ernment reservations. Proposals have been introduced into the Congress from time to time, but nothing definite has resulted.

The time is urgently upon us for a policy of definite aid to the States and Territories for general educational purposes. The special aids now provided have resulted in much good to the schools. There can be no longer any delay in helping to solve the general problems without serious and detrimental results to the educational welfare of thousands of our boys and girls who will be the voters of tomorrow. Surely they will face problems of serious proportions brought on by present world conditions. Shall we deprive them of the fundamentals essential to every responsible citizen of a democracy in solving difficult problems; or shall we as a nation use our combined strength in solving the problems which some States cannot solve alone?

Added to the problems of a constantly recurring nature are those brought on by various emergency conditions. These are particularly vexatious and call urgently for attention. A delay in their solution will be costly in the long run.

Now the provisions for the administration of the program to be adopted by the Federal Government in the solution of this problem are important. There should be no interference by the Federal Government with the control and administration of education in the program. And there need be none. The States are quite capable of managing their own schools.

PENDING LEGISLATION

Proposed legislation before you will probably undergo revision before it is finally enacted. For this reason it may not be necessary to go into the details of the proposal. In general I would like to say that S. 1313 is a highly commendable bill.

Any plan for the allotment of funds under this proposal will require the establishment, in my opinion, of a specific formula. This formula should preferably be simple rather than complicated. In my opinion the chief basis for allotment should be the educational need in relation to the ability of the respective States to support schools. This procedure should produce results expressed as the objectives of the legislation proposed by S. 1313. It is my personal belief that the formula should be definitely set forth and should, if at all possible, be applicable for a period longer than one year to permit States and localities to do effective educational planning.

Senator ELLENDER. Doctor, in your brief do you have any suggestions to make as to improving the language in the bill so as to carry out your views?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. Yes. May I finish one sentence here on that point?

Senator ELLENDER. Very well.

Mr. STUDEBAKER. Periodically, say at intervals of 3 or 4 years, there should be submitted to the Congress needed revision of the formula for consideration at least 1 year preceding its application.

My general thought on that is one that I have held for a long time, and it is that in appropriating a very large sum of money it ought to be possible for Congress and citizens in general to see quite definitely how the allotment out of such an appropriation will affect the individual States. I mean that it ought to be possible to see that before

the appropriation is made. So I should advocate that the factors concerning educational need and economic ability-and there are numerous factors involving those two issues should be used as the basis for the development of a formula which may be written into the legislation, rather than to ask that the factors be considered after the legislation is passed in the development of a formula. Sooner or later somebody somewhere is going to have to decide exactly how much money will be allotted to each State.

Senator ELLENDER. I am sure the committee will be glad if you were to write out those factors and tell us where we could incorporate them into the bill. Certainly a man who has held the position you have ought to be able to throw considerable light along that line. We would appreciate it if you would do that today, or some other time, just so it is done before we close the hearings.

Mr. STUDEBAKER. The factors are mentioned, Mr. Chairman, in the bill. It would be a question of weighting those factors for the purpose of producing a more exact formula. As a matter of fact, that was done 2 or 3 years ago by representatives of different educational organizations in connection with a bill which was before this same committee, and I would suggest that the considerations of the people who evolved that formula be taken under advisement here again in this committee.

Now, a word as to the response of the people to improved educational opportunities. You may well ask what will be the response of citizens which would be provided under this bill. Would people take advantage of these opportunities? Would they appreciate better schools and better teaching? Would action by Congress for Federal aid to education be welcomed especially in farming regions? I think a partial answer to these questions can be found in a recent experience of the United States Office of Education growing out of the defense training program which the Office is administering.

Congress, in October 1940, appropriated $10,000,000 to be distributed to the States in order to provide vocational training for out-ofschool rural and nonrural youth. This was an entirely new authorization, so it took us a little while to get under way but courses were opened in most of the States immediately after the Christmas holidays. A definite formula was used in allocating this appropriation to the States. Essentially the formula was based upon the proportion of all young people in any given State and therefore the States richest in youth receive the most funds. We knew that more than about 3,000 rural high schools had established farm shops and we hoped that these shops would be opened in the evening to train young people 17 to 25. Of course, lathes or welding equipment were not common in these high-school shops nor were regular teachers on hand to teach the special skills so needed by industry but we did encourage instruction in four subjects-metal work, electricity, automotive mechanics, and woodworking.

