Dr. Gorton said that the heads of the Nation's music schools were heartened by such recent events as the recommendation by the President's Commission on National Goals that the importance of the arts in our national life be recognized, and urged the Congress to concern itself with the problem of broadening the basis of our cultural activities. This, incidentally, is what has been taking place here today by this subcommittee. Dr. Gorton pointed out that the National Music Council, which represents the entire field of music in the United States, adopted a resolution on January 5, 1961, which declared: That if the United States is to maintain and improve its world leadership, to increase its prestige in international relations, and most important, to improve the cultural opportunities for our own people, it seems clear that the Federal Government must assume a greater interest in and a greater responsibility for the further development of the creative arts and the humanities. Dr. Clifford Buttleman, spokesman for the 36,000-member Music Educators National Conference, the music department of the National Education Association, called attention to the support of the fine arts by the Soviet Union which goes forward at the same time as does support for science. Dr. Buttleman included a lengthy report on "The Arts in the Educational Program in the Soviet Union" prepared by Miss Vanett Lawler, who visited that country under official auspices of the U.S. Government. Miss Sally Butler, Director of Legislation for the 5-million-member General Federation of Women's Clubs urged that qualified people be chosen to head up the Government's art programs which H.R. 4172 and H.R. 4174 would establish. She declared that highquality appointments be made from among people and organizations "vitally interested in the arts and in service to our country in an informed, intelligent manner." Said Miss Butler: We want to preserve the culture of our historic past as well as to make it possible for the present and future generations to develop the cultural arts in our country. The drama critic of the Washington (D.C.) Post, Richard L. Coe declared that- some action must be taken to stem the tide of general ignorance which is sweeping over the landmarks of man's past. Some ways must be found to combat the superficial, easy, misleading, dangerous values which result from too much communication in a time of increasing leisure. And, because private sources and leaders are either unable or unwilling to cope with the problem many of us feel it falls to the Government to initiate action. Mr. THOMPSON. Our next witness is the Honorable Carroll D. Kearns of Pennsylvania. Congressman Kearns is the ranking minority member of the full committee, and is a doctor of music. STATEMENT OF HON. CARROLL D. KEARNS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA · Mr. KEARNS. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, may I begin by commending this subcommittee for the splendid way it has conducted the hearings on H.R. 4172 and related bills such as my own H.R. 413, and H.R. 4174 and its related measures including my own H.R. 1942. You have been most courteous to the many distinguished cultural leaders who have appeared here today to plead the cause of Federal recognition of the arts, and you have, I am sure, given them a new insight into the ability and understanding which the Congress can bring to such complex problems as Federal aid to the arts. In doing this you have well earned the gratitude of millions of your fellow Americans; and you have given a fatal setback to the hoary view that Members of Congress are unenlightened, uncultured, and uninformed about the fine arts. The word most often applied to Members of Congress in certain art circles and by certain cultural leaders is "Philistine." However, if these leaders had been here this morning I am sure they would have gotten a major lesson in democratic government at work and received a new insight into its vitality. I am proud to be able to tell you that I have received a telegram of support from President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Gettysburg, Pa., in which he says, in part: Hon. CARROLL KEARNS, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. MAY 14, 1961. DEAR CARROLL: You of course realize that my support for an Advisory Council of Fine Arts or some other organization similarly constituted has been unchanging since my recommendation of this effort was sent to the Congress 6 years ago. Consequently, any legislation of this type that may be pending would appear to me to be in the interests of our country. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER. President Eisenhower, in recommending legislation to the Congress to establish a Federal Advisory Council on the Arts to the Congress in 1955 said in his State of the Union message that: In the advancement of the various activities which will make our civilization endure and flourish, the Federal Government should do more to give official recognition to the importance of the arts and other cultural activities. I include at this point in my remarks the text of a letter I recently received from former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Hon. CARROLL KEARNS, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. GETTYSBURG, PA., May 8, 1961. DEAR CARROLL: I just heard of your eloquent defense of the past administration on the cultural front. My thanks for your continuing thoughtfulness and my appreciation of the warmth with which you remember those of us no longer in Washington. With personal regard, Sincerely, D. E. In the thick of the 1960 political campaign the presidential candidates, the then Senator John F. Kennedy, and the then Vice President Richard M. Nixon, were asked the following questions by Equity Magazine, which is published by Actors' Equity