The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-09-18


~ means lead drop" lead collie"
paralysis, sterility, commissions, insan-
ity and death, let us proceed to the
surgeon-generaps conference called to
examine the harmful effects OF
tetraethyl and see what attempts have
been made to protect the workers and
the public against tetraethyl lead.
The conference is made up Of rep
resentatives Of Standard Oil, General
Motors, the Ethyl Gasoline Corpora
ton and professors and physicians re-
tanned by them, few public health
authorities, some individual professors
who have helped the campaign against
tetraethyl, and representative of the
A +. Of L. and two from the Workers
Health Bureau. The conference is
opened by the secretary of the interior
and the chair is taken by the surgeon
general. The delegates are welcomed,
thanked, congratulated and told not
to be apprehensive of the outcome.
The cabinet officer and the surgeon
general address the delegates rather
diffldently. They are aware of the
immense difference in rank between
themselves-mere government officers
and these representatives Of mighty
corporations The chairman regrets
that there are too many delegates for
them all TO 'get together around one
table," He begins by informing them
that there aren't any laws untier which
the government could control the man
ufacture and sale Of ethyl gasoline
anyway. The whole tone Of the con-
ference is extremely cordial. Every
one modestly prefaces his statements
with 81 suggest" or Il submit" Only
occasionally a Standard Oil delegate
insists" or declares" Occasionally
the weak and dilute humor common
at scientific gatherings floats out over
the meeting.
But the first thing we must notice
Is the explicit statement by the sur
geon-general that the conference was
called to consider the possible hazard |
to the public involved in the distribu-
ton and sale Of ethyl gasoline. In
other words, the conference is not in
the least concerned with the hazard to
the workers involved In the manufac-
ture. And it may pay us to remember
that whatever findings this conference
reached do not apply to the dangers to
the workers involved In the manufac-
ture.
From time to time the fact is reit-
Grated that the conference is not con-
sidering the hazards involved in man.
ufacture. Just how little anyone is
considering it may be seen from the |
statement of Mr.. Frank Howard of
the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey.
In his eagerness to show how safe it |
Is to handle ethyl gasoline he over
steps himself and let's the cat out of
the bag (from the stenographic re-
pOrt): at has been handled without
any precautions at all, without any
thing more than the most obvious pre-
cautions, until the unfortunate acct
dent which happened in our pilot man
ufacturing plant last November. That
was a manufacturing hazard, and is
not point of discussion here"
other representatives OF the corpo-
rations speak on the indispensability
OF tetraethyl lead, of the tremendous
Industrial advance involved in ethyl
gasoline. Then DR.. Kehoe of the Gin
cinnati College of Medicine, retained
by the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation, re-
counts lengthy experiments which he
has performed, all of which prove that
ethyl gasoline is quite harmless to the
public.
However, the corporations are far
from having walkover. Some Of the
independent scientists who are there
at their own expense proceed to give
the corporation representatives sew
eral bad half-hours. Chief among
$First part Of this article appeared
In the Sept. II issue Of this magazine.