W. J. McConnell to O. H. Cilley on the X-Rays for Metropolitan Life's Asbestos Report (1938)

A one-page letter of December 6, 1938, from Dr. W. J. McConnell of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to O. H. Cilley of Raybestos-Manhattan's Manheim division, answering his letter of November 28. The films were to be discussed "in the composite report of our survey of the asbestos industry which we have completed but have not completely written up." Johns-Manville had furnished "something like 300 films," but Metropolitan Life had no earlier films of those employees; the Manheim films were "more valuable" because there were earlier films of the same group. Under the earlier arrangement, the companies X-rayed their own employees and sent the films for diagnosis.

What it shows

By late 1938 Metropolitan Life had finished its survey of the asbestos industry and was writing it up, and Johns-Manville and Raybestos-Manhattan were both supplying X-rays of their workers for it. Raybestos-Manhattan's Manheim workers mattered most to the insurer because it could compare films taken years apart (McConnell's request of November 23).

In Johns-Manville's index

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

Acknowledges receipt of letter dated 11/28/38. Reports J-M provided Metropolitan with about 300 x-ray films. Unfortunately these employees had not been previously x-rayed, as have RM employees. Procedure is for company to x-ray employees and forward films to Metropolitan for diagnosis. Suggests that all 63 men on list may not be currently employed by RM.

Related documents

• O. H. Cilley to W. J. McConnell Agreeing to X-Ray the Manheim Workers Again (1938)
• W. J. McConnell of Metropolitan Life to O. H. Cilley Asking for New X-Rays of Manheim Workers (1938)

About this copy

This is document 03496 of the Sumner Simpson Papers, as numbered in the collection's index.