The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1950-06-01
Residents Concerned
Continued from Page One)

assurances of Texas Eastern
Transmission Corporations rep
resentatives that the Caldwell
explosion of Jan. 20 was a freak
mat could not possibly repeat
itSslf must have been awakened
to reality with a rude shock. It
can and did happen again at
Somerton yesterday Fortunate
ly no residents were killed in
either instance but how long can
we expect our good luck to last?
In my previous letters to you,
: | iaIleu ~ give you tull lnforma-
ton as to why we in our COM
munlty are SO concerned. Some
OF the facts we know of are as
follows:
There have been over 80
breaks in IL miles of pipe-26
occurring in less than u two
mile stretch in the neighborhood
of my home-during hydrostatic
testing of the pipe. Breaks oc-
CURED from $50 to 100 pounds
per square inch.
II-This pipe was manufac-
tured by the Youngstown Sheet
& Tube Co. by a method that
was rot completely satisfactory
as acknowledged by people in
the New York office of Youngs-
town Sheet & Tube Co. with
whom one of my neighbors dis
cusSed this situation.
Hive have established the
following fact beyond the pos
slbllity of contradiction through
a letter we have from the Re-
construction Finance Corporation
signed by Alan Brown, an RFC
attorney.
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.
supplied some pipe to the War
Emergency Pipeline Corp, who
built and operated the Big
Inch and Little Big Inch" for
its principal, Defense Plant Cor
poration, in turn subsidiary of
Reconstruction Finance Corpor-
alton. At the conclusion of its
contract with WEP Corporation.
Youngstown gave up slightly
more than $6,000,000.00 in final
payment for the pipe it supplied
IN return for a release from all
future damages, actions, damage
claims that might arise as a re-
suit of failures of the pipe it
supplied during the construction
of these lines.
1t is difficult to believe that
large corporation would give up
such an amount of money with
out due cause. We can Surmise
only that Youngstown officers
felt that their pipe was not COM
pletely suited to high pressure
and that giving up the $6,000,00O
was the cheapest way out of a
bad situation.
Small consolation to those peo-
pie through whose property the
pipeline was laid adjacent to the
home that were there before the
pipeline was conceived. l re-
member that in my case, / had
no choice whatsoever about it
the lines came through in spite
of my objections. incidentally, l
was paid the magnificent sum of
$500 for the easement at the
rate of so cents per rod per pipe
but that is another story and
entirely irrelevant to the press
ing subject at hand.
1V-The safety record of Tex
as Eastern Transmission Corp. is
a highly controversial question.
Texas Eastern representatives
claim it is very good. We claim
otherwise. Possibly your readers
may want to judge for them
selves.
At the discussions mentioned
in my letter of May 9, 1850 with
Texas Eastern representatives,
they admitted to IA explosions
and four or five serious fires in
the 18 to 20 months they had
operated the lines. 1t is assumed
by us that this was even after
the pipe had been Enthusiastically
tested. Let us hope that Texas
Eastern did not operate these
lines without at least that rudi-
mentary precaution through the
midWeStern states.
Fridays, May 10, explosion
would be number Is to the best
of our knowledge. 1t is needless
for me to elaborate on the pos
Sible horrible consequences of
these explosions. You and your
community witnessed one on
January 20, 1850.
We here in Colonia have Sc