The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1945-08-03
Mr.. Matthew P. Mccullough, President,
Masonite Corporation,
Chicago, III.
Dear Mr.. Mccullough:

Chicago, Ill.
Dear Mr.. Mccullough:
terday contains statements which seem to deny certain facts
and conversations in which | personally participated, with
you and other Masonite officials at Laurel, and / take this
opportunity to ascertain whether ] have read the intent OF
this telegram correctly.
The contradiction concerns the matter of a concise but
definite outline of Masonite's anti-pollution program on which
you have said a quarter of a million dollars will be spent. Al
this point let me state what was said about this outline-to
my certain knowledge-at the meeting July 3, at Laurel.
/. Following a tour of the plant by a number of
Southeastern Mississippi editors. at the invitation of
Masonite. you stated to US in a formal talk that the COM
panY had followed an unfair and procrastinating policy
in its failure to treat its destructive wastes for many
years. Your exact language included such statements
as this:
I'VE have stalled. That's perhaps the word to use. I
don't think it's exactly fair. but we shall use it -. We've
been accused of giving false information from Laurel.
Maybe we have. We've been accused of side-stepping.
Maybe we have. There will be nothing like that under
my regime in the future. . ! won't apologize for what
we haven't done in the past. ! don't think we have done
what we should have done. We didn't have information
on the subject I admit that your criticism is justified"
2. Following a talk of this nature, admitting Masonites
uncooperative policy in the past, but promising an eff
fective and honest policy in the future in the matter of
your pollution responsibility, you then announced to the
editors present that you had been in Mississippi studying
the matter for about a week, and that you had reviewed
the situation" with Mr.. c. H. Westphalen, acting general
manager of the Laurel plant. and Mr.. Robert Boehm, d-
rector of research, and that the three of you had outlined
a remedial program.
3. Mr.. Westphalen and Mr.. Boehm also spoke at the
meeting, and the three of you received questions and
comments from the floor. During the course of your
talks, you three gentlemen stated that the principal parts
OF the proposed program were the raising of the settling
pond banks three feet by dumping earth, and the installa-
ton of settling tanks for the purpose of removing most
of the wood fibers.
4. / and my associate. on the basis of a study of the
reports on the Masonite pollution problem by such ex-
perts as DR.. F. r. Hassler. N. D.. of the Oklahoma Health
Department. and DR.. M. M. Ellis. Pho. senior aquatic
biologist of the U. S. Fish and Wild Life Service. expressed
the opinion that these methods were definitely made
quate since they provided absolutely no direct treatment
OF the OxVO0u hungry wood sUdars in the UaSfo The vv0od
sugars are the primary cause of the killing of fish. This
is a basic fact asserted in all studies and reports. including
those OF your own chemists.
s. So far as we could elicit from YOU and your associates
at the meeting, the only provisions in your quarter of a
million dollar program" for counter-acting these primarily
wood sugars, was to hold the waste in the set
ting ponds" until the Talahala creek and Leaf river were
at high stage, when they could be released, according to your
statements, without damage.
6. We asserted to you frankly that, in view of Masonites
known and admitted past record of stalling and bad faith or
this matter of communicating the Tallahala, Leaf and Pasca-
goula river system, we could not accept the word of your own
research director that this waste could be released at high
water without damage; also your cancellations about this
program gave us no specific facts about the actual capacity
of the settling pond so that we could use our own common
of 100000 gallons during the low water periods
nor did YOU tell us the size or the number of the settling tank
or tanks you intended to install to take out the wood fibers.
I AS the matter stood, we had only vague statements
about this program by you and your associates. 1t seemed
obvious that If you and your expert management knew that
a program was going to cost "a quatrer of a million dollars,
you certainly knew also how you planned to spend the money
Since we editors had come to Laurel at your invitation to dis
cuss this matter, | asked in the open meeting whether Mason
lite would not give us a simple written outline of the anti
pollution program. | asserted that | had come to Laurel with
as to whether you actually planned to clean up this
and that your statements had been too vague to
change my own feelings until | had seen such an outline
which could be submitted by us for study by river experts
more dlSlnterested than Masontes own research staff.
8. Mr.. Westphalen. general manager. told me in the
open meeting that Masonite would be glad to let US see
such an outline. He repeated that statement in a tele-
phone conversation later that evening. It was clearly
understood In our open discussions that this would be
sent in a few days. and certainly in time for our weekly
press day on the following Thursday. MIR. Brooks Toler.
Masonite's public relations representative. said in your
presence. and l quote. we will send you the outline of
that program by next Wednesday and you will see that
1t will answer all your questions"
You Yourself were a witness and general participant
In these discussions. and made no objection to the agree
ment to send us this outline. Obviously we were not
asking for finished engineering blue prints.
g. We did not receive the outline during the following
week. We did receive a telegram from you, following your
return to Chicago, announcing that the Masonite board OF
directors had authorized IAN expenditure of one-quarter mil
lion dollars to be expended in construction and equipment
which should enable us to eliminate our share of RESPONSE
biity for the killing of fish engineering is being com
DGTa1 and DEnDFE fnr HnnNAA~ - - - HI