SIR: You say in the article “Romanian Scientists Rush To Condemn Elena Ceausescu” (C&EN, Feb. 12, page 21) that during the last five years of their rule, no foreign science publications were allowed into the country. This was not true. Copies of Current Contents regularly continued to be sent to Romania during this time. As a matter of fact, as was the case in other East European countries, when I met East European scientists they urged me to avoid criticism of Moscow or the regime in order to avoid a clamp down on receiving Current Contents. From it, they were able to get a small window on the West.

I had not heard, in the past, of such a clamp on scientific publications. This may be true in the case of other publications but certainly not with Current Contents.

Now that the old regime is out, the Romanian economy is in shambles and there is a great need for scientific publications in Romania and Eastern Europe. Almost weekly we receive requests for help in the form of complimentary subscriptions. We channel all such requests through our European office in London and hope to cooperate with any agencies interested in subsidizing distribution of Current Contents to these people.

Gene Garfield
President, Institute for
Scientific Information, Philadelphia