The Society of the Living Dead (2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Ridings,

The Society of the Living Dead: 

The Illustrated History of 

Ottawa’s Radium Dial Scandal

(Arcadia Publishing 2020)

(160 pages)

 

Jim Ridings (born 1950) graduated from a school of journalism in Illinois in 1976. He was a reporter at the Daily Times in Ottawa and the Beacon-News in Aurora. He is the author of several books about historical events in the state of Illinois.

 

The book under review here is about the Radium Girls. It is a dark chapter of US history. A story of needless pain and suffering. For many years, it was virtually unknown to the public.

 

The Radium Girls had an unusual job: they painted the dial of clocks and watches with radium. The clock and the watch would glow in the dark, but the radium used to paint the dial was dangerous to the workers who came into close contact with it.

 

The young women who worked in American radium factories did not know the truth about this substance. They were told it was harmless, perhaps even beneficial. The truth is they were slowly poisoning themselves.

 

The owners of the factories knew the substance was dangerous long before the workers, but they did not inform the workers. They kept it a secret. They did not ask the workers to take precautions when they were working with radium.

 

When a worker was taken ill, the managers claimed they had no responsibility for what was happening. The managers did not care about the health and safety of the workers as long as the company was making a profit.

 

In the US, there were at least three radium factories, located in three different states:

 

** In Ottawa, Illinois

** In Orange, New Jersey

** In Waterbury, Connecticut

 

When you look at the subtitle of this book, you can see that it focuses on the factory in Ottawa, Illinois. This factory was active under two different names and at two different locations for more than fifty years.

 

The first name: The Radium Dial Company (1917-1936)

The second name: Luminous Processes (1934-1978)

 

While the focus is on the factory in Ottawa, Illinois, there is also some information about the factory in Orange, New Jersey, and about the factory in Waterbury, Connecticut.

 

The book is divided into 15 chapters which cover a period of ca. one hundred years: from the beginning of the 20th century until the beginning of the 21st century. Here are the headlines:

 

# 01. Radium: The Wonderful Discovery

# 02. Radium Dial Company

# 03. The New Jersey and Connecticut Radium Women

# 04. Death Comes to Ottawa

# 05. Lawsuits Against Radium Dial

 

# 06. The Donohue Hearing of 1938

# 07. Radium Stories

# 08. Luminous Processes, 1934

# 09. Luminous Processes, 1978

# 10. The Locker Plant

 

# 11. Cleanup Time

# 12. Where Are the Luminous Owners?

# 13. Denial

# 14. Acceptance

# 15. Aftermath

 

Most chapters are short, less than 10 pages. But there is one exception: chapter # 7, which runs for more than 40 pages. In this chapter, Jim Ridings tells the story of several Radium Girls; often a tragic story about a short life and a painful death.

 

As stated in the subtitle of the book, this is the illustrated history of the Radium Girls of Ottawa. The subtitle is fully justified: there are many illustrations in each chapter. In fact, there are not many pages without an illustration; there are not many pages where there is only text.

 

All illustrations are black-and-white. They can be divided into four categories:

 

# 1. Pictures of Radium Girls

# 2. Pictures of buildings which housed the radium company

# 3. Documents and letters written by or to the Radium Girls

# 4. Photostats of articles published in local newspapers. These articles show us some examples of how the topic was covered by the media in the past.

 

The quality of the illustrations is often poor. This is no surprise, since we are talking about old pictures. We cannot blame the author for this. Instead, we must be grateful to him, because he managed to find so many items to illustrate the history of the Radium Girls.

 

The title of the book is The Society of the Living Dead. What does it mean? The Living Dead are the Radium Girls who are still alive, but who know that their days are numbered. Most of them do not have long to live. Such a group was actually formed in Ottawa in 1937. And the sinister name of the group was used in the media.

 

For many years, the fate of the Radium Girls and the horrible conditions which they faced were ignored by the media. The Radium Girls lived and worked and died, but most people did not know about them and therefore most people did not care about them.

 

When we read this book, we can see that there are in fact some exceptions to this rule. On five occasions during the last one hundred years, the media took an interest in the case and began to cover the story of the Radium Girls.

