Honorable John Fogarty, Chairman
House Subcommittee on Appropriaticns
House Office Building

Washington 25 D. C.

 

Dear Congressman Fogarty:

I refer to the hearings before your Subcommittee on April 9th, as
teported in the NEW YORK TIMES on April 25th, wherein Dr. Pearce Bailey, of
the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness of the National
Institutes of Health, related the "remarkable pheriomenon" of killing 10
tionkeys with radio waves and of the recovery “over a period of time" of 10
others subjected to limited exposure, Dr. Bailey justified this activity with
some interestingly vague reasons, the most notable of which was “scientists do
not know what the exact significance of this experiment is, but its implica-
tions may (underscore mine) prove to be far reaching".

It seems to me that the limit has now been reached by the sickness
scare specialists and it also is now clear that in their tenacious determin-
ation to drain the U. S. Treasury of additional billions of dollars the NIH has
lost all reason and will resort to any extreme of sensationalism to overawe.
and overwhelm the gentlemen of Congress. This "shock treatment" approach to
your Subcommittee represents, in my opinion, highly professionalized and subtle
jnsolence, casting serious reflection upon the intelligence and judgment of
every single member by relying upon the stark suffering of animals as a basis
for the desired funds.

Research has loudly and long proclaimed its observance of humane
standards; yet the NIH arrogantly described in detail the agonized reactions
of the monkeys used in this experiment. Aside from sadism, the only possible
motivation for outlining to the last detail the suffering of the animals was.
to impress your Subcommittee with this suffering. It mst be emphasized in
strongest terms that the suffering of experimental animals has never in
history produced a particle of scientific knowledge,

 

   

: The callousness and cruelty of the NIH, condoned by the Department
“ of Health, Education & Welfare, is now a matter of public record. Asa tax
payer, I demand that this Agency be denied any further monies from the U. S.
Treasury for experimentation on living and sentient creatures until such time
as it is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of all that it hus the
ability and willingness to administer these tax monies in line with moral
decency.

  

Nery truly yours, .

LE ty Ee ee