E. H. Jeffords to Sumner Simpson on Writing to Dr. Lanza and William Fehnel (1942)

A one-page letter of December 29, 1942, from E. H. Jeffords, general manager of Raybestos-Manhattan's General Asbestos & Rubber Division at North Charleston, to Sumner Simpson, the company's president. Following Simpson's instructions "over long distance yesterday," Jeffords had called on Mr. Mitchell and written two letters, one to Dr. A. J. Lanza and one to William J. Fehnel, both of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. He also enclosed a copy of a letter Julian Mitchell had written to Dr. Robert B. Taft on December 28, and promised to keep in touch with Mitchell and keep Simpson informed.

What it shows

The two letters Jeffords wrote that day asked Metropolitan Life's industrial hygiene staff for help against a possible asbestosis suit by a former North Charleston worker; they are published together as Raybestos-Manhattan Letters to Dr. A. J. Lanza and William J. Fehnel on E. T. Hill's Asbestosis Claim (1942). This letter shows that Simpson himself directed the approach, by telephone, and that the company's Charleston attorney, Julian Mitchell, was already involved.

In Johns-Manville's index

Johns-Manville's attorneys indexed the Sumner Simpson Papers. Their index describes this document as follows:

Informs that in accordance with instructions received, letters have been written to Dr. Lanza and W.J. Fehnel. Encloses letter that Mitchell wrote to Dr. Taft under date of 12/28/42 (letter not attached).

Related documents

• Raybestos-Manhattan Letters to Dr. A. J. Lanza and William J. Fehnel on E. T. Hill's Asbestosis Claim (1942)

About this copy

This is document 05112 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.