 

The first time: the 1920s

In the 1920s, some workers in Orange, New Jersey, began to suspect that radium was the cause of their poor health. A small group of five women wanted to sue the company. This difficult battle took place 1925-1928.

 

The second time: the 1930s

The workers in Ottawa read the reports about the workers in Orange and their attempt to sue the company in the 1920s.

 

In the 1930s, some workers in Ottawa wanted to follow the example of the workers in Orange. A small group of women suspected the company was responsible for their suffering.

 

They wanted the company to tell the truth and they wanted the company to pay economic compensation. This difficult battle took place 1937-1939.

 

The third time: the 1970s

In 1978, the radium factory in Ottawa was closed by the authorities. In connection with the closing of the factory, there was some media coverage and some public discussion about the factory and the role it had played in the history of the town.

 

The fourth time: the 1980s

Radium City is a documentary film which premiered in 1987. In 1988, it was shown in Ottawa where it was filmed. There was some public discussion about the role the factory had played in the history of the town.

 

Local activists had formed a committee called Residents Against a Polluted Environment. In the film, there is a brief clip where we can see the office of this committee. The name of the committee is written on a poster placed in the window:  

 

Residents

Against a

Polluted

Environment

 

When the name of the committee is written in this way, something happens. An acronym appears. We will read the first letter of each line from top to bottom and discover a new word:  

 

RAPE

 

This is hardly an accident. This is probably done on purpose. The residents want to show what they think about the radium company. They think the company is guilty of violation and rape of the local community.

 

The fifth time: the beginning of the 21st century

In the beginning of the 21st century, there was a significant change in the political climate in Ottawa. The local politicians (including the mayor) no longer refused to talk about the topic. Instead, they were bold enough to face the facts, even though it was hard to do this.

 

In 2006, a local school girl (Madeline Piller) became aware of the topic. She contacted some local politicians (including the mayor). She suggested that the town should have a monument to remember the Radium Girls. 

 

Amazingly, they agreed with her.

 

When a suitable location was found, and when a suitable artist (Madeline’s father William Piller) was found, the plan could begin to move forward. 

 

When sufficient funds were found, the plan could be completed. In 2011, a memorial to the Radium Girls was unveiled.

 

This book covers an important topic. And the topic is covered very well. This is a great book. Having said that, I must add that there are two things about this book which I do not like. It has two flaws.

 

# 1. The first flaw: there is no index. Many names are mentioned in this book; names of people and names of places. Maybe I remember a certain name, but I cannot remember where it was. There is no index which can help me find the page where this name appears.

 

In the old days, it was a time-consuming job to create an index for a book. These days, when we have computers, it does not take long. Just pick the names you wish to have in the index and press “search.” The computer will find the relevant pages for all names. It does not take long. An index increases the quality of a book, because it is possible to use the book as a working tool.

 

# 2. The second flaw: the letters used in this book are too small. For general text, the letters are small. And it gets worse. For captions and for long quotations, the letters are even smaller! 

 

This is a shame. It is difficult to read this book. Many readers will need a magnifying glass to read the text!

 

In this book, how many lines are there on a page with no illustrations? The answer is 44!

 

In a normal book with normal letters, how many lines are there on a page with no illustrations? The answer is 30 or 31!

 

In other words, this book has 13 or 14 extra lines on every page! The only way to fit so many lines on one page is to reduce the size of the letters. Using a small font is a very bad idea!

 

The number of pages in this book is 160. If the book had been published with letters of normal size, it would have been much longer; perhaps 224 or 240 pages. A longer book means a more expensive book. I know that. But I do not care!

 

I would gladly pay five or even ten dollars more in order to get a book I can read; a book where the size of the letters is normal and not reduced to microscopic size as in this book.

 

I like this book and I want to give it a high rating, but I cannot hide the truth. This book has two flaws. It would be much better if there was an index and if it had been published with letters of normal size.

 

Having said that, I will repeat my previous statement: the author has chosen an important topic and he has covered this topic very well.

 

Jim Ridings was a young reporter in 1978 when the radium dial scandal exploded in Ottawa. He covered the case at the time. On page 125 there is a photostat of an opinion piece written by him and published in the local newspaper on 4 May 1978.

