The Caromount News
^PUBLISHED EACH MONTH BY AND FOR THE EMPLOYEES OF THE WILSON AND CAROMOUNT DIVISIONS
VOL. 5 No. 5 SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL AND CO. INC.
May, 1947
Local Delegation At
Shelton Conferences
On May 19, 20 and 21 the
company held conferences on
training, research, public relations
at the Shelton Division. Repre
sentatives from all divisions of
the company were present for these
conferences.
The Training Conference on
May 19 was concerned with the
discussionof the best methods of
training new employees whereby
they could learn their jobs quick
ly and perform their work well.
Thomas Shock, Administrative
Assistant, presided at this meet
ing where training methods in
the various plants were discussed.
Warner Bayley, Director of Re
search, conducted .the research
meeting on Tuesday, May 20, at
which time various research pro
jects were discussed during the
morning sessions. Improvements
of machinery, development of
new products, and methods of
reducing costs were the topics.
During the afternoon sessions the
representatives visited the various
laboratories of the Research De
partment after viewing a film pro
duced by the company on certain
mechanical improvements.
On Wednesday, May 21, the
Public Relations Conference of
Sidney Blumenthal & Co., Inc.,
was held at Shelton also with Mrs.
Audrey Huesser, Editor of the
Tales of Tufts, presiding as Con
ference Chairman. In addition to
company officials, including Pres
ident H. H. Schell, Vice President
Andre Blumenthal, Vice Presi
dent Duncan Ferguson, and Vice
President James Hoyne, repre
sentatives from the various divis
ions participated in this session.
Mr. Schell opened the conference
with an address on the topic, “The
Front Office and Public Rela
tions.” Mr. Ferguson addressed
the group on “Long Term Public
Relations,” and Mr. Blumenthal
(Continued on Page Two)
GRADE A
Much effort has been made to
improve the Cafeteria facilities;
and according to Ernest Taylor
manager, these efforts have be
gun to justify themselves. The
Cafeteria at the latest grading
was given a grade “A” Sanitary
rating for the first time; and
every effort will be made to
keep this high grade.
ShoAvn liere are the iiienibers of the Safety Coiniiiittee who are
currently leading a campaign for safe practices at work, at home
and at play. Reading from left to right: Justice Boyd, Walter
Greenman, Knox Ellis, Mrs. Mary Trevathan, Floyd Hedgepeth,
Miss Dorothy Sturtevant, Walter Thompson, Mrs. Mary Bnuison,
Owen Solmon, George Harper, Hubert Sutton, and on the back
row: Julius Eppes, Limvood Pullen, Heraian Allen, J. G. E.
Boone and Clayton Hedgepeth. Employees are urged to cooperate
by doing each job the safe way.
Textile Production Low
Throughout Nation
There has been a general
slump in the textile industry
throughout our nation and this
slump has affected our produc
tion at the Caromount and Wil
son Divisions as well as other
divisions of our company. The
cut in production which was
necessary resulted in a temporary
lay-off at Caromount and a tem
porary closing of the Wilson Di
vision. After a lapse of several
weeks production was resumed on
six looms at Wilson. Many oth
er textile mills have closed com
pletely.
(Continued on Page Two)
Manager AtUSCCMeet
Resident Manager E. H. Suess-
muth attended the annual meet
ing of the United States Chamber
of Commerce held in Washington,
D. C. recently. Mr. Suessmuth is
a National Councilor and mem
ber of the Board of Directors of
the Wilson Chamber of Commerce.
He stated, “One of the most im
portant addresses presented at
the recent meeting of the National
Chamber of Commerce in Wash
ington was delivered by Lt. Gen
eral Collins on the subject of Na
tional Defense.”
General Collins pointed out that
we are now regarded as the major
(Continued on Page Two)
Accidents For Four Months Summarized
During April, the Caromount
Division had seven accidents re
quiring medical attention. Of
these accidents, two men lost time
due to back strains. In Wilson one
accident occurred and this was a
lost time accident caused by the
person bumping into an object.
In the first four months of this
year the Caromount plant has had
twenty-one accidents requiring
medical attention and of these, five
were lost time. Wilson has had
eight accidents, two of which lost
time.
The departmental records of ac
cidents at Caromount are as fol
lows :
Dept T.A. A.L.T.
Weaving 10 3
Finishing 4 0
Shipping 1 0
Engineering 3 1
Raw Goods 1 0
Dye House 2 1
Total Accidents (T.A.)
Accidents Lost Time (A.L.T.)
Wilson, with all weaving, had
8 accidents, two of which were
lost time.
Hedgepeth Attended
State Safety Meeting
Our Safety Director, Clayton
Hedgepeth, attended the Seven
teenth Annual Statewide Indus
trial Safety Conference in Win
ston-Salem on May 8-10.
At this conference many dif-
erent phases of Industrial Safety
were discussed and a brief sum
mary is given below.
In Industrial plants, fire is one
of the chief hazards. Adequate
fire protection is necessary not
only to protect the company’s in
vestment; but also to protect each
workers job. Good housekeeping
is primary in good fire prevention.
Second in importance is the edu
cation of employees in fire pre
vention ; and third is pjompt
methods of handling in case of
fire.
Safety on the highways is one
of the main drives of the Indus
trial Commission. Last year in the
United States, approximately 33,-
000 persons were killed in auto
mobile accidents and many hun
dreds of thousands were injured.
Loss of life and injuries can be
prevented by closer observance
of the driving laws and more
“courtesy of the road.”
Management must assume its
responsibility in carrying out any
safety program and must have
the whole-hearted support of sup
ervisors and labor. Prompt elimin
ation of hazards and investiga
tions of all accidents, whether
they cause injuries or not, is es
sential. Rules must be made and
enforced.
CAA President Elected
The Board of Directors of the
Caromount Athletic Association,
consisting of Charlie Sanders,
secretary; W. H. Young; Knox
Ellis, F. F. Simmons, H. K.
Landis and Bill Williams, have
elected Jim Speight to serve
as president of the association for
the coming year.
Heretofore the Board of Direc
tors has been rather small; and
in order to make it more repre
sentative of the employees, three
new members have been added:
Wahab Edwards from the office,
R. W. Tippet from the weaveshed,
and Frank Brock from the Fini
shing Department. In addition to
those Cecil Lewis has been made
Vice President.