Tobacco Documents Online

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April 22, 197; CONFIDENTIAL XE?tORAXDC?1 THIS DOCUMENT SUBIECI CONFIDENTIAUTY AGREEMENT. Henry-Tom: I wanted to give you a confidential run-down of what oc- curred in connection with Homburger at the recent Federation meeting in Atlantic City. Tom was kept informed of various developments as they arose. I had expressed fears several weeks as to what Homburger might try to do with his scheduled paper. I purposely arrived in Atlantic City early on Sunday, April 7; Homburger was due to give his paper at 1:30 p.m. the following day. The after- noon of my arrival, I learned from Judy Graves, public in- formation officer for the American Society of Experimental Patholog.• (ASEP), that an unlisted press conference had been ~ scheduled for Homburger for 12 noon on :Ionday. He was to have a news release with him and was to tell the press that the tobacco industry was attempting to suppress important sci- entific information about the harmful effects of smoking. He was going to point specifically at CTR. This was disturbing news. Homburger undoubtedly would have attracted considerable press attention: both.UPI and AP were represented at the meetins, as well as some other major news- papers and magazines. It would have been a "sensationalized" / story. I immediately told `Irs. Graves, a long-time friend, that: 1. I had with me documents to refute Homburger's contention of "censorship" or suppression of information; on the contrary, he'd been asked to publish; 2. I would make this information available to the press (after being authorized to do so); 3. Homburger had not lived up to the terms of his contract with CTR; 4. Homburger obviously was sore that his contract was not being renewed because its intended goal had not been attained; 5. Homburger was reporting old material that he had first dis- closed more than a year before at the Society of Toxicology meeting; 6..Homburger was showing "sour grapes" because Donten- will had published similar findings a few months previous in the Journal of the KCI; 8. I wished she would talk with some people at ASEP (without raising all the points I had mentioned) because the situation could become quite awkward; 9• no such charge had ever been made against CTR in all its years of sup- porting hundreds of scientists. Judy called me at my hotel a few hours later to say she had checked and found that my comments were true. (I had mean- while prepared a suggested response to Homburger.) She said some ASEP people had described Homburger as an "operator" and indicated thoy thought he was exceeding decency and courtesy, if not the truth. She agreed the proposed press conference would serve no useful purpose and, with her okay, I arranged emia~ ah n 3 .. : ~:. ..: :..~~~. ov%.;:rri::rsh,c. N 19604 ..:~., j CTR HN 01491:5(1

2. THIS ' ; ~ CONFIDENTIAIlTY AGREEMENT. later that evening for it to be cancelled. / Homburger was to have met Mrs. Graves in the press room at noon Monday, coming directly from the Philadelphia airport (enroute from Boston). I suggested to Judy that she call him then (Sunday) at home and arrange to meet him at his hotel on Monday. She called back later that evening to say she had done so, telling Homburger the press conference had been called off because of scheduling difficulties in the press room Homburger's comment opening presentation of his paper on Monday is quoted in my memo on the Federation. meeting. He came into the press room 'ILesday noon, ostensibly looking for some- one but obviously hoping to see some press people he might know. I had expected something like this and had talked in advance with the head of the press room. Homburger was given a cordial welcome and nicely "hastened" out the door. L.S.Z. P.S. I doubt if you or Tom will want to retain this note. bZNI P CTR MN 0 14,936