 

The headline says:

 

“Doubletalk from Luminous.”

 

The last paragraph reads as follows:

 

“The whole incident would be laughable if people’s lives weren’t at stake. Luminous Processes seems to put profits before people. It appears to take a casual attitude about safety precautions for its employees and has few regrets about any illnesses that may befall the workers. That may be the worst illness of all.”

 

Chapter 13 of his book opens with this paragraph:

 

“From the very beginning, Radium Dial spokesmen lied and denied – they lied to the women about the danger of radium; they lied to the women about their results of their physical exams; they paid Ottawa doctors to lie on the death certificates; they paid Ottawa lawyers to refuse to take the women’s cases; they refused to cooperate with government health inspectors; and they denied any responsibility for the dozens of their women who were dying the most agonizing deaths.”

 

In the conflict between the workers and the company, Jim Ridings can be objective, but he cannot be neutral. He has to take a stand. He sides with the young female workers who are victims of a greedy and ruthless company.

 

Fortunately, denial is no longer an option. These days, the city of Ottawa is facing the past with open eyes. The past is no longer buried or hidden.

 

The Society of the Living Dead is difficult to read. Not only because it is published with very small letters, but also and mostly because the truth about the Radium Girls is a heart-breaking story, a dark chapter of US history, which was buried and hidden for too many years.

 

If you are interested in the history of the modern world – if you believe the lives of people are more important than the profits of private corporations – this book is definitely something for you.

 

REFERENCES

 

PART ONE = BOOKS

** Radium Girls by Claudia Clark (1997)

** Deadly Glow by Ross Mullner (1999)

** The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (UK 2016, US 2017)

 

PART TWO = FILMS

** Radium City (1987) – a documentary film

** Radium Girls (2018) – a historical drama

 

*****

 

 "Society of the Living Dead!" 

The Star (Toronto), 23 April 1938

 

*****

"Living Dead Insist Radium Is Poisonous"

Chicago Herald and Examiner, 28 March 1938

*****

Radium Girls (2018)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radium Girls is a historical drama (based on true events) which premiered in 2018. It is now available on Netflix.

 

The topic is a dark chapter of US history. For many years it was virtually unknown to the public:

 

The radium girls had an unusual job: they painted the dial of clocks and watches with radium. The clock and the watch would glow in the dark, but the radium used to paint the dial was dangerous to the workers who came into close contact with it.

 

The young women who worked in American radium factories did not know the truth about this substance. They were told it was harmless, perhaps even beneficial. The truth is they were slowly poisoning themselves.

 

The owners of the factories knew the substance was dangerous before the workers, but they did not inform the workers. They kept it a secret. They did not ask the workers to take precautions when they were working with radium.

 

When a worker was taken ill, the managers claimed they had no responsibility for what was happening. The managers did not care about the health and safety of the workers as long as the company was making a profit.

 

In the US, there were at least three radium factories, located in three different states:

 

** In Ottawa, Illinois

** In Orange, New Jersey

** In Waterbury, Connecticut

 

This drama is about the factory located in Orange, New Jersey, which was active for more than fifty years (1914-1970). In this drama, the focus is on events which happened in the 1920s.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Directors: Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler

** Writers: Ginny Mohler and Brittany Shaw

** Run time: 102 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Joey King as Bessie – sister of Jo

** Abby Quinn as Josephine (AKA Jo) – sister of Bessie

 

** Scott Shepard as Mr Leech – manager at the radium factory

** Carol Cadby as Mrs Butkiss – team-leader at the radium factory

** John Bedford Lloyd as Arthur Roeder – president of the radium company

** Neal Huff as Dr Flint – a doctor who works for the radium company

 

** Collin Kelly-Sordelet as Walt – a photographer

** Susan Heyward as Etta – a filmmaker

** Cara Seymour as Wiley Stephens – Consumers League

** Greg Hildreth as Henry Berry – a lawyer

** Veanne Cox as Dr Katherine Drinker – a physician who works at Harvard University

 

Since this drama is based on true events, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them in this review.

 

While this drama is based on true events, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events.

 

Not everything happened exactly as shown here. Some details have been added or altered or excluded for practical reasons or for dramatic purposes. But the basic story is true.

