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    "localId": "75722803",
    "label": "Letters Received to H.H. Barker, May 28, 1928",
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    "title": "Letters Received to H.H. Barker, May 28, 1928",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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    "seq": 2,
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    "type": "document",
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    "ocrText": "UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI\nCOLUMBIA\nDEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY\nMay 28, 1928\n03/13/2021 8261 18\nMr. H. H. Barker\nund\nUnited States Radium Corporation\n535 Pearl Street\nOF\nSTATE\nNew York, N. Y.\nMATSHIAL\nMy dear Barker:\nI have a fairly clear idea of the situation you are\nfacing as the result of the decision of Chancellor Backes. I do not\nknow whether I have any constructive suggestions that will help you in\nthe present state of the case, but I hope that some adjustment can be made\noutside of Court which will be perfectly fair to all parties concerned.\nMy feeling is that a small Board of Arbitration would easily ascertain\nthe facts, first, with respect to the question of negligence on the part\nof your company, and secondly, the present state of health of the plain-\ntiffs. It seems to me that if both parties could agree upon a sort of\narbitration board that a gread deal of time, worry, and expense would be\nsaved and the chances for justice to all parties concerned, would be\nbetter.\nI suppose Mr. Berry will claim that the girls are\nstill radioactive, basing his conclusion upon the experimental tests made\nby Mrs. Hughes, It seems to me that one thing should be definitely esta-\nblished, and that is the question of whether or not the girls are at pre-\nsent radioactive. I feel quite certain that they containe less than\n5 micrograms of radium and I very much doubt whether Mrs. Hughes' measure-\nments could be confirmed unless the girls were made temporarily radioactive\nby drinking a little water containing radon.\nOne possibility which has not yet been mentioned has\noccurred to me, namely, if the girls had breathed radon over a period of\nyears, an active deposit of slow decay consisting of radium D, E, and F\nmight still remain in their system. In short, they would be subject to\nalpha radiation from polonium, which, as you know, can not be detected by\neither the gamma ray method or the expired air method.\nIf any further thoughts about this question come to me,\nI shall write you again promptly. Wishing you good luck and regretting that\nI can not be around occasionally to offer a suggestion or two even though\nthese suggestions might not be of much consequence, I remain\nThis theory however\nVery sincerely yours,\nseems rentate\nHerman Schlundt\nHerman Schlundt.\nHS\nc\nb"
}