Now what was the response to this emergency federally aided program? I think it can best be described as overwhelming. Only 21⁄2 months after it started, courses were in operation in more than 8,000 communities. More than 200,000 young men have applied and received training since January 1. Attendance at the classes is practically 100 percent because the boys registered know that if they do not attend there are other boys waiting for the places of any who drop

out. I can say to you that on the basis of the requests received from the States the Congress would have had to appropriate $12,000,000 more to expand the program to meet the demand just until July 1, 1941. Some boys travel as far as 50 to 60 miles every night just to attend these classes.

To give a close-up of what educational opportunity means I would like to present excerpts from an editorial appearing recently in the Allentown (Pa.,) Call:

The Coopersburg courses have amazed State officials by the manner in which fathers and sons in the rural areas have approached the problem of training in skilled occupations.

Scarcely a night passes in the shops of the Coopersburg High School but fathers and their friends visit boys at work in the welding or machine classes. In several cases where fathers of the young men are themselves lathe operators or welders, the sons have received sound, practical instruction from their elders, in addition to the supervision and guidance provided by the regular teachers. * * *

The cheerfulness with which farm boys spend long evening hours in unremunerative activity after a full day's work in itself is an indication of the wholesome desire of farm and small-town boys for self-improvement.

You have been given in the course of this testimony much statistical data on the inequalities of educational opportunity in the United States but I think nothing so eloquently records the hunger of boys and girls and their fathers and mothers in farm regions for education as does this experience we are now having with the out-of-school youth training program. I am sure that the overwhelming response is a measure of the appreciation which these citizens would show for educational opportunities under a permanent program of Federal aid to education. Their very hunger for knowledge guarantees that they will make the best possible use of broadened opportunities.

You may also ask whether grants in aid by the Federal Government would mean that the States and localities would use this help as a reason for increasing their own efforts to support education. There is a definite provision in the bill that would safeguard that, but I want to give you a few statements of fact as to how it has worked in the past. There is no foundation for such fears in the history of Federal grants to promote education. The 69 land-grant colleges were started with Federal grants that were later eclipsed by appropriations from State legislatures. Today the States spend at least $24 for every $1 of Federal aid for higher education in these land-grant colleges. In vocational education there is a similar situation. States and localities are exceeding the proportion of funds expected of them by law; they are spending $1.75 for every $1 in aid from the Federal Government. They are not required to spend more than a dollar. That proportion will grow in the future.

Senator ELLENDER. Doctor, insofar as this bill deals with the Federal Government having anything to do with the actual administration of schools in the States, how does it differ from the vocational training bill and other similar aid bills that have been passed by the Congress in aid of education in the States?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. In general, I would say that the controls are much more carefully safeguarded in this bill. I think that is entirely practical in a bill which aims at the support of education in general; whereas, any measure passed by the Congress which is closely earmarked to achieve a rather specific purpose would necessarily carry with it a degree of control to insure the achievement of the specific

purpose that Congress had in mind in passing the legislation providing for the closer earmarking of funds.

Senator ELLENDER. Has your Department any difficulty with these various States in having them follow such rules and regulations as you may prescribe for them to get these funds?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. No; no great difficulty. In fact, insofar as controls are possible under the vocational education acts we have always tried to work cooperatively with the State officials, realizing that the success of any policy of moderate control would depend upon its acceptability in the States, its workability.

Senator ELLENDER. I assume such control as you may have exercised was to see that the money was spent for the purposes for which it was allocated?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. Exactly so.

