Day 025 - 16 Sep 94 - Page 58
1
2 Q. The tone of this letter from Dewey Valentine to Mr. Mattox
3 and Mr. Van der Kemp is not the least bit friendly, is it?
4 A. No.
5
6 Q. What do you think is the reason for that, Mr. Gardner?
7 A. That a stuck pig often squeals the loudest.
8
9 Q. I am sorry?
10 A. That a stuck pig often squeals the loudest; that
11 McDonald's decided once caught with its hand in the media
12 cooky jar to go on the offensive.
13
14 Q. You do not think that this scenario might be the right one
15 I suppose, Mr. Gardner -- trying again to be as objective
16 and as fair-minded about it as you possibly can be -- that
17 McDonald's had had in train for some time before they
18 received your letter of 6th May a plan, developed with the
19 assistance of the Attorney General of New York, to put
20 such brochures in every restaurant throughout the country;
21 and that when you went unilaterally to the press
22 complaining that McDonald's had jumped the gun, they were
23 rather cross about it. You do not think that is possible,
24 do you?
25 A. Well, literally anything is possible, Mr. Rampton. It
26 belies common sense. We had been talking to them since
27 May. We wrote to them in the first part of June. In the
28 middle or towards the latter part of June, while being
29 still recalcitrant in expressing to us their disinterest
30 in doing what you are positing they had always been
31 planning to do, they told us they could not make a
32 decision until after the July 4th holiday.
33
34 We have looked at another memorandum from McDonald's
35 internally that showed that that was untrue. They, in
36 fact, had made a decision before the McDonald's, the July
37 4th holiday. If, indeed, they had already made a decision
38 to distribute these pamphlets nationally first, I would
39 want to know why they did not simply tell us that, knowing
40 that that is all it would take for us to close our
41 investigation as to them.
42
43 Secondly, why if, indeed, they had already decided well
44 before receiving our first letter to do just that, did
45 they tell us exactly to the contrary? Why would they have
46 misrepresented their plans to us then?
47
48 Q. I do not believe they told you anything to the contrary.
49 I believe, Mr. Gardner, they told you they would not tell
50 you what their plans were. Do you see a distinction?
51 A. If that were the truth, I would. I believe rather,
52 Mr. Rampton, they told us, one, I did have the privilege
53 being at those meetings and although I do not have the
54 privilege of perfect recall, I do recall that they
55 indicated that they did not want to do just that which you
56 say they have always planned to do.
57
58 Secondly, when they stalled us until they could put out
59 the unilateral announcement on their own, they did not
60 tell us that they did not want to tell us the response,
