What we need are facilities such as will eventually grow out of the alcoholic rehabilitation Act of 1968.

The responsible Churches of America will evidence our long time continuing interest by giving members of this committee our strong support in your attempts to achieve a new enlightened concept.

The North Conway Institute is a product of the Ecumenical Movement which is sweeping the religious community. It is both inter-faith and interdisciplinary. The Institute has serving on its Board of Trustees individuals representative of the three major faiths-Protestant, Catholic, Jewish-and the health, education, and welfare professions and volunteer service groups. A wide spectrum of religious opinion from liberal to conservative is represented by the membership of the Board of Trustees.

One of the notable achievements of the Institute was the endorsement of a statement by prominent church leaders of metropolitan Boston in 1966. The statement was drafted by the Ecumencial Council on Alcohol Programs and was endorsed by leaders from 16 different churches ranging from Roman Catholic to Salvation Army. The key paragraphs read as follows:

We believe that alcoholism and alcohol-related problems are a serious threat to the health, happiness, and welfare of many people and to the stability of families and communities.

Among other consequences of excessive drinking which call for remedial action are the break-up of family life, the stimulation of crime and juvenile delinquency, the mounting of welfare costs, and the loss to industry through absenteeism and inefficiency.

These problems are not new but they are acute and are made more so by an attitude of complacency and irresponsibility on the part of the general public in whose hands the final determination of social policy lies. It is urgent that churchmen and others concerned with human needs and the moral foundations of our society endeavor to create a more responsible public attitude toward drinking.

We believe that we may all unite on the ground of the virtue of sobriety. This can be practiced in two ways. One is by total abstinence from beverage alcohol for religious motives. The other is by true moderation in the use of alcohol, also for religious motives. On this common ground the virtue of sobriety may be practiced both by abstainers as well as by those who drink moderately.

Although differences of conscientious conviction in relation to certain current drinking customs exist among us, the area of our agreement with regard to drunkenness and alcoholism is sufficiently large and significant as to enable us to unite our best efforts for the allviation and ultimate solution of these alcohol-related problems.

As Churches move closer to one another and understanding increases, Congress will find more and more support among their constituents for health measures to help communities help the alcoholic and his family; H.R. 15758 is a major step in that direction.

In conclusion, may I strongly urge you to recommend the passage of a comprehensive National Program to deal with the health problems of families and communities dealing with chronic alcoholism.

The Alcoholic Rehabilitation Act of 1968 represents a real step forward in the beginning of such a program. Again I commend the Democratic Administration for proposing this legislation, for Congressman Staggers of West Virginia for sponsoring it, and I hope you, Congressman Jarman, will get your sub-committee to approve this bill so the Congress can pass it shortly so our President can sign it into law.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for your gracious courtesy in allowing me to testify.

Dr. WORKS. I would like to introduce the Reverend Thomas E. Price, director of the department of alcohol problems and drug abuse, the General Board of Christian Social Concerns of the Methodist Church, who is also a member of the board of directors of the North Conway Institute. I will be glad to answer any questions you have. Mr. ROGERS. Thank you very much, Reverend Works, and we are pleased to have you, Dr. Price.

STATEMENT OF REV. THOMAS E. PRICE

Dr. PRICE. I am director of the alcohol problems for the Methodist Board of Social Concerns. I am here to register the church's concern for the kind of programs called for in H.R. 15758.

Now I of course have the statements of the Methodist Church on alcoholism and the needs.

I would read the final paragraph, the concluding paragraph of my statement, which is to say that the Methodist Church, which has a long tradition of abstinence, and it is not prepared to surrender its conviction that abstinence is an answer for many problems associated with it, not the least of which is alcoholism, but it is prepared to enter the public realm to encourage, to support, to cooperate with community-wide efforts at the national, State, and local levels to treat and prevent drinking problems through the most effective means available.

We consider H.R. 15758 an effective means, because of its provisions to facilitate State and community developments of model programs. (Dr. Price's prepared statement follows:)

STATEMENT OF REV. THOMAS E. PRICE, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOL PROBLEMS AND DRUG ABUSE, General BoaRD OF CHRISTIAN SOCIAL CONCERNS, THE METHODIST CHURCH

My name is Thomas E. Price and I am testifying in my capacity as Director of the Department of Alcohol Problems and Drug Abuse, the General Board of Christian Social Concerns of The Methodist Church. I am an ordained Methodist clergyman with a Ph.D. from Boston University. As administrator of the Methodist Church's national program of alcohol education and rehabilitation I am here to register the Church's interest and concern in support of the program called for in H.R. 15758, Title III, "Alcoholic and Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Amendments of 1968."

POLICY STATEMENTS OF THE METHODIST CHURCH

I call your attention to the position of the Methodist Church on alcoholism and narcotic addiction as stated by the 1964 General Conference, the highest policy making body of the Church:

Methodists are called by love not only to abstain but also to seek healing and justice for the neighbor who is victimized. Concern for the alcoholic and for all those in trouble because of beverage alcohol is the clear mandate of the Christian faith.