Association: [From Equity magazine, November 1960] (Asked by Dick Moore, editor, Equity magazine, official publication of Actors' Equity Association) 1. Legislation sponsored by Senators Javits, of New York, and Clark of Pennsylvania, would establish a new federally supported foundation for the perform ing arts. This bill stipulates that the proposed foundation "shall not produce or present any productions * ** but rather, through its appointed trustees, will foster and encourage professional and civic and nonprofit, private, public, educational, institutional, or governmental groups which are engaged in or directly concerned with the performing arts and productions." The bill requests an initial appropriation of $5 million, and it is intended that an annual appropriation would be augmented by tax free donations, and that the Foundation would be established as an independent agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government. Do you favor such a measure? 2. Would you request additional appropriations for the President's international cultural exchange program, for the purpose of increasing the number of live productions performed in other countries by professional American performing artists? 3. Artists in many fields are apt to have highly irregular incomes. Efforts made in the past to permit them to average their incomes for tax purposes over a period of from 3 to 5 years (as is allowed in several European countries) have been unsuccessful. How do you feel about these tax-averaging proposals? Here are the answers given by President John F. Kennedy: ANSWERS (By Senator John F. Kennedy) It is a pleasure to reply to your questions *** for publication in Equity magazine. 1. I am in full sympathy with the proposal for a federally supported foundation to provide encouragement and opportunity to nonprofit, private, and civic groups in the performing arts. When so many other nations officially recognize and support the performing arts as a part of their national cultural heritage, it seems to me unfortunate that the United States has been so slow in coming to a similar recognition. 2. I have been, in the Senate, a consistent and enthusiastic supporter of cultural exchange as a means of exhibiting abroad the quality and character of American culture and earning the good will that can only come from understanding and appreciation of our culture. American artists performing abroad have been one of our finest assets for this purpose and have been of incalculable value to this country's relations with other nations. I hope that the United States can continue and expand its efforts in this valuable program. 3. There is clearly a serious inequity in the failure of our tax laws to recognize the special problems created for artists and writers by the highly irregular character of their income from year to year. While I believe that the specific remedy for this inequity needs careful consideration, I would favor prompt and adequate revision of the tax laws to deal with it. I hope that these statements are satisfactory for your use. Let me take this opportunity, also, to express my warm admiration and support for Actors' Equity and its achievements. This is the way Vice President Nixon answered the questions, so it can be seen that there was very little difference between the two candidates: ANSWERS (By Vice President Richard M. Nixon) 1. I wholeheartedly support the objective of stimulating the advancement of the performing arts and promoting increased public appreciation of their important role in our national life. I think that a good first step toward meeting that objective would be a proposal by this Administration to create a "Federal Advisory Council on the Arts" within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Council would explore all aspects of the question-including the proper function of the Federal Government in cultural development-and make recommendations as to the best methods by which we can encourage activity in the performance and appreciation of the arts as well as fostering participation in them. It seems to me that laying this groundwork is necessary before we go on to consider specific proposals such as the establishment of an independent U.S. Art Foundation to undertake operating programs, as provided in the JavitsClark bill. Once we develop the basic guidelines, we can then study alternative programs, and choose the one that will effectively promote the full development of our performing arts. 2. America is proud of her performing artists, and I believe that their fre quent appearances overseas contribute greatly to an increased understanding of this Nation and the culture it represents. As you know, the prestige which the President's special international program for cultural presentations has enjoyed in the past 5 years has been of tremendous importance in building and strengthening the image of America abroad. I would certainly support an expansion of this program to assure that our performing arts are broadly represented in as many nations as possible. For example, I think we might have an American dramatic repertory company, an American ballet troupe, and an American symphony orchestra, all on tour. These groups would travel to virtually every corner of the world. At present, however, we are not sending abroad as many of our artists as we would like. In the free world, there are more than 250 cities with large populations-more than 200,000 people each-which we should try to reach at least once a year. My trip to the Soviet Union last year strengthened my belief that we should also increase both our cultural and person-to-person exchange programs with the Iron Curtain countries, as well as with those nations outside the Communist bloc areas. We certainly cannot lose by continuing or expanding these exchanges with the Soviet Union and other Communist countries. We could stand to gain much. It seems to me that these people may increase their pressures for greater freedom from oppressive controls as they become better acquainted with the aspects of a richer and freer life through direct contacts with Western cultural and civilization. The Communists challenge us to compete, and we welcome that challenge. Our answer is that we can match them in artistic excellence, or for that matter, in any field they want to choose. 