Sumner Simpson to Vandiver Brown on Asbestos Magazine's Request to Write about Asbestosis (1935)

A one-page letter of October 1, 1935, from Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, to Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's attorney, enclosing a copy of the letter he had received from Miss Rossiter of "Asbestos" magazine. Simpson wrote that "we would be just as well off to say nothing about it until our survey is complete. I think the less said about asbestos, the better off we are." He added that British trade magazines had printed a number of articles on asbestos dust control and asbestosis, and that "Asbestos" had "been very decent about not re-printing the English articles." He asked for Brown's opinion.

What it shows

Asbestos Magazine had asked whether it could now write about asbestosis and the dust control work at Raybestos-Manhattan's North Charleston plant (Rossiter's letter of September 25). Simpson's answer was to wait until the Metropolitan Life dust survey was finished and, in the meantime, say as little as possible. Brown agreed two days later that asbestosis should receive "the minimum of publicity" (his reply of October 3).

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Encloses copy of Rossiter's letter requesting approval to publish articles relating to asbestosis in "Asbestos." Simpson expresses view that "less said about asbestos the better" but acknowledges that "Asbestos" has been good in not reprinting articles from British journals dealing with the subject. Requests opinion from Brown on the subject.

Related documents

• Asbestos Magazine to Sumner Simpson on Publishing about Asbestosis (1935)
• Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson on Giving Asbestosis "the Minimum of Publicity" (1935)
• Sumner Simpson and Vandiver Brown on Asbestosis Articles in Asbestos Magazine (1935–1941)

About this copy

This is document 02739-02741 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.