defense plants for the manufacture of materials essential to the national defense-gun carriages, ships, tanks, armor plate, munitions, airplanes, and other necessary war materials. Typical illustrations include the Brewster Air Craft Co. at Hatboro, an enormous manufacturing plant; the enlargement of the Philadelphia Navy Yard and reconditioning of the Cramp Ship Building Co. at Philadelphia; expansion of the air depots at Middletown and New Cumberland; defense contracts awarded to companies in Berwick, Titusville, Erie, and Pittsburgh: In each instance the new workers in these communities will bring with them children for whom educational facilities do not exist and for whom educational facilities-buildings, equipment, and teachers must be provided. It is for this reason, and recognizing the importance of public education as a bulwark of true national defense, that we petition the Federal Congress to act speedily in making available to the States and to Pennsylvania particularly, funds which shall guarantee to the children of these defense workers an American standard of education.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association brings to the attention of your committee and Congress additional facts with reference. to inequalities of educational opportunity which, if permitted to continue, will ultimately result in a weakened fabric of citizenship. In the main, the character of education which any community provides for its children is balanced between the financial ability of school districts on the one hand and the willingness on the part of the taxpayer to sacrifice for education on the other. There are many districts in Pennsylvania which can provide the most modern facilities. of public education with little tax sacrifice. On the other hand there are many areas in Pennsylvania which, because of meager local taxpaying ability and even with the greatest sacrifice on the part of the taxpayer, can provide only bare minimums. May I bring to your attention these facts-2,556 school districts in Pennsylvania, 934 have local taxable wealth of real estate of $50,000 or less per teacher; 865 have local taxable wealth per teacher of between $50,000 and $100,000; 475 have taxable wealth ranging between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000; and the remainder, or 282, have local taxable ability of more than $200,000 per teacher. It should be noted that more than one-third of the school districts in Pennsylvania have a true value of local taxable wealth of less than $50,000. Should the taxpayers in these districts sacrifice for education to the extent of paying a 20-mill tax on real estate (homes and farms) the amount thus raised would equal only $1,000 per teacher. Needless to say that in these school districts. the paucity of local tax revenues is directly reflected in the character and type of educational offerings.

May I urge on behalf of the children in these districts, our future American citizens, that the Federal Government act most generously in the enactment of such legislation as will equalize educational opportunity and guarantee to these children a public-school education worthy of our great United States.

Perhaps these inequalities and distress can be brought more clearly before the committee and Congress by bringing to your attention the results of a recent survey made by our association on the situation in 150 distressed school districts-districts which because of economic maladjustments during recent years have lost industries, have had mines shut down, and the wheels of industry idle. Our survey made as of February 15, showed that in 150 of these districts in Pennsylvania

2,404 teachers serving diligently in the public schools daily had been without pay for periods ranging from 1⁄2 month to 71⁄2 months. The total amount owing these teachers by local districts where inability to pay was due to exhaustion of local tax revenues was $968,952.51. Moreover, the survey further revealed that as of July 1, 1941, the number of such teachers would have been increased to $4,926 and that the total salaries unpaid as of that date would approximate $2,101,169.98.

As president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association I plead with you in behalf of the boys and girls of Pennsylvania, in behalf of the unpaid teachers sacrificing in the classroon in the cause of national defense, that your committee act favorably upon Senate bill 1313 and bring to Pennsylvania as to other States in the Union, the assistance of the Federal Government to make sure that in this emergency the blessings of education shall not be denied to any child in our Nation.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Dr. Gilbert.

Are there any questions?

Senator BALL. I was not present all of the time, but I am wondering if you can tell me how much is spent for education in Pennsylvania, and how much is raised by the local district and how much by State aid. You have State aid in Pennsylvania?

Dr. GILBERT. Yes, sir. Of course, that varies. I should say the per capita tax in Pennsylvania runs about $90 per child. The amount that the State pays is about 21 percent and the local district pays about 79 percent.

Senator BALL. Do you know how much that amounts to in figures? Do you know how much you spend?

Dr. GILBERT. No, sir. If I were to state it I am afraid that it would be too far off.

However, I did want to make this statement with respect to a question that came up here this morning, and I feel that it should be made.

The Senator from Louisiana has been talking quite a bit about the white-collar jobs. I, too, am of that same opinion. But I see an opportunity in this national defense program to take care of that after the emergency is over. In other words, if we administer from the long term viewpoint and take care of this by making some provision for future vocational education and use the facilities that we have for national defense, it will be a good thing. I don't know whether or not that will be possible; but we ought to think about it.

Senator BALL. How is your set up apportioned in Pennsylvania? Is it designed to be an equalization?

Dr. GILBERT. We have what is called the Edmonds Act-four classes of districts, the first, second, third and fourth. There are 2,556 districts in the State. There are nore fourth-class districts than first-class districts.

The first-class district gets 25 percent on minimum salaries of elementary teachers, which means $250 per teacher.

The second-class districts get $350 per teacher, the third class gets $500 per teacher, and the fourth-class district, depending upon the assessed valuation back of each teacher, gets from 50 percent to 75 percent from the State government.

