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C7: BA

Date. November 18, 1976

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Joshua Lederberg

Conversation with Phil Cohen in re E.L. Tatum J bre Hose Toftsen -

It turned out that Phil Cohen was one of the people at the ERDA
Conference on November 17, so I took the occasion to reminéxe with him about

Ed Tatum.
( Pret. Ply scef. Zheun ., Wed Sree )

Phil had been at Wisconsin, continuously since 1929 and so knew Ed and
his family rather well if not intimately.

I asked him about Arthur's influence on his family. He commented that
Ed was too strong minded to follow directly in his father's footsteps (with
the clear implication that he was under some pressure to do so). He contrasted
him with his brother Howard, whom he described as a "so much of a patsy" as
to go so far as to take his Ph.D. in his father's own department.

Phil's feelings about Arthur were none too kindly. In 1932 when there
was a school-wide reduction of salaries of 20%, Phil was a graduate assistant
and was involved in what he called a mannerly movement to try to get the cut
to be graduated. When he came to see Tatum about this, he was told that the
market place was going to decide that question and that was that. And besides,
was it possible that he was a communist‘! That view seemed to have been rather
widely held among other senior faculty at that time.

Phil did not think too much of the scientific imaginativeness of the
elder Tatum's work either thinking it was not much more than the rote testing
of arsenicals for anti-parasitic activity. At that time Arthur Tatum
apparently also had a substantial income from patents on analgesics.

Evidently he had quite a reputation for high-handed behavior within the
department and the medical school, too.

The most useful nugget was that E.D. Fred is still living in Madison
and Phil was sure he would be delighted to share his recollection with me.
Mrs. Tatum (Ed's stepmother) apparently is also still living in Madison;
may have worked for the library).

Phil also mentioned that Ed had a role as President of the Harvey Society

in New York later on which is another possible lead.
es

I asked Phil about Joe Fruton's book. Phil's comment was that he hoped
it gave him some satisfaction because Joe has been quite bitter about the way
he has been treated at Yale. Apparently he had been asked to be the hatchet-
man in a drastic reorganization of the departments; fulfilled those responsibiliti
making a number of enemies in the process; and was left high and dry by the next

administration.

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