Abstinence is not enough. We also urge our people to join with those engaged in positive and constructive programs seeking solutions to alcohol problems. These include education in church and school, rehabilitation for alcoholics, strongest attainable legal controls and the stimulation of sound empirical research. Christians who love God and their fellowmen can do no less. (Paragraph 1822, 1964 Methodist Discipline.)

Alcoholics are sick persons. They can be helped. The church has a unique role to play in the healing process which must be physical, mental and spiritual.

Methodists should take the lead in establishing community agencies for alcoholism education and rehabilitation which are inter-faith and interprofessional in nature. (Miscellaneous Resolution 1964 General Conference.) And on narcotic addition:

Society must provide through public and private facilities for the treatment, rehabilitation, and after-care of narcotic addicts and other victims of drug abuse.

The church should support carefully designed plans to control the traffic in narcotics and to rehabilitate the addict. We urge the reform of existing legal barriers for successful rehabilitation of the drug offender. Experi

mental programs of rehabilitation must be expanded including those involving the administration of controlled amounts of drugs under strict medical supervision.

Churches should assist in developing half-way houses and similar centers to provide a therapeutic and supportive community for addicts. (1964 Methodist Discipline, Paragraphs 1820 and 1822).

The provisions of H.R. 15758, Title III, for constructing, staffing, operating, and maintaining new facilities in the treatment of alcohol and narcotic addicts is a basic step toward providing the kind of comprehensive care needed, if society is going to take seriously its responsibility toward those afflicted by alcohol and drug problems. We are grateful for the steps already taken by the Congress and Executive branch of government, and believe that H.R. 15758 will make available much of the necessary funding to implement plans already envisioned.

THE NEED FOR H.R. 15758

Obviously the Congress was aware of the pressing need for facilities to prevent and treat alcoholism and narcotic addiction or this bill would neither have been drafted nor would these hearings have been held. Others will document this need with statistics, so just let me underline the urgency of this legislation by citing one image of the enormity of the problem of alcoholism. According to the report of the Cooperative Commission on the Study of Alcoholism if all the psychiatrists and all the social workers in the United States were transferred to California, they could give only minimum care of one individual interview per week and one home visit per month to the alcoholics and their families in that one state. (I would remind the committee that, even though narcotic addiction is a dramatic and urgent problem, narcotic addicts are numbered in the thousands while alcoholics are numbered in the millions.) This astounding fact calls for a massive effort on the part of the whole nation to provide comprehensive care for the sufferers of this disorder of mind, body, and spirit and an equally massive effort to prevent others from being afflicted. H.R. 15758 is a highly commendable beginning because it provides for both treatment and prevention and specialized facilities such as half-way houses.

We should not fail to see this legislation within the context of the President's Commission on Civil Disorders, as well as the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Justice, because the Commission on Civil Disorders noted the well known fact of the high rate of alcoholism and narcotic addiction in our inner cities. Implementing some of the recommendations of the Commission regarding jobs, education, and housing will get at many of the root causes of these twin illnesses, but in the meantime our urban poor need services. H.R. 15758 is one way of dealing with the crisis in the nation.

THE ROLE OF THE CHURCHES

The sheer size of the problems of alcoholism and narcotic addiction has moved the churches to unite in inter-faith efforts to deal with the problems. No single denomination or religious tradition has all of the resources of insight and competence to provide all the answers, but jointly, in cooperative ways that complement one another, the religious community can provide a relevant ministry to the total community.

The National Council of the Churches of Christ said in 1958:

The churches share a pastoral concern for alcoholics, problem drinkers and their families...

Alcoholics are persons in need of diagnosis, understanding, guidance and treatment. They are especially in need of pastoral care and the divine love which the church can bring them. There need be no condoning of their behavior, but neither should a church permit its antagonism to alcohol to prevent its offering an effective ministry to alcoholics and their families. (The Churches and Alcohol, 1958.)

At the same time the churches have been moving together to form a united ministry, they have been joining with forces in the community, professional and volunteer, to support and take their place on the inter-disciplinary team we know as the care-giving systems of our society-health, law, education, welfare, volunteer service groups, and religion. Again I cite the 1958 statement of the National Council of Churches:

We look to the member churches of the National Council to encourage the establishment and maintenance of clinics and other appropriate therapeutic facilities when competently conducted, for the victims of alcoholism. We urge the churches to give any help possible especially to those organizations which seek to include the resources of the Christian faith in working toward the cure and rehabilitation of alcoholics.

