Aurelius, Father, pastor, Sacred Heart Church, Charleston, W. Va.. Austin, Lyle L., vice president, West Virginia Farm Bureau.. Bailey, Hon. Cleveland M., a Representative in Congress from the State of Bell, Mrs. Hortense H., West Virginia Division of the American Associa- tion of University Women, accompanied by Miss. Mary Shirey--- Comstock, James, Richwood, W. Va.. 1061 Cooper, Rabbi Sam, B'nai Jacob Synagogue__ 1141 Cox, Mrs. Jane, Charleston Recreation Department, Charleston, W. Va__ 1058 1056 Dyer, N. H., M.D., M.P.H., State director of health, prepared statement. Evans, Mrs. Sarah A., Fairmont, W. Va., prepared statement.. Gallin, Herman, West Virginia Department of Employment Security- Harrington, Dr. Bennett C., Davis and Elkins College, Elkins, W. Va.. Harrison, J. Floyd, chairman, State commission on aging. Hill, F. Duane, director, State department of employment security Hoffman, Charles A., M.D., West Virginia Medical Association... . Key, Carl R., executive secretary, West Virginia Council of Churches- McGowan, John W., executive director, Kanawha Welfare Council. Power, F. Ray, State division of vocational rehabilitation_. Stanley, Miles, West Virginia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. 1074 Prepared statement__ 1080 Van Landingham, Mrs. Alice, Morgantown, W. Va.- 1053 Waugh, Walter N., Charleston, W. Va., prepared statement_ 1172 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Article entitled "Fixed or Flexible Retirement?" from "The Notebook of Commission on the Aging to Hon. Cecil H. Underwood, Governor of West Virginia, dated December 31, 1957 Governor's Temporary Committee in West Virginia for Studying the Problems of Elderly People, Huntington, W. Va., dated October Page 1197 1198 Saunders, F. B., entitled "Status of the Negro in Harrison County, 1155 THE AGED AND AGING IN THE UNITED STATES (Charleston, W. Va.) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1959 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PROBLEMS OF THE AGED AND AGING, State Senate Chamber, Charleston, W. Va. The subcommittee met at 9:40 a.m., Hon. Senator Jennings Randolph, presiding. Subcommittee staff member present: Dr. Harold Sheppard, re search director. sel. Committee staff member present: Raymond Hurley, minority coun Senator RANDOLPH. A pleasant good morning to all of you. The hearing today in Charleston is the fourth of seven field hearings being held through the country to enable the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Problems of the Aged and Aging to learn firsthand what is and should be happening to the status of older Americans. These local soundings, however, are not the beginning of congressional concern. In Washington, D.C., in June, July, and August, testimony was received from experts, Federal agencies, and national organizations. And several months prior, as a specific example, my esteemed colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, and I introduced, in February, a bill, S. 1186, proposing a change in the retirement age for both men and women under social security. The months ahead will certainly see a concerted effort on the part of Congress to tackle the myriad of issues which have been slowly but surely coming to focus among the citizens of America. In a recent editorial of the Los Angeles, Calif., Times describing the work of this subcommittee, a term was used that aptly tells us what has been taking place in America in recent decades: "A quiet revolution." Changes in the population structure of a society occur in much the same way as implied in the old saying, "Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make a mighty ocean and a mighty land." The gradual annual increases in the number of Americans over the age of 65, indeed, over the age of 75, have by now accumulated to the point where the entire population is feeling the impact of this development. With nearly 6 million men and women now 75 years of age or older, exclusive of the 10 million between 65 and 75, we are faced with problems that never before existed in the same magnitude. If our Nation were still primarily a land of farmers, perhaps such large numbers of senior citizens would not be of such concern as they are today. In an agricultural society, an older farmer and his elderly wife could turn over the farm and most of its responsibilities to their children. And, what is the essential point, the older man stayed on the farm because he was needed and wanted; on a farm there is always some chore to be done by everybody, including the older woman. But we cannot turn back to an agrarian society, as much as some might wish. It would be impossible for 179 million people to live on an agricultural economy and maintain the standard of life to which they have by now become accustomed. The meaning of an industrial society, for those of us interested in the problem of aging, is that such a society places a larger proportion of its members than before out of the labor force into retirement, and at the same time reduces the ability or the willingness of the adult children to be the sole supporters of their aged parents and relatives. The subcommittee staff has arrived at population predictions that indicate, furthermore, that there will be a decrease during the next few decades in the number of older, adult children for each person in his eighties or more; in other words, fewer relatives on whom the definitely old in this country might possibly rely on for support. Their problems, and they will be ours, too, require a recognition of social responsibility. In effect, we are witnessing for the first time in American