ep-!

STANFORD UNIVERSITY
MEDICAL CENTER
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA

DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS
Scheel of Medicine

December 26, 1966

Mr. John Merriam
Legistative Asst. to
Senator Thomas Kuchel
Senate Office Bldg
Washington 25, D7C™

Dear John: Ry

| was deeply gratified at the Senator's position on the arms race, =
and hope it will reinforce the feeble efforts the Administration is =
finally beginning to make. Did you see the unusually perceptive articles
tin the WSJ, xerocopy enclosed? ! am not so worrted about starting a

"light" ABM, but ff we do we should reverse the usual security policies
and try to keep the Russians very well informed about it so there is
no misunderstanding about fts functions.

The 'Truth-Machine' parody has just been sent in to the Post. Make
any use you can or wish of it. Could Congress be the Truth-Ministry?

fs there any further follow-up on the NATO conference? If none is
likely | might use some of the text I wired for a column on an Atadantic
University, but of course | would be even happier if the Senator took a con-
tinued interest in it.

Very ~best wishes,

!
Afi ——-
Josh Lederberg
P7 P.S. | am speculating over the idea of a sabbatical year in
Washington, say Sept. 67-June 68. I| mean this mainly for my own

education in how the government is able to react to science, and don't
have any ax to grind. One thought that occurred to me was to follow
up on our earlier discussions of hearings on technological priorities.
This would be specially pertinent if, God will it, the Vietnam war is
quieted and we start worrying about reconversion again. Anyhow let me
just drop this pebble into the pool.