Company Decisions Regarding Preexisting ConditionsContext:Part of the medical department’s job was to examine employees for preexisting conditions that might cost the company money in healthcare or lawsuits. Albert Lantto’s Medical Screening Letter
A. B. Simonson to James MacNaughton, May 7, 1914, Calumet and Hecla Mining Companies Collection, MS-002, box 47, folder 520, Michigan Tech Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections, Houghton, MI. Calumet, May 7, 1914.
Mr. James MacNaughton, 2nd. V.P. & General Manager. Dear Sir: On May first, 1914, I examined Albert Lantto (6389) for an underground job; he was rejected on account of a direct in guinal hernia on the right side. He was not aware he has a hernia, it never gave him any trouble and he never wears a truss. Lantto is 51 years old, has a wife and nine children, resides 4254 Tenth Street, Yellow Jacket. His employment with the Company began in December, 1898, and according to his card worked uninterruptedly until October, 1911, when he quit. Could an exception be made in this instance and pass Lantto for underground work. The family is helpless and very poor. He impresses me as a strong able man. His Aid record while in the employ of the Company at Red Jacket Shaft is as good as the average man. I believe there should be something more serious than this man’s hernia to reject him. Respectfully, A. B. Simonson. Reply to Albert Lantto’s Medical Screening Letter
James MacNaughton To A. B. Simonson, June 1, 1914, Calumet and Hecla Mining Companies Collection, MS-002, box 47, folder 520, Michigan Tech Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections, Houghton, MI. May 8 1914.
Dr. A. B. Simonson, Hospital. Dear Sir:- I have yours of the 7th referring to Albert Lantto (6389). According to your record this man quit voluntarily in 1911, there is, therefore, no obligation on the part of this Company to re-instate him at work. Aside from the hernia to which you refer, he is eleven years over age. Yours truly, 2nd V.P. and Gen.Mgr. Stop and Reflect:Think about the different relationships the doctor and the manager had with workers.
Historian's Perspective:This builds on our understanding of company structure.Doctors had direct working relationships with employees. Dr. Simonson described Albert Lantto’s health and record here, but he also commented on Lantto as “strong and able” and described the family’s situation. He accounted for both medicine and personal knowledge when he recommended Albert for underground work. Managers were different. This is not to say that MacNaughton didn’t care, but his position in the company made it easier to step back and see workers as numbers on paper. His line about “obligation” makes it clear that his concern was not whether Lantto could physically do the job but whether the company had to help him. Lantto quit willingly, so Calumet and Hecla was not responsible for what happened to him afterwards. To the company, there was no benefit in hiring a worker who might be slower or less efficient. Set 3Proceed to the next set of documents in the Workers as Company Assets group. |
Last updated: March 31, 2025