history what amounts to a large and separate third generation for which we are ill prepared, socially, economically, medically, and psychologically. As I have said before, in a Boston, Mass., press conference, during our recent hearings, our lack of preparedness to properly cope with this growing problem is the fault of no particular group or individuals. The purpose of the Senate Subcommittee on Problems of the Aged and Aging, which is a subcommittee of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare of the Senate-is to survey the range of alternative arrangements so that government on all levels, along with private groups, can and should provide to meet the emerging problems. Until now, our national program for the aged has been haphazard, hit or miss, faulty, and acutely inadequate. Today we want to hear your comments on what Government and other organizations and citizens can do with regard to such problems as health, income maintenance, housing, educational, and community activities, and so on. We are anxious, too, to learn about the prob lems of employment among a group of men and women who are well below the so-called old age of 65, those men and women in their forties and fifties faced with hiring obstacles in industry and commerce, because they are believed to be too old to do productive work. West Virginia is unique among the States with regard to its aging problem. I wonder how many of you know the following facts: From 1950 to 1957 the total population of our State decreased by 2 percent. But in that same period the population 65 years old and more actually increased by nearly 20 percent. Only two other States, Mississippi and Arkansas, experienced the same type of change. A major part of this unusual trend bears upon the other topic we would like to discuss today, namely, the aged in rural areas. We believe that this is an important scope within the hearing structure which we will develop today rather than in a hearing in a so-called metropolitan or large city area where hearings are being conducted. What particular problems do they have regarding access to medical services? To what extent are they even more socially isolated than elderly people living in towns and cities? Although limited to only 1 day, we have made a special point, as we have done in the other cities visited-of allotting time for older citizens to tell us in their own words, for themselves, what their problems are, and give their own suggestions as to how these may be met. There are many officials and experts who have expressed a desire to testify, but for whom there will unfortunately not be enough time on the agenda. Their statements, however, will be included in the record. I am sure they will agree that we should hear directly from our senior citizens during this day's consideration of their important problems in connection with the aging and the aged. We regret that the Governor of West Virginia, the Honorable Cecil Underwood, has necessarily been called to Sistersville due to the illness of his aged father, who I believe is 84, who had perhaps a slight stroke yesterday and is in the hospital. The Governor found it important and proper that he be with his parent today. I wish to say, before Duane Hill, director of the development program of our department of employment security, presents the Governor's statement, that I personally know of the intense interest of the chief executive of West Virginia in this vital subject. I know that the Governor wanted very much to be the opening West Virginia witness to testify here today. I speak for all of us, the members of the subcommittee and those who are in attendance officially, and as guests, that we want the record to indicate that we regret the absence of the Governor. However, we are very pleased that his study of this problem takes the form of an excellent statement to be presented by the director of the department of employment security, Duane Hill. Mr. Hill, will you present the views of the Governor? STATEMENT OF F. DUANE HILL, DIRECTOR, STATE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY Mr. HILL. Thank you, Senator Randolph, Congressman Bailey. I shall read verbatim from the statement as personally prepared and reviewed by Governor Underwood. It is my privilege to welcome to West Virginia the Senate Subcommittee on Aging and Problems of the Aging, its chairman, Senator McNamara, and our Senator Jennings Randolph. I trust the hearings here will be useful both to the committee and the general public and that both will be assisted by the testimony offered today. On at least two other occasions I have addressed myself to the problem of aging, an issue which is receiving more consideration month by month and State by State. The first appearance was in Atlanta, Ga., February 1958, and the second was here in Charleston on September 25 of this year. At that time a Governor's Conference on Aging was held, preliminary to a major conference scheduled here for 1960 which will make recommendations to the 1961 White House Conference on Aging. This Charleston conference, addressed by Miss Bertha Adkins and Mr. H. B. Aycock of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, was the first of its kind in the Nation. Sponsored by the Commission on Problems of the Aging, whose chairman, J. Floyd Harrison, was conference chairman, and the State department of employment security, whose director, F. Duane Hill, was conference director, it was attended by 172 individuals, representatives of industry, labor, law, the church, medicine, education, Government, civic and volunteer service organizations, women's clubs, |