June let, 1959

Dear Mr, Lyons:

   Many thanks for pour kind letter which I deeply appreciate.
I think that you and I should express to other laymen and doctors
the feeling which ! how we both share that the funds of the
vduntary organizations are of enomour importance in the con-
quest of any dirsars, especially if they are administered by laymen
and doctors who are dedicated to the elimination of that dh!tes~se.

Iderrm of importance come from many sourcer, and rome-

times the ideas are so novel that one group - 1et'e may reprerented
by funds of the Federal Government - will reject support of them.
If thse are funds in other hard6 dedicated @o research in cerebral
paley, cancer, heart direases and the other kilfing and crippling
diseases, it means that Rove1 ideas have other chance8 of support
and money.  It is there idea6 whhh beceme the building blocks
for big pay-offs.  It is dangerour to have all research funds under
too centraliasd control, I have found.

   Many tim0r contributions of drug housela and independent
lrmall fwndatione have mads it poc~sible for the evaluation of druge
for new treatments and curetit at varioue rtagss of their development.
For instance, Dr. Ur&sman, who discovered straotomycin, the
firet antibiotic to cure tubsxculorrrir, was supported by a grant from
the Department of Agriculture of the U. S. Government.  He also
got sympathetic aupport from Msrck & CQ., who gave him and
Rutgers University a royalty arrangement on streptomycin when
they confirmed its usefulaere,  It Suet happens that this great dis-
covery was mads without funds either from the National Xnlrtitutcs
of Health or from the National Tuberculosis Association.

I think what many laymen, and maybe even some doctarr

who are not in research, do not realice is that a final dircovery
is sometimer the rerult of rupport given for work continuing over
many, many years,  At present, neither government nor private

funde arc adequate and they will not be adequate until ehs
final auswe38 are in on dl the major cau8e~ of death and
disability as we know them now,

Illnesses like htberculosia, syphilis, gonorrhea,

pneumonia and polio were all coalsidered the "Will of God'' until
reeatarch proved otherwire, and I'm Bur6 we will get the SLnawers
to the remslning problems if we have enough money to give
encouragement from different sources to thaa many dedicated
wo rke r 6.

With deep appreciation for the contributions you make

both to your voluntary organisation and in helping to get larger
Federal fuado,

Youra,

Mr. Harry Lyons
United Cerebral Palsy
321 West 44th Street
New York 36, Mew York