Senator ELLENDER. And that would be probably the extent to which you would exercise that control under this bill?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. Yes. But, as I said a little while ago, the degree in which those controls would need to be specific here is much less, because this is a general bill and therefore the controls would be exceedingly general. To be more specific, if you vote, as you do every year here, money for agricultural education in the States, it is to be assumed that what you want as the result of the expenditure of the money you appropriated is agricultural education, not medical education, not trades and industries, not bookkeeping, except as a certain phase of accounting would be involved in agricultural education.

From these examples I think we can conclude that efforts by the Federal Government to relieve educational poverty result in better conditions and ultimately in a larger proportion of the cost of good education being borne by the States and localities.

Preparedness is also an issue at stake. Others who have testified before you have pointed out that only a highly trained people can compete and, indeed, survive in the world in which we live. That seems to be the lesson of events. We were shocked by the high percentage of illiteracy and the drain it put on military preparedness in the last war. We lulled ourselves into the belief that our school system would gradually improve and eliminate such a handicap by the time of the next emergency. But the next emergency has arrived and where are we? We are in the position that the Army has to take time out from military training to teach men how to read and write. At Fort Belvoir, just a few miles from the Capital, a class of soldiers comes together every Saturday morning to learn to read and write. A report has been given me indicating that in one State 111⁄2 percent of all draft registrants had to put X for their signatures. An equal number could sign their names but could not read a newspaper or write a letter. One in five registrants in that State is of relatively little use to national defense because he is a man who cannot even read simple orders. As a Nation we should ask ourselves if this is preparedness. Can we most effectively defend our Nation with men with such handicaps?

Time lost in education is irretrievably lost. But we can begin now to prevent tragedy in the future by extending the education front. Only the Federal Government, the protector of the whole people, is powerful enough to do this. The Federal Government, which is responsible for the protection of our borders, must have educated

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citizens if it is to succeed in guarding us against strong, ambitious enemies.

Senator BALL. Doctor, I was interested in this estimate of $115,000,000 needed for school facilities. Did that survey really go into much detail as to the points where these new industries are being built and did you take into consideration the fact that some of those industries, when the emergency is over, may close down, so that in some instances you may want temporary school housing and in some instances you may want school housing?

Mr. STUDEBAKER. Mr. Senator, Mr. Henry Alves, one of our associates in the office is here. He directed that survey. If you do not mind, I will ask him to answer these particular questions.

STATEMENT OF H. F. ALVES, UNITED STATES OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Senator ELLENDER. Give your name and present occupation. Mr. ALVES. H. F. Alves, United States Office of Education. Relative to the scope of the study, the Commissioner indicated that all defense areas were included. At least that was our intention. Because of the fact that there are certain varying stages in the development of given defense projects, the estimates secured from the respective projects will consequently vary in degrees of accuracy.

When we started the study early in December there had been programmed by the Defense Housing Coordinator slightly more than 30,000 Federal houses. There was no information available at that time-certainly not as much as there is now, as to the permanency or the temporality of such houses. Consequently, most of the estimates, perhaps all of them, as far as we know, were projected in terms of school-building needs of the same type as is found in the particular locality. In the main the needs were projected for permanent buildings.

At this time we have in our files a number of supplements to those reports, and in many instances we now have definite information in a given defense area that the housing facilities, that is, family dwelling units, are temporary, or they are of such a nature that they are quickly movable, they are demountable. Our proposal, and the Commissioner's recommendation is, in his official report, that the school needs. should agree with the permanency or temporality of the family housing.

Senator BALL. Your $115,000,000 estimate has not been adjusted for that change, has it?

Mr. ALVES. Yes and no. It would adjust itself automatically for this reason: Our total estimated need of $115,000,000 was projected in terms of the maximum number of Federal houses available, by funds then available. Since then there has been an additional $150,000,000 for defense housing, which will mean at least 42,000 to 45,000 family dwelling units. Because of the fact we did not in December recognize that certain buildings would be temporary, that margin would undoubtedly be taken up by this increase.

Senator BALL. How many pupils? Have you any estimate on that? How many pupils would you have to provide new housing for? Mr. ALVES. Yes. That is purely an estimate, however. There has been no accurate census. The projected total need of $115,