The Atomic Energy Commission Against Joseph August Sauter
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 6-1987 Premeditated Deceit: The Atomic Energy Commission Against Joseph August Sauter Clifford T. Honicker University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Honicker, Clifford T., "Premeditated Deceit: The Atomic Energy Commission Against Joseph August Sauter. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1987. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4939 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Clifford T. Honicker entitled "Premeditated Deceit: The Atomic Energy Commission Against Joseph August Sauter." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Sociology. Donald A. Clelland, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Thomas C. Hood, John P. Gaventa Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting a thesis written by Clifford T. Honicker entitled "Premeditated Deceit: The Atomic Energy Commission Against Joseph August Sauter." I have examined the final copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Sociology. Donald A. Clelland, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: / (}_ 6�' Accepted for the Council: Vice Provost and Dean of The Graduate School STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of the source is made. Permission for extensive quotation from or reproduction of this thesis may be granted by my major professor, or in his absence by the Head of Interlibrary Services, when in the opinion of either, the proposed use of the material is for scholarly purposes. Any copying or use of material in this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Signature Cf!�/� Date_S-/2____?-5, .=........mf --=--.-- ___ "PREMEDITATED DECEIT" THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION AGAINST JOSEPH AUGUST SAUTER A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Clifford T. Honicker June 1987 Copyright (c\ Clifford T. Honicker, 1987 All Rights Reserved DEDICATION This thesis is affectionately dedicated to my parents, my wife, and my kids. To my parents, I give thanks for telling neither Linda, Jan, Russ nor myself how to live our lives. Instead, they provided a living example for which we could follow. In the face of overwhelming adversity, insurmountable obstacles, they persisted in fighting for the things they believed in: truth, protection of the environment, and social justice. They sought to make our country a better place to live, no matter the personal consequences. If I can set such an example for my own kids, then I will know that I have been a "successful" father. To my wife, Jackie, it could not have been done without her. It was her inspiration that got me back into the radiation research area five years ago. It was her insight, her penetrating analytical mind that kept me on the right track. And it was her selfless giving in raising the kids, while I was glued to the IBM tube, or away on research trips that made this dream a reality. To Myles and Nick, boys, I am sorry for all the time I spent away from home. I worked so hard on all iii this because I saw that some decent honest people had been wronged by our government. I thought if I did not do something about it, not only would they, but others would continue to be hurt by government officials that break the laws in protecting their own self-interest, rather than protecting you, me, and we, the people. That is what is was all about. If, by shedding light on what happened in the past, we can prevent it from happening in the future, in my own sons' lifetimes, then it was all worthwhile. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The first two people I want to especially thank are V Weinberg and Wade Greene. Wade and the Rockefeller Family Associates helped in a number of ways. Alida Dayton at Rockefeller Family Associates provided the first foundation support of the Radiation Research Project. They have supported our work continually. I simply could not have done this work without their support. On a personal level, if there was any one person who stood out in my mind over the past three years, it would be Wade Greene. Being a former newspaper editor, he reminded me of my father, also a newspaper editor. I got from him the sense of "Get the story: get the facts straight, get the whole story. Do it right." If it took longer than I planned, it was for the reasons stated above. When the going got rough, I knew there was one person from the foundations I could call, day or night for support. I turned to my dearest friend from the CS Fund, V Weinberg. Though responsible for tracking over 300 projects, she gave me the confidence to continue; hope that a hopeless problem could be fixed; and wisdom to accept failures along with successes. The financial support of the cs Fund V was appreciated, but no pot of gold is worth the kind of support that V gave. Without it, I probably would have thrown in the towel long ago. Don Clelland went above and beyond the call of duty in helping complete this thesis. I think of no other man that the phrase "a gentleman and scholar" more aptly applies. Doc never, as Mark Twain said, "let education get in the way of learning." To all the other people who have helped make this whole project a reality, I would like to thank more profusely than space allows. Nevertheless many thanks to Mary Lou Sauter Young for permission to write about her father, Joseph August Sauter; technical, legal, community, support from these people is greatly appreciated: Joseph Egan, Richard L. Miller, Barbara Johnson, Patty Kakac, Becky Glass, Norman and Diana Fleishman, Jim Hare, Kathy Donahue, Dr. Roland Finston, Dave Dotson, Chuck Shuford, Paul Deleon, Charles Thomas, Valeria Crumley, Drs. Barton Hacker, John Gaventa, Belton Burrows, and Tom Hood. And for helping clear the cobwebs, special thanks to Ruth Darling. To those fine people at the foundations that supported my work, and the work of the Radiation Research Project these past years, I would like to vi thank Lance Lindblom, Rick MacArthur and Robin Kaplin at the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, Mary Stake Hawker at the Deer Creek Foundation, Steve Goldin at the Institute for Regional Education, Dorian Yates Kinder, advisor to Anne Roberts, Carol and Ping Ferry, June Makela at National Community Funds, the Walnut Fund, Judy Donalds at Beldon Fund, Anne Fitzgerald at the cs Fund, everyone at the Youth Project, and Bob Hall at the Institute for Southern Studies. Many thanks are due to Alan Gullette for his work as chief computer person on the Radiation Research Project, and Anne Lacava, at the University of Tennessee--they knew exactly what they were doing. Finally, I would gratefully, respectfully like to thank the people of Minnesota, such as Retired Feaeral Judge Miles Lord, Dr. William o. caster, the late Dr. Maurice Visscher, the late Senator Hubert Humphrey, and others, who sought to protect the rights, the h�alth and safety of Minnesotans against the deleterious effects brought about by the federal government' s actions during the height of nuclear weapons testing in the late 1950's. Their courage, their persistance, their willingness to take a stand is a lesson for all of us to learn. vii ABSTRACT About 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis, lies the farming community of Farwell, Minnesota (pop. 103). This is the case of Joe Sauter, a sheep farmer who in 1958 filed a claim against the Atomic Energy Commission for loss of livestock, damage to trees, and personal injuries that he believed were the result of radioactive fallout. This case will detail the efforts of the AEC to cut short the claim of radiation injury by suppressing key radiological data which would have substantiated Sauter's claim and proved damaging to the AEC. Officials within the AEC knowingly and willfully made false statements and representations, not only to Sauter, but to the agricultural representatives who investigated the sheep deaths on Sauter's farm on behalf of the AEC. Later, Sen. Clinton Anderson (D-MN), chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, and Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, chairman of two subcommittees on disarmament and international health, both made specific requests to the AEC for radioactive hotspots in Minnesota and North Dakota. The AEC withheld the information learned on Sauter's farm in order to protect the broader interests of the AEC in producing nuclear warheads and promoting nuclear energy.