Letters Received to H.H. Barker, September 5, 1928

PURDUE UNIVERSITY LAFAYETTE, INDIANA RECEIVE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE SEP 7 1928 OFFICE OF THE DEAN September 5th, 1 9 2 8. RADIE MATERI Mr. H. H. Barker, U. S. Radium Corporation, New York, N. Y. My dear Barker: According to instructions given in your letter to me of June 13th, as soon as I reached London I wrote to chief engineer Alvensleben, Centrallstelle I. Unfallverhuetung, Coethenerstr. 37, Berlin W 9, Germany, telling him that I desired certain information concerning the effect of small quantities of radium on the workers in watch factories and asked him if it would be convenient for me to visit him in Berlin in order to get this information. I received no answer and consequently shortly before leaving The Hague I wired to Mr. Alvensleben and received a reply stating that he was sick and on leave of absence but that the organization itself would be glad to give me any information they possessed. Therefore, instead of going direct from The Hague to Paris as I had planned I took the side trip to Berlin which was necessary to get this information. On arrival I interviewed chief engineer Osenbrügge and engineers Soplawsky and Pôpelt. They were very friendly and seemed anxious to give all the information that they possessed. The organization itself is supported by German industry and is really an organization to determine industrial risks and to take care of such risks by insurance. As I understood from these gentlemen it really is a method of German industry insuring itself against industrial risks but the organization is directly under the supervision of the government. Therefore, statements made by the organiza- tion have practically the same weight as though such statements came directly from the German government. The information obtained was apparently all that they possessed. They receive written reports direct from various companies and in addition their engineers visit the plants and check up on the reports furnished by the companies. I saw the originals of most of the reports furnished in connection with radium paint and they confirmed the statements made to me orally by the above named engineers. They had reports from the following companies using radium paint: Gebruder Junghaus, Schramberg, Switzerland. Mouthe, Schweningen, Germany. Holler, Schweningen, Germany. Hamburg Americanische Watch Company, Schramberg, Switzerland. All of the above companies use physicians for periodic examination of their employes so that the statements made are based upon the reports of these physicians.