GENETICS SOCIETY OF AMERICA

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY

UPTON, L. I... NEW YORK

July 15, 1952

Dr. Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Dear Lederberg:
The following statement is the one used by you in 1950:

"No scientist can view the current threats to individual and
scientific freedom without great apprehension. We must be careful,
however, to react creatively to these threats rather than to build our
own intellectual prisons. In particular, the Committee on Public
Education and Scientific Freedom should scrupulously avoid any state-
ments which might be construed as an official scientific doctrine.
When necessary, public assertions as to scientific claims or general-
izations should be released by named individuals rather than the
official committee, since the public will interpret statements from tie
committee as if they carried the endorsement of the society.

The Comittee should sponsor public educational activities related
to genetics in the sense of encouraging their organization and execution
by prominent and qualified individuals. However, it should not, as an
official body, endorse the content of such presentations any more than
the Society endorses the content of the papers presented at the Jubilee
meeting.

The distinction between representations on behalf of the Committee
alone, and on behalf of the Society, is rather tenuous, since most of
its members are elected by the Society on the basis of their stated
views. The Committee must be responsible to the Society and should re-
port to and ask instructions from it as frequently as feasible.

The suppression of scientists is a far greater threat than the
attempted perpetration of bad science. If, in a not unprecedented
pattern, the Soviet Union were to reverse its position and erect
Mendelism as official doctrine, we should not lessen our opposition to
the technique of persecution of nonconformists. It is to authoritarian
imposition rather than to the details of the doctrine imposed that the
Committee should address its major effort of opposition.

With these qualifications, I wholeheartedly support the recommenda-
tions of the special advisory committee “of nine".”
=De

Do you wish to amend it in any way for use this year? The
other nominee, Curt Stern, submitted a very brief statement. Could
you shorten yours any and reduce the number of paragraphs? We will
use it as is if that is what you prefer.

Since I hope to get out a mailing on July 28, would you
let me know promptly regarding this.

Sincerely yours,

 

)

Secretary
WRS :ia