 

THE PLOT

The story begins in Orange, New Jersey, in 1925. The main characters are two sisters – Bessie and Jo – who both work at the radium factory. They are dial painters. Jo is a more efficient worker than her sister. She touches more radium than her sister. This is why Jo gets sick before her sister.

 

One day a photographer (Walt) comes to the factory. He is there to take some pictures of the staff which the company can use for promotion campaigns. Bessie likes Walt and he likes her. They become friends. Walt takes Bessie to a coffee shop where she meets some of his friends. Walt is a communist and most of his friends are radicals.

 

For Bessie this is a whole new world. Before meeting Walt, she was a party girl who just wanted to have some fun. She was not interested in politics. Meeting Walt and his friends changes her life. It is a political awakening for Bessie. Now she is interested in politics. Now she is radicalized. Now she is concerned about workers and the conditions under which they are working.

 

Jo is not feeling well. Her health is deteriorating. But when she is examined by Dr Flint, who works for the radium company, he says she suffers from syphilis. Jo objects to this diagnosis. She says she is a virgin! How can she have syphilis?

 

Bessie and Jo talk to Walt about their sister Mary who is no longer alive. She used to work at the radium factory, but she was taken ill and then she died. Perhaps her disease and her early death had something to do with the conditions in the factory?

 

Walt says he knows someone who may help them find out if this is true or not. He takes them to meet Wiley Stephens who works at the New Jersey branch of Consumers League.

 

Wiley is very interested in what they say. She says the Consumers League suspects that radium is dangerous and that they want to sue the company for having a dangerous work environment. But they need a good case.

 

After some hesitation, Bessie and Jo decide to go along with the plan. The Consumers League wants to start a class action suit against the company. The idea of a class action suit is that they are not doing this for themselves alone, but for all workers in the same situation.

 

When they talk to their colleagues at the factory about the case, most of them are afraid to join them. They say they need this job. They do not want to offend the company. In the end, the two sisters are joined by three other women. Five young women, who are poor, want to hold a large company accountable! What are their chances of winning?

 

Before they can go to court, they need to find a lawyer who will take their case. This is not easy. In fact, it takes almost two years. This is not good, because the radium girls cannot wait too long. They are literally dying. Time is of the essence here.

 

Finally, in 1927, they find a lawyer who is willing to take their case. The lawyer (Henry Berry) is young. He does not have much experience, but he believes in the case. He wants to help the radium girls, and this is what counts.

 

When the case begins, it proceeds very slowly. The company denies all responsibility and it is clear that the company wants the case to move as slowly as possible. It seems the company has a devious plan: if the case can take a long time, the radium girls may die before the case can get to the end. And if the plaintiffs are no longer alive, the company is off the hook!

 

In 1928, before the case has come to an end, the radium girls accept a compromise. The case is settled out of court. The company will pay each of them a sum of 10,000 dollars. The company also promises to pay their medical bills and - most importantly - to take care of their children when their parents are no longer alive.

 

For the company, this settlement is expensive, but it has one significant advantage: the company can deny any guilt. The company does not have to admit that they did anything wrong. The company offers to pay some money because they have a good heart. Not because they are responsible for the death of the workers.

 

RATINGS AND REVIEWS

What do reviewers say about this historical drama? Here are the results of three review aggregators:

 

52 percent = Meta

61 percent = IMDb

76 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

78 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

 

As you can see, the ratings are not excellent. They range from average (52) to good (78). But no rating says this film is great (90-100).

 

I understand why. The first part of the movie is slow. Later it gets better, but in the end, it is not enough.

 

On IMDb, there are at the moment more than thirty reviews. It is interesting to read them and see what they say. Here are some headlines plus the rating (the maximum is 10):

 

** Disrespectful to the memory of the radium girls = 1

** A true disappointment = 2

** Predictable, poor editing, and over acted = 2

** Boring = 4

** Historical inaccuracies = 4

** Could’ve been good, such a shame = 4

** Good subject, bland presentation = 5

** An important story ruined by a bland script = 5

** Could have been better = 5

** Important message, dull story = 6

 

All reviewers feel the story is important and deserves to be told. But some reviewers feel the drama is boring. More importantly, some reviewers complain because historical truth has been violated.

