190 
May 9, 1972 
Dear Dr. Gajdusek, 
We have just received your letter and have sent you the enclosed cable 
which you hopefully have received. You should have also received a list of all 
supplies ordered and of all correspondence with Garey. We have been working 
about 100% of the time for the last few months on arrangements for the Alpha 
Helix program based on your instructions to us before you left and on your 
letters. This has included continued reworking of supply lists, repeated 
conversations with Garey, meetings with Patuxent and Building 8, filling out 
hundreds of order forms, constantly interacting with drug companies and supply 
company representatives, and unpacking and repacking shipments. All this has 
had to be based on your limited instructions before you left, conversations with 
Dr. Gibbs, and on the instructions you have added in your letters. 
Your latest letter appears to be in contradiction with your previous 
instructions. Be assured that only those people you have requested are listed 
as going, and no one has ever invited anyone from this end, nor has this ever 
been considered. No one is considering technicians. 
You previously stated (see enclosed copy of your letter) that you wanted 
2“3 positions left open for local people because you felt we would not be able 
to visit most of the islands without local officials and local M.D.'s. With the 
approval of Dr. Gibbs, these orders were followed and the appropriate 
arrangements were made through Dr. Garey. It now appears that you want to 
abolish these positions (see enclosed copy of your most recent letter). 
In summary, on the day before Dr. Gibbs left for New Guinea he told us to 
do the following: (1) list the 8 people you had stated as going, have 3 
positions open for local people as you requested, and adjust travel funds to fit 
this, (2) cancel over $6,500 worth of orders that had been placed by Gibbs, 
Asher, Rogers, Basnight, Ferber, and Wiesenfeld, (3) order a $1400 small Revco, 
and (4) leave some funds available out of the $20,000 for unexpected expenses. 
This has all been done (with the cancellation of $6,500 worth of supplies). 
We have tried, unsuccessfully, in several phone conversations with Garey, 
to effect your latest directives at reorganization. Dr. Garey has refused, 
saying that all orders had already been placed and many shipments had already 
arrived. This was necessary in order for Scripps to be able to meet their 
deadline for shipping, and Garey is unwilling to make any significant changes at 
this time, at least without communicating directly with you or Dr. Gibbs. Had 
you been able to inform us of your changes immediately upon the arrival of Dr. 
Gibbs in New Guinea, Dr. Garey might still have been willing to accomodate 
them. 
As it stands now, funds are alloted for the transportation of 8 researchers 
(at a cost of around $14,000), for a Revco ($1400), and for supplies ($2500). 
We have furthermore been able to free up a little more than the $2,000 that you 
requested for ad hoc expenditures. 
