April 5, 1956: Letter to Regent Harbach from ElectroData Corp.
J R Bradburn was President of ElectroData Corporation located in Pasadena, California. ElecroData manufactured the DATATRON computer that was competitive with the IBM 650. He wrote a letter to Regent Edwin Harbach about the IBM proposal to establish the Western Data Processing Center. In this letter Bradburn's view was that "the circumstances surrounding this proposed installation is very contrary to public policy."
He cites the Department of Justice's recent anti-trust action against IBM for alleged practices that were in restraint of trade. He questions whether the State of California should be receiving a donation of $450,000 from a single commercial corporation. IBM has discounted their 650 type computers by as much as 60%. 705 type machines have been offered free with an additional large donation provided that attractive space is provided and courses of instruction are offered. He claims that both Stanford and Cal Tech have turned down similar proposals. They have chosen to purchase their own equipment at a normal educational discount.
Parts of the Federal Government, especially the Defense Deparment, are just becoming aware that it is completely dependent on IBM. This is contrary to public policy. It is very important that UCLA "be aware of what it is doing here, before this matter is carried much further."
Although the photopy of this letter is poor, it is available in its entirety here.