3. The merits of this proposal, of course, would need to be weighed against the increased administrative costs and the loss of revenue to the Treasury which it might involve. The present administration has recognized, in part, the equity of relief for taxpayers who experience sharp variations in income from year to year by support of legislation permitting a 3 year loss "carryback" and a 5 year loss "carryforward.” In deciding whether or not this principle should be extended to permit tax averaging, we must remember that if such relief were given to artists, it should be extended to all taxpayers with the same problem. This might well put a heavy burden on both the Government and the taxpayer in that the tax for a given year would have to be recalculated again and again. This aspect, plus the possible revenue losses resulting from tax-averaging, would have to be carefully studied before we could make a firm decision about the proposal. Generally, I would say that if the burdens to the taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service are shown to be excessive, I would oppose such a change in our tax laws. If a close study of its effects proves otherwise, and if its adoption would not interfere with more urgently needed tax reforms, then I think it could be favorably considered. I think it is important, here in the middle of May 1961, midway in the 1st session of the 87th Congress, to remind ourselves of the positions on the arts which were taken by the candidates in the political campaign of last fall. For one thing, it shows that, as far as the arts are concerned, there was a very large area of agreement between the two presidential candidates. I include here the views of the presidential candidates as they were published in the October 29, 1960, issue of the Saturday Review. 70259-61--12 [From the Saturday Review, Oct. 29, 1960] THE CANDIDATES AND THE ARTS With the presidential election only days away, Saturday Review is Among the subjects with which the next administration will have to deal is the claim of art and artists to Government recognition, encouragement, and assistance. Though not the gravest issue before the country, it is far from the least if our culture is to attain the growth of which it is capable. As it may involve congressional legislation and executive action, it would be helpful for voters with an active interest in the arts to know the attitude of the candidates of the two major parties on certain key questions. With that in view, Saturday Review invites your attention to the following questionnaire. We would welcome any overall statement on the question you would care to make, as well as answers in detail to the specific questions. The answers of yourself and your opponent will be published verbatim, jointly, in a forthcoming issue of Saturday Review. If it is possible for you to mail or wire the reply by October 1, we would have it for the issue of October 29, which would be our preference. 1. Are you in favor of a Secretary of Culture (parallel to the Ministry of Fine Arts in some European countries) with Cabinet rank and broad authority in this field? 2. To what extent should the Federal Government assist in the support of symphony orchestras, museums, opera companies, etc.? 3. Through its grants to foreign nations, the Federal Government has, in effect, underwritten cultural activities in many friendly nations. What is its responsibility to such activities in this country? 4. Would you, if elected, continue the cultural exchange program with the U.S.S.R. and its satellites? 5. If so, on the same scale as now? On a larger scale? On a reduced scale? 6. Do you believe this comes properly under the jurisdiction of the State Department, or should it be administered by a Secretary of Culture? 7. What are your views on the National Cultural Center which has received a congressional grant of land in Washington? Would you recommend the use of public funds to bring it into being? 8. Do you consider the encouragement of art, in the broadest sense, and artists a function of the Federal Government or one more properly left to State and municipal authorities? 9. As the "Voice of America" is broadly representative of the people of the United States, it also represents its culture. How effectively do you think this is being done at the present time? 10. Would you support a program to give pay TV equal status with free network television as it now exists? The Saturday Review thanks you on behalf of its readers for your consideration of its request. With best wishes, IRVIN KOLODIN, Associate Editor. DEAR MR. KOLODIN: I thoroughly share your view that, if our culture is to attain the growth of which it is capable, a great deal of effort, both public and private, is essential. It is through the arts that the spirits of men communicate. For this reason, I believe cultural exchange and growth stand close to the center of our worldwide struggle for the principle of human freedom. While America is a young country in the history of world culture, its achievements are notable. Although there were fewer than 100 symphony orchestras in our country in 1920, there are more than 11,000 today, many of them of the highest professional standards. Every major city now has its "good music" radio station. Long-playing classical records account for a substantial proportion of record sales. |