Letters Received to H.H. Barker, September 8, 1930

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY September 8, 1930. Mr. H. H. Barker U. S. Radium Corporation 535 Pearl Street New York City SEP 119930 My dear Mr e Barker: After I reached Michigan and began to reflect 8. little about the anomalous results we obtained in our test of the expired air from Mrs. Tuck, I wrote to Dr. Flinn and requested that he make an examination of the ionization chamber #7 which was used in the test. Our gamma ray measurements this time checked almost exactly with the measurement we made about a year ago. It therefore occurred to me that the electrode in chamber #7 had dropped out and was not in position at the time the measurements were made. This morning I have a letter from Dr. Flinn, who was evidently out of town for several weeks, saying that my misgivings as to chamber #7 are entirely correct and we must therefore report that the expired air tests for Mrs. Metz and Mrs. Tuck are of no value. This discovery will not change our conclusion regarding the activity of Mrs. Tuck, but it does cast a little doubt upon the possible activity of Mrs. Metz which we found entirely negative by the gamma ray method. I am sorry that we did not discover this failure of chamber #7 at the time of our measure- ments. In fact, I think it was rather stupid of us not to think of it at the time. If you have any suggestions as to what we can do to correct our test, we shall be glad to do it. It has occurred to me that Dr. Flinn being right close to Newark, might consent to repeat the expired air on these two girls by having them come to his laboratory. the With very kind regards, I remain Yours very truly, Herman Schlinet Herman Schlundt. HS/GMA