Three members of the Louisiana congressional delegation Wednesday asked a member of President Eisenhower's cabinet to investigate the refusal of the American Cancer Society to supply certain educational films to New Orleans and Baton Rouge cancer fund raising organizations. The ACS, based in New York, has flatly refused to sell or loan several films produced in part by taxpayers' funds to the Greater New Orleans Cancer Association or the Cancer Society of Greater Baton Rouge.
The New York based society turned thumbs down on the request for the films of the New Orleans and Baton Rouge organizations because o! a disagreement over the fund raising policy with New York. Both Louisiana organizations place their fund raising activities with their respective Orated Funds. This the society disliked.
Rep. F. Edward Hebert, Jim-mie H. Morrison and Hale Boggs of Louisiana wrote a joint letter to Secretary Arthur S. Flemming of the department of health, education and wel-fare asking him to inquire into the stand taken by the ACS in i view of the expenditure of pub-| lie funds in connection with producing the films. \ "We are at a loss," they advised the cabinet officer, "to understand why films produced with taxpayers* funds should not i be available to any recognized group. Both organizations (New Orleans and Baton Rouge) are staffed by competent personnel and managed by outstanding civic leaders in their respective communities."
CHECK RETURNED Dr. Joseph V. Schlosser is president of the Greater New Orleans Cancer Assn. and Dr, Albert L. McQuown is president of the Baton Rouge society.
Hebert, Morrison and Boggs urged See. Flemming to supply them with a report on having their complaint investigated.
They said it appeared to them that the films should be made
available to the public without argument.
In reply to a recent letter by Rep. Hebert, vice-president Clifton R. Read of the American Cancer Society said the Greater New Orleans Cancer Assn. left the society over disagreement with the so ciety's fund raising policy.
"We do not see how we can preserve our good faith with our contributors, who support the society by selling «#nr material to an organization that has broken with the American Cancer Society," Read advised Hebert. The ACS returned a check of the Greater New Orleans Cancer Assn. for $192.60 for three films that the New Orleans organization requested some time ago. ACCESS CUT OFF Dr. McQuown wrote Rep. Morrison seeking assistance to obtain the films which he said were produced by the ACS jointly with the American Cancer Institute, a division of HEW. "Our society was a unit of the
American Society," said Dr. McQuown, *'until we declined its mandate to withdraw from the United Givers Fund of Greater Baton Rouge and to conduct a separate campaign. Because of this we were expelled from the national a year ago. Under our new setup as a local corporation, we have been cut off from access to these educational films."
Morrison a week ago wrote the ACS that "it is inconceivable that the cause of alerting the public to the facts about cancer should be sacrificed because of a dispute over a fund raising policy." He urged the society to reconsider its declaration and co-operate in furnishing the films.
