Thomas L. Gatke to M. F. Judd Refusing to Sign the Saranac Agreement (1937)

A two-page letter of January 26, 1937, from Thomas L. Gatke, president of the Gatke Corporation of Chicago, to M. F. Judd of Raybestos-Manhattan, returning the Saranac agreement unsigned. Gatke said it did not follow the original discussion at the New York meeting of ten companies, and that splitting the cost equally did not match "the basis of benefits to be derived." He pointed out that Sumner Simpson signed for four Raybestos-Manhattan plants that "might be classified as strictly asbestos textile plants where the dust hazard is an important matter," and argued that the cost should be shared in proportion to the number of employees.

What it shows

Gatke, a brake-lining maker, argued over the price, not the purpose, of Dr. Leroy Gardner's experiments. His letter shows that the sponsors saw the dust hazard as greatest in asbestos textile plants like those of Raybestos-Manhattan, and he named Thermoid, Southern and Keasbey & Mattison as having larger interests than his own. Simpson answered on January 29 (Simpson to Gatke), and Gatke soon said he had not meant to refuse (Gatke to Simpson, February 1); he sent back the signed agreement on February 5 (Gatke to Judd).

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Informs that Gatke Corp. has not signed Memorandum of Agreement as it does not appear to be drawn along original lines. Gives opinion that expense should be pro-rated on basis of benefits to be derived, i.e. number of plants operated or number of workers employed. Encloses the Memorandum of Agreement.

Related documents

• M. F. Judd to Thomas L. Gatke Asking for the Saranac Agreement (1937)
• Sumner Simpson to Thomas L. Gatke Regretting Gatke's Refusal to Join the Saranac Study (1937)
• Sumner Simpson's Secretary to Vandiver Brown Enclosing Gatke's Letter (1937)
• Thomas L. Gatke to Sumner Simpson on Sharing the Saranac Cost by Number of Employees (1937)
• Thomas L. Gatke to M. F. Judd Asking That Gardner Report to Every Sponsor (1937)

About this copy

This is document 03180-03181 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.