Dr. Donald Frederickson 
Page 3 
Second, while I. understand that it is not within the official NIH mission, 
informal efforts mighty obtain the public concurrence of various other 
relevant organizations j ideally at the time you announce your decision. 
For example: 
a) Other federal agencies which support biological research. 
b) Private funding agencies, such as the American Cancer 
Society. 
c) Major organizations of the teachers of biology in 
secondary schools. 
d) Relevant scholarly societies such as the American Society 
of Microbiologists, the Biophysics Society, the American 
Society of Biological Chemists, the Genetics Society. 
e) Either the relevant trade association, or major pharmaceutical 
companies. 
On the basis of the goodwill we have all experienced in this 
matter over the past few years, I would hope for cooperative responses 
from such groups, except perhaps for the scholarly societies which 
tend to be reluctant concerning public policy matters. 
C. Finally, I would like to share with you my own sense of urgency 
concerning your decision. My colleagues have, by and large, been 
patient through these several years of thought and debate, even when 
they have not completely shared the concerns that motivated some of us. 
Seemingly endless levels of debate have now discouraged many of them. 
If we want their cooperation in this, and similar problems to come, we 
must promptly have a definitive resolution. 
The "go-slow" argument expressed by several attending your meeting 
is, I believe, what we have had and would have, with the proposed 
guidelines. The discussions of the last few years resulted in a "go- 
slow" situation: the guidelines, insofar as they require P4 or EK3 for 
the most worrisome permissible experiments, will result in the con- 
tinuation of a "go-slow" policy. 
The meeting itself, both in conception and organization was a 
logical, useful, and important addition to the "process". The manner 
of your chairmanship was to my mind, admirable in every way. I would 
especially like to express my gratitude for your continuation of 
premises that have been the basis of my own activities in this area. 
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