought white lead to the attention Of the lumber industry in a manner which, s the years go by, should help the, national Lead Co., and other white lead producers greatly. The cost to us of the campaign has been watched, in great part, by expenditures of lumber companies for folders, leaf let* and other literature on the same objectives. This crorran was sponsored by The Fhite Lead Promotion Progran is & national advertising campaign, not quite a year old* The largest part of our funds ere invested in. advertising to consumers* A snail part of the budget pernits collateral activities such as work anon.o' the agricultural leaders of an educational nature; field work anonr the journeyman painters, ?lso among municipalities, countries and other eov-'-rnnent users of white lead; publication of auxiliary pamphlets, booklets, broadsides, etc.,; and enlargin' our ''Lead" nagr.ine to include white lead articles* The campaign is too youne yet to demonstrate its value to the industry tut there ore straws in the wind which indicate already that white lead will be given nore f t tention in many directions than it has heretofore* Competitive attacks on white lead, adjustment of which so frequently occupied the time of the Secretary, have been conspicuous by their absence since the Campaign started* (d) Cheet Lecd Ifrorran - The Association has gathered a vast amount of recurate end authorit r tive information on the proper applic: tion of sheet lead to building construction end is prepared to publish a book rjvinq fundamental details when, as and if the interested members desire to proceed with this program* , 7. Conclusion - In all of its activities the Lead Industries Association has only attempted to encr? in work which would not duplicate any activity nf en indjviduel member company* Promotional activities, which no'- comprise a large ptrt of its budret, are based upon the assumption thr.t the leao ninin? industry should be prepared to shoulder the burden of the fundament/-1 promotional work necessary to insure the continued use of the various lead products, and to offset the competition of other metal products serving the same markets. The lead minin'1, companies have always been keenly Interested in the many uses to which l^ad is put and. the fact that they ?re now so closely allied with the rar.uf?ctuners in one association has given them information and, a -point of view that they ordinarily would not have possessed. Indeed, there is no other metal industry, outside of the monopolies, or near-noriOpolies, aluminum and nickel, where one will find the cooperation and solidarity of thinking that now exists in the lead industry I think it speaks well for the future of lead* NL I 002407