Vandiver Brown to J. P. Woodard on Dr. Vorwald's Aluminum Hydroxide Proposal and Publication Rights (1950)

A one-page memo of November 7, 1950, from Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's attorney, to J. P. Woodard, returning Dr. Arthur J. Vorwald's proposal of October 6 for the Saranac Laboratory to study "Powdered Aluminum Hydroxide in Diatomaceous Earth Pneumoconiosis." Brown doubted that a planned side experiment with "cancer-bearing mice" could produce valid results. He also noted that J-M would only have a chance to "review" the manuscript before publication, which he called a "far cry" from Dr. Gardner's frequent promise that nothing would be published without the company's consent.

What it shows

Brown adds that Gardner's promise had not worked in practice, because Gardner let the matter "dribble out" at symposia and in passing remarks in articles on dust disease. The memo shows that J-M's lawyer judged the company's research agreements by how much control they gave it over publication. Woodard took up the question with Dr. Lanza three days later (Woodard to Brown, November 10, 1950), and Brown explained what "approval" had meant to the company in his reply (Brown to Woodard, November 15, 1950). Copies went to A. S. Elsenbast and A. R. Fisher.

In Johns-Manville's chronology

Johns-Manville's own chronology of what the company knew describes this document as follows:

Vandiver Brown writes to Woodard on 11/7/50 regarding Dr. Vorwald's proposal to conduct experimental studies on mice to explore a relationship between diatomaceous earth and cancer. Brown states that Dr. Vorwald's proposal indicates that before publication, the contributors would merely have the opportunity to "review" the manuscript. Brown states that this is a far cry from Dr. Gardner's commitment, but then states that "as a practical matter, Dr. Gardner's undertaking proved ineffective because he let the matter dribble out at symposia or as paragraphs or footnotes in articles dealing with the general subject of pneumoconiosis."

Related documents

• Saranac Laboratory, Proposal on Asbestosis and Pulmonary Cancer to the Quebec Asbestos Mining Association (1950)