 

They have a point. Here is list of some facts which are true and some facts which have been changed:

 

WHAT IS TRUE

The location is true: Orange, New Jersey

The time frame is true: 1925-1928

 

Two names are true:

** The president of the radium company: Arthur Roeder.

** The medical expert from Harvard University: Katherine Drinker (1869-1956)

 

WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED

Most names have been changed. But the fictional names are often quite close to the real names. Here is the list:

 

The names of the two sisters

** In the movie they are called Bessie and Jo

** The real names are Albina Larice (1895-1946) and Quinta McDonald (1900-1929)

 

The name of the dead sister

** In the movie she is called Mary

** The real name is Amelia Maggia (1896-1922)

 

The woman who works for Consumers League

** In the movie she is called Wiley Stephens

** The real name is Katherine Wiley

 

The lawyer who works for the radium girls

** In the movie he is called Henry Berry

** The real name is Raymond Berry

 

The (false) doctor who works for the company

** In the movie he is called Dr Flint

** The real name is Frederick Flinn

 

The name of the company

** In the movie it is called American Radium

** The real name is United States Radium Corporation

 

The story of how the class action suit begins

** In the movie the two sisters Bessie and Jo take the initiative

** In the real world, the initiative was taken by a woman called Grace Fryer (1899-1933) who had worked at the company as a dial painter.

 

Grace Fryer was suffering from poor health, so she contacted the Consumers League where she met Katherine Wiley who helped her find a lawyer and start the case against the company.

 

Grace Fryer was joined by four other women from the factory, including the two sisters Albina and Quinta. But Grace Fryer is not even in the movie! She has been excluded!

 

Fictional characters are added to the story: 

** The photographer Walt

** The filmmaker Etta

 

These secondary characters are introduced and appear in a few scenes, only to be dropped again. They disappear without a trace. We never hear what happens to them.

 

CONCLUSION

As you can see, many historical facts have been changed. Perhaps the change of some names is not a fatal flaw, but when the movie-makers change the story of how the class action suit begins, they cross the line. This is a poor decision. The true story is seriously distorted by this change.

 

It is a shame, because the topic is so important. The Radium Girls deserve a movie which focuses on the topic and which follows the historical facts as closely as possible.

 

Moving the two sisters to the front and excluding Grace Fryer from the historical record is wrong; it is a fatal flaw.

 

This is why I have to say this movie is not great, it is not even good, it is just average, and therefore it cannot get more than three stars.

 

PS # 1. Radium City is a documentary film which premiered in 1987. Directed by Carole Langer. Run time: 105 minutes. This film focuses on the radium factory located in Ottawa, Illinois.

 

PS # 2. When the court case began in 1927, it was virtually ignored by the media and the politicians. However, as the case proceeded and the undeniable truth began to emerge, the media began to take a real interest in it and so did some politicians.

 

The case of the radium girls was a significant factor in a broad movement which led to the establishment of the federal office called the Division of Labor Standards in 1934.

 

In 1948, this office was renamed the Bureau of Labor Standards. 

 

In 1971, this office was replaced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 

 

By that time the Radium Girls and the story of their suffering had disappeared from public memory.

 

By setting up OSHA, politicians and government declared that corporations are not allowed to do whatever they want. There must be rules and regulations.

 

The health and safety of the workers is a real issue and the government has a responsibility to make sure that fair standards are set up and that they are enforced.

 

Unfortunately, politicians and governments have allowed OSHA to be underfunded and understaffed which means that the rules and regulations are not always enforced in a serious way.

 

PS # 3. For more information, see the following items:

 

** Mass Media and Environmental Conflict by Mark Neuzil and Bill Kovarik (1996) – chapter 8 of this volume is about the radium girls

** Radium Girls: Women and Industrial health Reform, 1910-1935 by Claudia Clark (1997)

** Deadly Glow: The Radium Dial Worker Tragedy by Ross Mullner (1999)

** The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore (2018)

** The Society of the Living Dead: The Illustrated History of Ottawa’s Radium Dial Scandal by Jim Ridings (2020)

 

*****

 

 The Radium Girls:

The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

by Kate Moore

(2018)

*****