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    "localId": "75724205",
    "label": "Letters Sent to James Ewing, May 13, 1929",
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    "title": "Letters Sent to James Ewing, May 13, 1929",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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{
    "seq": 4,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
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    "ocrText": "May 13th, 1929.\nDr. James Ewing,\nCornell University Medical College,\nFirst Ave. and 28th St.,\nN.Y.C.\nDear Dr. Ewing:\nPlease pardon my delay in answering your note of May 7th, enclosing\nletter from Dr. Krumbhaar, both of which we have read with considerable interest.\nIn view of the fact that Dr. Krumbhaar was selected by Mr. Berry as\nthe girls representative on the Committee, and his more or less close contact with\nMr. Berry, we can well appreciate his viewpoint. However, we feel that our\noriginal position with regard to the Committee making any formal statements about\nthese cases is sound and most equitable to all parties concerned.\nMr. Berry has not only stated in our presence, but we understand\nhas more or less generally broadcast the statement that he is not going to try the\ncase which he now has until he has the formal report from the Committee, as he feels\nthat such report is very essential to his winning the present case. With reference\nto Mr. Merry advising Dr. Krumbhaar that after he has once established unquestion-\nably that the five girls are suffering from \"radium poisoning\" he will not be interes-\nted in any further cases and, that he is only trying this case to establish such fact,\nallow us to advise you that Mr. Berry at the time the five cases were settled stated\nthat he was not interested in handling any further cases. We did not take such\nstatement seriously for we well realize that the legal profession is dependent upon\nsuch cases as these for a goodly part of their income. It seems to be quite a\ngenerally accepted fact which no one is attempting to deny, as far as I know, that\nthe five girls have or are suffering from a hitherto unknown condition as & result\nof continued ingestion of small amounts of radio-active materials. Just what argu-\nments Mr. Berry can set forth in order to clinch this matter he must prove it before\nthe courts we are unable to fathom.\nDr. Krumbhaar's statement as to the fact that the Committee is permitt-\ning the continuance of the girls annuities as well as medical expenses constitutes\nnegative evidence to the effect that the girls are suffering, is well taken and one\nwhich would be difficult to deny.\nIn our opinion the current case is strictly individual and should be\nhandled entirely apart from the preceeding cases, especially in view of the fact that\nthese cases were settled and there was no decision rendered. Mr. Berry is apparently\ntrying to obtain such a decision from your Committee to use it to arouse public\nsympathy in behalf of his client in a manner somewhat the same as he aroused public\nsympathy in behalf of the five girls. I believe that your Committee will agree with\nus that any unnecessary publicity given to the condition of the five girls will not\nresult in anything beneficial to either them or the case in question 30 far as their\nactual condition is concerned and, it is even quite possible that such publicity\nmight be considered decidedly harmful to the girls. So long as there is no breach of\nthe stipulation on our part, and the girls medical expenses as O.K'd by you, are\npaid, and their annuities continued, there is, in our opinion no necessity for either\n-2-\nMr. Berry or the girls themselves making any particular demands upon your Committee\nas to a statement of your findings. In the event that we should fail to fulfill our\npart of the obligation the time would be opportune for such demands.\nWith reference to the current case: Electroscopic determinations were con-\nducted at Mr. Berry's office in Newark on March 17th, under the direction of Drs. Failla\nand Schlundt. Mrs. Hewes was present as the radiologist in the client's behalf. The\nusual tests were conducted, consisting of gamma ray and expired air and, at an informal\ndiscussion at the close of these tests Mrs. Hewes agreed with Drs. Failla and Schlundt,\nin the presence of Mr. Berry, that the girl apparently yas not radio-active according\nto test conducted. I personally heard Mr. Berry call Mrs. Hewes to one side and give\nher quite a lecture with reference to her making any such admission before our experts.\nIt seems to us that Mr. Berry feels that the present case is not any too strong in\nview of the evidence which he has to present and, for that reason is doubly anxious to\nagain arouse sympathy of the Court by talking about the other cases which as far as we\ncan see has nothing to do with the present case.\nAt this conference Mr. Berry asked our legal counsel if they would have any\nobjection to his taking depositions from the Committee, namely - Drs. Krumbhaar, Craver\nand yourself, to which our counsel replied in the negative. Your Committee, of course,\nappreciates that inasmuch as none of you are residents of N.J. it would be impossible\nfor Mr. Berry to subpoena you to appear in court unless you care to do SO. Again in\nthe matter of taking depositions from your Committee, there is nothing obligatory on\nyour part to give Mr. Berry information requested, and Mr. Berry would be successful\nin obtaining only such data as you would elect to give. Any such depositions, of\ncourse, would become public information and, in our opinion would be given wide public-\nity at the proper time. We have given your Committee sufficient information relative\nto this whole situation for you to realize how complicated it is, and the various points\nand issues involved. You further know, that we are not disposed to shirk any just\nresponsibility that we may have - but at the same time we are extremely anxious that\nthese matters be handled in a manner giving as little general publicity to this subject\nas possible. The publicity given in the past has materially effected the radium\nindustry in all its phases, and in most cases without any justification. The matter\nof any hazard existing in the application of luminous material to watch dials at the\npresent time is being carefully studied and, in our opinion has been eliminated for\nthe past three or four years. We are, therefore, confronted with the problem of\ngiving consideration to matters which transpired in the past, at a time when our\nknowledge was not as complete as it is today and, guiding ourselves in such a way that\nwe will not jeopardize the industry as it now exists.\nIt is extremely difficult for either Mr. Berry or ourselves to associate with\nlitigation of this nature physicians of reputable standing, for we well appreciate\nhow averse they are to becoming involved in legal wrangles.\nYour Committee has an obligation to fulfill, such obligation consisting of\nmeting out justice in accordance with the stipulation signed by them and ourselves.\nSo long as these girls receive such justice I cannot see where Mr. Berry has any right\nto make demands or requests from your Committee and, in fact should be very happy that\nmatters are being taken care of as they are.\nI received a few lines from Dr. Schlundt a week or ten days ago, stating\n-3-\nthat he has had considerable delay in completing the analysis of the excreta,\ncollected when he was in New York, due to the fact that it has been necessary for him\nto be away from the town of Columbia a good deal of late. This information should\nbe forthcoming very shortly however.\nDr. Krumbhaar's letter is herewith enclosed.\nSincerely yours,\nVice President.\nHHBarker RH"
}