That does not equalize things, because we have some districts in Pennsylvania where the assessed valuation back of the teacher might

be $2,000,000 while in other districts we have situations where the assessed valuation behind the teacher might be even $20,000. Senator BALL. In that connection, could not the State of Pennsylvania do considerably more than it is now doing to equalize educational opportunities? You say the State contributes 21 percent and locally it is 79 percent. I think in our State it is about 50-50.

Dr. GILBERT. I think that was the answer that was made here this morning. There might be some States which would be able to help more than they do. But, in the main, a careful study of the whole national situation shows that that is not always true.

Senator BALL. Pennsylvania is not what you call a poor State. Dr. GILBERT. There are some sections which are pretty poor. Senator BALL. But the State has one of the largest assessed valuations in the country.

Dr. GILBERT. It is second in wealth and it is second in income. Senator BALL. You have a pretty fair income, if you want to levy income taxes.

Senator ELLENDER. There is another tax which is the severance tax on your natural resources. I was dumbfounded to discover that Pennsylvania the richest State in the Union in the light of natural resources, such as oil, gas, and coal, does not have a severance tax.

In Louisiana we have such taxes, and we are using most of the revenue from that source to educate our boys and girls. You would be surprised at the vast amount of money that could be raised in your State from that source.

Dr. GILBERT. But you realize, Senator, that we are just school people and not politicians.

Senator ELLENDER. I understand that. But, still, you elect your lawmakers. I know that during a certain period of our history in Louisiana that it was rather difficult to get the representatives to respond to the wishes of the people. Usually they were very liberal in imposing taxes on real estate, but when it became to placing a tax on corporations or on those who produce, from our natural resources, they were not at home and they would not do so.

Senator BALL. Do you have a personal income tax in Pennsylvania? Dr. GILBERT. No, sir.

Senator BALL. In our State we bave a State income tax going up to 10 percent on all over $20,000.

Senator ELLENDER. Do you have enough to run your schools properly there?

Senator BALL. They always want more.

Dr. GILBERT. As I understand it, this bill is to equalize educational opportunities throughout the Nation. And that might affect within. the States too. I think parts of our State could help parts of Louisiana. Senator ELLENDER. I did not get that last statement.

Dr. GILBERT. I say that parts of our State could help parts of Louisiana. Some of the wealth from Pennsylvania ought to be willing to go to Louisiana and to other places. And I think this will eventually work out in that way.

Senator ELLENDER. I do know this, that you now get from my State quite a lot of wealth, in that some of your big oil interests and oil companies are located in your State but do the draining on us. And

it strikes me that you should make them pay by way of income taxes or in some other way. And you would get a very lucrative amount in that way.

In that connection I was astounded to find this situation-that in Westmoreland County, where huge quantities of coal are produced, if you had imposed just a little, measly 5-cents-a-ton severance tax on coal since it has been mined in that county, you would have enough cash on hand, which, if invested at a rate of 3 percent there would be enough money produced each year to run your schools in the whole county.

Dr. GILBERT. But the trouble is that it was not done.

Senator ELLENDER. I know that. But it is up to the people there to do that, your school teachers and all of the boys you are educating, to instill in them the idea that more could be done by the State itself. Senator BALL. Do you have a trust fund for your schools?

Dr. GILBERT. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other questions?

If not, the hearing will stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.

(Thereupon, at 5 p. m., Monday, April 28, 1941, an adjournment was taken until Tuesday, April 29, 1941, at 10 a. m.)

EDUCATIONAL FINANCE ACT OF 1941

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 1941

UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE

ON EDUCATION AND LABOR,
Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a. m. in. room 318, Senate Office Building, Senator Elbert D. Thomas (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Thomas (chairman), Ellender, Hill, La Follette, and Ball.

The CHAIRMAN. The hearing will be in order. I will ask the recorder to place in the record a telegram from the National Congress of Parents and Teachers.

(The telegram is as follows:)

Senator ELBERT D. THOMAS,

SELMA, ALA., April 28, 1941.

Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor,

Washington, D. C.

National Congress of Parents and Teachers on record for Federal aid for education as a means of equalizing educational opportunity and for provision for education of children on Government reservations. Desire maximum local control and distribution on basis of need. January executive meeting pointed out need of assistance in defense areas where population increases greater than local facilities can accommodate.

Mrs. Wм. KLETZER, President.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Dinwiddie, please.

STATEMENT OF COURTENAY DINWIDDIE, GENERAL SECRETARY, NATIONAL CHILD LABOR COMMITTEE

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Dinwiddie, will you state your name, your address, and position for the record, please?

Mr. DINWIDDIE. Courtenay Dinwiddie is the name. I am general secretary of the National Child Labor Committee, 419 Fourth Avenue, New York City.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I think we all recognize that our Nation was founded on the principle of equality of opportunity. Equality of opportunity presupposes an educated citizenship. One of our greatest national weaknesses lies in the denial of even an elementary education to hundreds of thousands of our citizens. We have heretofore as a Nation treated this situation far too lightly.

The National Child Labor Committee is deeply concerned not only with obvious child-labor abuses but also with its ever-present associates, ignorance and illiteracy. I submit for your thoughtful con

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