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    "localId": "75726740",
    "label": "Letters Sent to Mr. Roach [John Roach], November 18, 1931",
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    "id": "75726740",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Letters Sent to Mr. Roach [John Roach], November 18, 1931",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75726740",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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    "seq": 3,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
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    "ocrText": "November 18th, 1931.\nState Department of Labor,\n571 Jersey Ave.,\nJersey City, N.J.\nAttention Mr. Roach\nDear Mr. Roach:\nUpon inquiry I find that Mr. J. D. Hackett, of 80 Centre\nStreet, N.Y.C., is the man in the New York Labor Department, under whose\nsupervision our operations fall. For further information as to the haz-\nards connected with work such as we are doing, I would suggest that you\ncommunicate with Dr. Harrison Martland, of the City Hospital, Newark, N.J.,\nand Dr. Frederick B. Flinn, Department of Industrial Hygiene, Columbia\nUniversity, N.Y.C.\nYou doubtless recall that the Federal Department of Health\nhave made a survey of the use of luminous material in the watch and clock\ndial industry. As far as I know their survey has not been published -\nhowever, I am quite sure that should you care to write to the Department,\nattention of Dr. J. S. Leake, Office of Industrial Hygiene, U.S. Department\nPublic Health Service, Wash. D. C., or Dr. L. R/ Thompson, Office of\nIndustrial Hygiene, Public Health Service, Wash. D. C., they would be glad\nto give you their opinion as to the hazards connected with the industry\nas now conducted.\nThe nature of our operations have been materially changed\nsince the days when injury occured to our operators. It is the general\nconsensus of opinion that the major part of the hazard was eliminated with\nthe abolition of the practice of pointing the brush with the lips. There\nhave also been many other recommendations made and put into effect for pro-\ntecting the health of those employed in this work.\nThere are now people employed in this type of work in the\nStates of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California to\nmy definite knowledge, and I believe that in all instances the respective\nState Labor Departments have acquainted themselves with conditions under\nwhich the work is being done, and have approved of same.\nWe at the present time are not employing as many people in\nthis type of work as compared to what we were employing when in Orange,\nalthough our operations are of such a nature that it would materially handi-\ncap us if we were not able to carry on with the few operators which we now\nhave. Our operations are of such a nature that we cannot forsee where we\nwould be employing any large number of people in this type of work. There\nare four on our present staff of painters.\n-2-\nSince we left New Jersey we have developed other lines of\nmerchandise, such as a complete line of hotel numbers and signs, etc., which\nfor the most part we manufacture. We have also become associated with a\nthermometer industry, end should conditions be such that we believe it would\nbe to our advantage to move to New Jersey We would doubtless take these\nallied industries with us. We hope to have a payroll of 40 to 50 people,\nof which only a small percentage would be engaged in application of luminous\nmaterial.\nWe would be pleased to have you visit our laboratories here in\nNew York with a view to ascertaining what our activities would be should we\nelect to come back to New Jersey.\nWe shall look forward to havinga conference with you on this\nsubject Friday morning at eleven (11) o'clock, and trust that we may come\nto a mutually satisfactory understanding.\nVery truly yours,\nVice President.\nHHBarker:RH"
}