stock they used to say-and go out and earn a living depended on health and physical strength. You have pointed out how that day has passed. You summarized in a few paragraphs, the agricultural revolution both as to method and production, going on in this country and, hence, the necessity for training. Thank you. We will reserve questions until all of the witnesses have finished. Our next witness is Mr. John Fusaro, Jr., a veteran of World War II, who received vocational education under Public Law 346. Mr. Fusaro, please proceed in your own way. STATEMENT OF JOHN FUSARO, JR., VETERAN OF WORLD WAR II Mr. FUSARO. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, my name is John Fusaro, Jr., of Philadelphia, Pa. I am a veteran of World War II, trained under Public Law 346 by the School District of Philadelphia, Pa. I should first like to express my appreciation at the opportunity of being able to appear before this committee and contribute in any way that I can to further the extension of veterans' benefits to those men entering the Armed Forces after January 31, 1955. Perhaps the best way to demonstrate the benefits of the Veterans' Readjustment Act is to become somewhat autobiographical. I feel that I was pretty much the average serviceman and in giving my history it should present a rather fair picture. After attending the Philadelphia public schools up to and including the second year of high school I left to go to work. During those depression years it was difficult to find employment and not possessing any particular skills my first job was serving newspapers. I then worked as a delivery boy for a grocery chain after which I became a busboy at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. For the 2 years immediately prior to my entry into the service I worked as a chauffeur. I cite these incidents of floundering around in the employment field primarily to demonstrate the importance of having a trade or vocation. My 5 years in the Army were not particularly impressive. I served as technician, fifth class, in the Field Artillery with the exception of 10 months spent in the hospital due to a truck accident. The major portion of my military career was spent in the United States. During the final year I was stationed in the South Pacific. While I have long since passed the date for further training under the GI bill, realizing the value of augmenting my abilities, I have enrolled in the Temple Technical Institute where I am studying architectural design and building construction. It is my intention to remain in my present field, advancing as far as I am able. Thanks to the GI bill the future of my wife and now two daughters, looks much brighter than the days before I entered the service. I have come here to Washington not only to further the interests of veterans' training but to express my appreciation to the Government that has made all this possible for me. Incidentally, I have with me copies of a report covering the Philadelphia Schood District program. There are enough for distribution, and I should be happy to give them to you. Should you gentlemen have any questions, I shall be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Senator YARBOROUGH. Mr. Fusaro, this is a very stimulating report of how this program has enabled you-through your own diligent application and by combining the program-to pass through the grades of unskilled labor to apprentice labor, to skilled labor, now to a technician and about halfway between the technician and a highly skilled professional man, a field that requires a high degree of application, architectural design, and building construction. I want to congratulate you on the beneficial uses to which you have put the program, and we will include in the record this report from the Board of Public Education of the School District of Philadelphia, to show what it has done under the veterans' program to enrich the lives of the veterans and enhance the welfare of the Nation. (The information follows:) THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PHILADELPHIA, TO THOSE WHO SERVED THE NATION IN THE ARMED FORCES Leon J. Obermayer, president, the board of public education Allen H. Wetter, superintendent of schools Add B. Anderson, secretary and business manager Services for Veterans William E. Brunton, director Nathaniel Nathanson, assistant director SERVICES FOR VETERANS Veterans' Education The Philadelphia School District was given the first World War II veterans training contract in the United States on August 23, 1943. Objectives 1. Accelerated high school diploma course; (a) To complete academic training for college entrance (b) Diploma for employment requirements (c) Cultural development 2. Vocational-technical courses: (a) To earn livelihood (b) Gain advancement lost through services in the Armed Forces (c) Retraining necessitated by disabilities incurred in service (d) Meet apprenticeship requirements for on-the-job training Courses Fifty-nine at peak, including railroad instruction, X-ray technician, merchandising, agriculture, optical mechanics, shoe repair. At present 24 courses still in operation. Extracurricular activities: Baseball, basketball, softball, school paper. Enrollment: 6,508 at peak (day, evening, Saturday); total of over 30,000; trainees from every State in United States, Hawaii, Philippines, Virgin Islands, Canada, Great Britain. Location of schools: Benjamin Franklin High School, Bartram High School, Bok, Dobbins, Mastbaum, Fleisher Vocational-Technical Schools; nine annexes to Bok, including Navy Yard, Pennsylvania Railroad, General Electric Co., Lit Brothers Department Store. Special features Veterans' housing: Trainees constructed 10 houses for disabled veterans, chiefly paraplegic and blind. Specially constructed ramps instead of stairs, wide doors, etc. Charges for material only, no labor costs, resulting in saving of over 50 percent. Free eyeglass program: Over 1,000 pairs to needy school children ground and fitted by trainees in optical mechanics course. Training illiterates: Over 200 trained in prevocational education course. Watch repair for paraplegics: Paraplegics trained in their own homes by Bok instructors. Junior executives: Course given at Lit Brothers Department Store. All graduates placed in junior executive positions. Railroad instruction: Over 500 employees of Pennsylvania, Reading, and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads trained at 30th Street Station. Guidance programs Fourteen thousand veterans given tests at Fleisher and Smedley Centers to determine aptitudes. Testing service Over 40,000 veterans given USAFI and GED tests to qualify for high school diplomas. War Orphans' Educational Assistance Act of 1956 Enacted for training of children of veterans who died as result of military service in World Wars I and II and Korean conflict. First student enrolled February 1, 1957. Senator YARBOROUGH. Our next witness is Mr. Ray C. Perrow, president of the Young Farmers of Virginia, from Lynchburg, Va. Mr. Perrow, please proceed. STATEMENT OF RAY C. PERROW, PRESIDENT, YOUNG FARMERS OF VIRGINIA Mr. PERROW. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Ray C. Perrow. I am a farmer in the Concord community near Lynchburg, Va., and president of the Young Farmers of Virginia, an organization of young farmers enrolled in vocational agriculture classes in the high schools. I am here to testify in behalf of the American Vocational Association. I am a veteran of World War II and, as one of some 20,000 Virginia veterans who received institutional on-farm training offered veterans of service in the Armed Forces during the past 12 years, I am happy to come before you to relate my experience as a young farmer and to tell you how this type of training has benefited me. I am sure my story is no different from that of thousands of young farmers throughout our State and the Nation. Unlike most young farmers, I was born and spent my early years in the city. Although my family moved to the country when I was a young man, my father did very little farming. He is a carpenter and is still engaged in this type of work. Upon completing high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After 3 years in the Armed Forces, I returned to the farm. With my limited farm experience, but with a desire to live and work on a farm, I realized I would need training in this field. I enrolled in the institutional on-farm training program for veterans at my local high school. While in this program, I determined more than ever to make farming my life's work. I also found out how much one has to learn to be successful in the business of farming. With the instructions received in this program and with the advice and guidance of my teacher of vocational agriculture, I have been able to establish a grade A dairy farm. In 1952 I purchased a onehalf interest in the home farm and in 1958 the other half. I now own 153 acres, and have a 36-cow herd. Ours is solely a family-farm operation. I have continued to keep up to date in farming methods and latest improved practices by attending young farmer classes regularly. Members of these classes are affiliated with the Young Farmers of Virginia, of which I am serving as president this year. Although this organization has no direct relationship to on-farm training for veterans, it is an outgrowth and one result of that program. A majority of our Young Farmer class members are veterans who received on-farm training under either Public Law 346 or 550. Without the training and benefits received from the veterans farm. training program, I could not be farming today. I can name many others in this same category. I would like to give you a summary of accomplishments of veterans enrolled in institutional on-farm training in Virginia during 1953-54. Enrollment for ths period was 1,469 which was many times smaller than the peak enrollment of 8,418 for 1949-50. I use figures for 1953-54 because during that year about half of the enrollment was made up of veterans training under Public Law 550 and the remainder under other GI training provisions. Significant accomplishments of the 1,469 veterans in on-farm training classes in Virginia in 1953-54 are: Number of breeding animals purchased, which includes dairy, beef, and swine -- 614 11,080 11, 952 638 529 Number of who were farmowners. Number of items made in school farm shop. Number of farm soil conservation plans developed.. Number of home orchards established_. Number of acres of pasture developed.... 7.785 Number of homes in which running water was installed_-- 403 Of course, some of the above would have been done if no training had been available; however, I know from experience that a major portion of these accomplishments was a direct result of instruction and assistance made possible by our veterans training program. If training for veterans was important 12 years ago, it is even more important at the present time. Changes in the business of farming are taking place more rapidly than at any time in the history of our Nation. When a young man was called to serve in the Armed Forces 15 years ago, even if he served 4 years, farm practices and methods were changed very little while he was away from the farm. Now when a young man is called to serve his country, he will not even recognize many of the practices being conducted when he returns. It is no longer true that a farmer must know only how to perform certain practices, he must also know why. In other words, science as well as mechanization has completely changed the farming picture. We hear much about the increased population that this country faces. We also hear that the need for young men in farming is decreasing. This may be true, but it is only part of the story. With increased mechanization and fewer but larger farms, the need for increased education and training opportunities for these young men who remain on the farm is greater than ever before. We in Virginia and throughout this Nation are not beginning to train the number of farm-operator replacements needed. We are losing the "cream of the crop" in agriculture, and will eventually face an extreme shortage of young men on farms. Let me illustrate what I mean. A young man is called to serve 2 years in the Armed Forces. He has probably been out of high school 2, 3, or 4 years, where he has made a small start toward becoming established in farming. He has accumulated some assets in the farming business. When he goes into service he probably disposes of his livestock or whatever he may own as his share in a farming business. When he returns to the farm, adjustments have been made during his absence, the cost of starting to farm has advanced, and new methods introduced. Rather than start all over again, he seeks employment elsewhere. Let's take another case. A young man completes his high school training and would really like to become a farmer. He realizes that in a short while he will be drafted into the Armed Forces. Rather than spend that period trying to make a start in farming, he finds employment elsewhere and never returns to the farm. These examples illustrate how compulsory military service has reduced the number of outstanding young farmers continuing in the business of farming. We must maintain and increase our productive capacity in agriculture, not only for our increased population but for national defense. Many specialized types of farming are coming into existence which require highly skilled and trained farm operators. We realize that it is most difficult for older farmers to adjust to change. It is therefore necessary that we keep our young men on the farm. We feel that making available certain educational and training benefits will induce more of our young men to stay on the farm. We realize that our country is not engaged in a military conflict and we hope it will never be. We understand that the purpose of |