Alcoholism and narcotic addiction does not exhaust the concern of the churches for alcohol and drug problems in our society. The churches are also aware of problems such as driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, youthful drinking and drug taking, effective legal controls of the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcohol and drugs, and the abuse of alcohol and drugs such as stimulants, sedatives, and hallucinogens in every level of our society. The report of the Cooperative Commission on the study of Alcoholism has demonstrated how alcoholism is interlocked with these other alcohol problems, and I am sure the same thing is true of narcotic addiction and drug abuse problems. Therefore, the churches are beginning to develop a comprehensive program to deal with all alcohol and drug problems. The provisions of H.R. 15758 are vital ingredients in this comprehensive program.

The primary role of the church is in prevention, but the remedial task before us of providing comprehensive care services for the great number of alcoholics and narcotic addicts already afflicted is so urgent that passage of H.R. 15758 is an imperative priority.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We feel that H.R. 15758 could be strengthened by two additions:

1. "Part C-Alcoholism" would be strengthened by adding a section providing for the training of personnel to work with alcoholics and their families just as Section 252, "Part D-Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation" provides for training of workers with narcotic addicts. Training programs for alcoholism workers are needed simply because they are in such short supply and the need for professional and sub-professional workers so great. H.R. 15758 is an excellent vehicle for providing them and I urge the addition of such a section.

2. A premable to "Part C-Alcoholism,” such as the one suggested by Mr. Dimas who testified on behalf of the North American Association of Alcoholism Programs, would strengthen H.R. 15758 by explicitly relating alcoholism to existing health and welfare legislation. Alcoholism is already generally covered in these other programs such as the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Veterans Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Justice Department, and the operating agencies or the Department of Health. Education, and Welfare, but presently alcoholism seems to be a low priority item. Because of the complex nature of alcoholism and the implications of it for the work of these other programs, the addition of such a preamble would express strong congressional intent that they be involved in the treatment and prevention of alcoholism.

CONCLUSION

The Methodist Church is not prepared to surrender its conviction that abstinence is a desirable practice in view of the confusion and ambivalence surrounding alcohol use and the many problems associated with it, not the least of which is alcoholism, in this country; but it is prepared to enter the public realm to encourage, support, and cooperate with community wide efforts at the national, state and local levels to treat and to prevent drinking problems through the most effective means available. H.R. 15758 is considered an effective means because its provisions will facilitate state and community development of model programs such as the one incorporated in H.R. 14300 for the District of Columbia which the House of Representatives has already passed without objection.

Mr. ROGERS. Thank you very much, Dr. Price. I am sure the committee is interested in the participation of the churches in the Nation. in helping to meet these health problems. It would be an important part of trying to bring about some cure to have the interest of the churches in the Nation join with the medical people to help do some

thing about these very serious problems, and certainly with the families affected, here is an area where so much needs to be done in the community and with the church groups which the medical people can necessarily help in.

Thank you for being here.

Mr. Kyros.

Mr. KYROS. I want to join with you in your remarks, and in welcoming Reverend Works and Dr. Price here. I can think of no better institution in our society than the church for doing the things before us.

In rehabilitation from alcoholism and drugs, I think the church hasn't been active enough in the past, and I appreciate your being here today and being in favor of title III of the bill.

Dr. WORKS. I know the hour for adjournment for lunch is at hand, Mr. Chairman; however, I would like to make just one additional statement. About 6 months ago, the North Conway Institute undertook three major studies for the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., which dealt with the middle-class suburban housewife and alcohol; the Negro ghetto and alcohol; and the "hippie" community and drugs.

We found that the problem of drugs including alcohol, which we regard as a drug-to be almost overwhelming.

When we sought possible sources of funds for a national resource center on drugs and a research program which could develop into decent therapeutic and educational facilities, we were told that there were no funds available for either treatment or prevention.

Today the Washington Post carries the story on page 1 of the stabbing death of 24-year-old Linda Marshall of Cambridge, Mass., whose mother and father are dear and beloved personal and family friends.

The New York Daily News wonders on page 1 if a drug-insaned "hippie" killed Linda Marshall. Some of us wonder if the streets of Cambridge, Mass. are as safe as Saigon, South Vietnam; and we ask you in the U.S. Congress about what can be done for adequate funds to finance alcoholism as well as other drug-related programs.

From 1956 until January 20, 1961, I served as chairman of a Federal Government commission on alcoholism among the American Indians; the entire Federal budget just a decade ago was about $126,000.

Therefore, I do appreciate the increase to the figure proposed in this legislation of $7 million. The time is long past for such tiny and insignificant sums.

Sometime in the future, maybe we can do something effective in the area of alcohol education and the prevention of alcoholism as well as drug abuse and drug dependence especially with LSD, "speed," and other mood-changing chemicals.

We have now a seminary student from the Harvard Divinity School working in a small home in the Cambridge-Somerville, Mass., area where runaways from all over New England-including, Mr. Kyros, the state of Maine-are congregating. Most of these youngsters are using illegal drugs, and they need help now.

I know you are a man of great conscience about drugs, Mr. Rogers. You also know how effective is the great Florida State program on alcoholism which is located in Avon Park. You know that I would