Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson Listing the Sponsors of Dr. Gardner's Dust Experiments (1937)

A two-page letter of February 27, 1937, from Vandiver Brown, Johns-Manville's general attorney, to Sumner Simpson, president of Raybestos-Manhattan, about Dr. Leroy U. Gardner's asbestos dust experiments. With U.S. Gypsum's signature, Brown believed "we have now fully canvassed the industry": American Brake Block, Gatke, Union Asbestos & Rubber and U.S. Gypsum would pay $250 a year each, and the remaining $4,000 a year would be shared by Asbestos Manufacturing, Johns-Manville, Keasbey & Mattison, Raybestos-Manhattan, Russell Manufacturing, and Thermoid with Southern Asbestos, at $666.67 each. J-M would keep paying Gardner in advance each quarter and bill the others, and had given him 1,200 pounds of asbestos fiber, which he had to put through a "ball milling" process; J-M would supply similar amounts "at our expense" for the other two years.

What it shows

The letter names the companies that paid for Dr. Leroy Gardner's three-year animal experiments at the Saranac Laboratory, and how the cost of $5,000 a year was split. It also shows Johns-Manville at the center of the work: it handled the payments, held the agreement, and supplied the asbestos dust. Brown enclosed copies of the Memorandum of Agreement and of his November 20, 1936 letter to Gardner and Gardner's reply, which "set forth the substance of the arrangement between Dr. Gardner and the group," including that the results belonged to the sponsors.

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Canvassing of industry complete and companies to sponsor Saranac study are: American Brakeblok, Gatke, Union Asbestos & Rubber, U.S. Gypsum, Asbestos Mfg., J-M, Keasbey & Mattison, RM, Russell Mfg., Thermoid and Southern Asbestos. First four companies contributions are limited to $250 per year. J-M glad to continue prepaying Gardner and being reimbursed by contributors. J-M gave Gardner 1200 lbs. of dust at own expense. Will provide asbestos dust for entire experiment.

Related documents

• Vandiver Brown to Dr. Leroy U. Gardner Sending the Signed Memorandum of Agreement (1937)
• Vandiver Brown to J. S. Offutt of U.S. Gypsum on Its $250 Share of the Saranac Experiments (1937)
• Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson on the Seven Sponsors of the Saranac Experiments (1936)
• Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson on Asbestos Fiber Dust for Dr. Gardner (1937)
• Asbestos Companies' Memorandum of Agreement to Underwrite Gardner's Dust Experiments (1936)
• Vandiver Brown to Leroy Gardner Authorizing the Saranac Asbestos Experiments (1936)
• Leroy Gardner to Vandiver Brown Accepting the Terms of the Saranac Asbestos Experiments (1936)
• Sumner Simpson's Secretary to Vandiver Brown Acknowledging His Letters of February 26 and 27 (1937)
• Sumner Simpson to W. H. Dunn Ordering Raybestos-Manhattan's 1937 Payment for Dr. Gardner's Experiments (1937)
• Vandiver Brown to Sumner Simpson on Dr. Gardner's Asbestos Dust Experiments (1937–1940)

About this copy

This is document 03204-03208 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.