Letters Received to H.H. Barker, May 28, 1928

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY May 28, 1928 Mr. H. H. Barker United States Radium Corporation 535 Pearl Street New York, N. Y. My dear Barker: I have a fairly clear idea of the situation you are facing as the result of the decision of Chancellor Backes. I do not know whether I have any constructive suggestions that will help you in the present state of the case, but I hope that some adjustment can be made outside of Court which will be perfectly fair to all parties concerned. My feeling is that a small Board of Arbitration would easily ascertain the facts, first, with respect to the question of negligence on the part of your company, and secondly, the present state of health of the plain- tiffs. It seems to me that if both parties could agree upon a sort of arbitration board that a great deal of time, worry, and expense would be saved and the chances for justice to all parties concerned, would be better. I suppose Mr. Berry will claim that the girls are still radioactive, basing his conclusion upon the experimental tests made by Mrs. Hughes. It seems to me that one thing should be definitely esta- blished, and that is the question of whether or not the girls are at pre- sent radioactive. I feel quite certain that they containe less than 5 micrograms of radium and I very much doubt whether Mrs. Hughes' measure- ments could be confirmed unless the girls were made temporarily radioactive by drinking a little water containing radon. One possibility which has not yet been mentioned has occurred to me, namely, if the girls had breathed radon over a period of years, an active deposit of slow decay consisting of radium D, E, and F might still remain in their system. In short, they would be subject to alpha radiation from polonium, which, as you know, can not be detected by either the gamma ray method or the expired air method. If any further thoughts about this question come to me, I shall write you again promptly. Wishing you good luck and regretting that I can not be around occasionally to offer a suggestion or two even though these suggestions might not be of much consequence, I remain Very sincerely yours, seems renulote. Thistherry however Herman Schlundt Herman Schlundt. HS e b