Senator COOPER. I would think so.

Senator DONNELL. And in your opinion the expenditure of Federal funds for the salaries of teachers is not advisable in view of your adherence to the theory of the advisability of the separation of church and state.

Senator COOPER. You mean that is not advisable?

Senator DONNELL. Not advisable to spend Federal funds for the salaries of teachers in view of the principle of the separation of church and state.

Senator COOPER. In what schools?

Senator DONNELL. In nonpublic schools.

Senator COOPER. I follow the same position; yes, sir.

Senator DONNELL. I was assuming that you had in mind the nonpublic schools. I want that perfectly clear on the record. My question is, that I understand from your statement that you do not personally favor the use of Federal funds for the salaries of teachers in nonpublic educational institutions.

Senator COOPER. That is correct.

Senator AIKEN. Did you read S. 199?
Senator CoOPER. I have read it.

Senator AIKEN. If you read it you will find that that positively prohibits expenditures for teachers' salaries but would permit expenditures for the other matters pertaining to the welfare of the child in the public school.

You would have no objection if we reached some agreement or meeting of the minds that would permit, in the States that have permitted it, expenditure of public funds for the matters which would pertain to the welfare of the child, such as health examinations, transportation, and nonreligious supplies?

Senator COOPER. I must differentiate. I have stated my personal viewpoint which may be a lawyer's viewpoint and which is based upon what I believe is the meaning of the Constitution. I know that many States, including my own State, have adopted another viewpoint and I know that if these funds should be appropriated, I believe that those States and I believe that my State, would use part of these funds for purposes outside of the public schools.

Now, if they do that and do it under their interpretation of the law, I certainly, as has been asked by Senator Donnell, must follow that interpretation of the law.

I have stated my own viewpoint about the matter and it is based upon the theory, as I have stated, that I believe that all of these matters involve not only aid but finally lead or could lead, perhaps, to regulation.

Senator DONNELL. Therefore, it might involve a violation of the principle of separation of church and state.

Senator CoOPER. Yes, sir.

Senator AIKEN. Thank you, Senator. Are there any other questions? [No response.]

If not, we appreciate your testimony and know we have a great deal of confidence in your personal opinion, too.

The maps and papers may be received for the use of this committee. Senator HILL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have the subcommittee approve printing in the record a statement by Senator Kilgore, of West Virginia, on this question of Federal aid to education. Due to

an urgent matter Senator Kilgore is not able to be here this morning and I would like to have his statement printed in the record this morning, following Senator Cooper.

Senator AIKEN. Without objection, Senator Kilgore's statement will be included in the record.

(The statement of Senator Kilgore follows:)

STATEMENT On Federal AID TO EDUCATION BY SENATOR HARLEY M. Kilgore

America has slowly awakened to the fact that it faces a crisis in its educational system.

Letters I have received from educators and parents throughout the Nation clearly indicate that, at long last, the Nation realizes that all is not well with our educational system.

Unfortunately, it has taken a series of shocking, unpleasant events to focus Nation-wide attention on the inequities of our school system.

People throughout the Nation are beginning to listen to the educators and legislators who have repeatedly warned that our school system is not measuring up to our ideal democratic standards.

Comparatively recent events have clearly borne out the warnings uttered by many of us during the past. The case of the vanishing teacher, more than anything else, has emphasized the seriousness of the school problem.

Hundreds of teachers are leaving the educational profession each year because of low pay, ill-equipped schools, and unpleasant working conditions.

Today we have far less teachers in the Nations' schools than during a normal year in the 1930's. In addition more than one out of every eight teachers lack the educational or personal qualifications normally required of teachers. School boards have been forced to grant emergency teaching certificates to high-school graduates and they have urged teachers out of retirement and still there are about 75,000 vacancies in the teaching force.

This means that schools have been forced to close or to operate split shifts. Courses have been dropped. Classes have been thrown together until teachers face 40 to 60 pupils instead of the desirable 20 to 25. State school superintendents estimated last fall that nearly 62,000 children were being deprived of schooling because there were not enough teachers or classrooms and the number is now estimated to be nearly 75,000.

The New York Times recently warned: "Confronted by the most acute teacher shortage in the history of American education, the Nation's public school system faces a serious breakdown."

Meanwhile a leading educator, Dr. Harold F. Clark of Teachers College, Columbia University, declared that if the present shortage continues "disastrous educational and social conditions will prevail in a few years."

The exodus from the teaching profession began when wartime industrial wages tempted the low-paid teachers into other work. Many have not returned to the classrooms because they can earn much more money today in other professions. However, this is by no means an entirely new problem.

For many years our schools have been poorly financed. Of course, some States have good schools, but many other States, with comparatively low incomes, have been unable to properly support public schools. And still others have adopted an attitude almost bordering on indifference. As a result, the Nation's educational level is far below what any reasonable person could consider an adequate standard.

Before we consider expenditures for public schools, let's examine a few other facts.

For example, 2,000,000 adults in the United States-the richest nation on earth-have never attended any kind of school. By any kind of school, I mean they have never spent as much as one day on classroom work.

It may also come as a shocking surprise, but 10,000,000 adults cannot read and write well enough to meet the ordinary demands of modern life.

The Nation also should be ashamed of the fact that more than 10,000,000 children between the ages of 6 and 15-school age, mind you-were not in any kind of school in 1940, and the number is even higher today.

Another equally shocking revelation is that during World War II, Selective Service had to reject-because of illiteracy and other educational deficienciesenough men for 20 combat divisions. Yes, I said 20 combat divisions.

These are cold, hard facts that we cannot afford to overlook any longer. This does not mean that the individual States are not interested in improving their schools, but incomes vary in the various States-thus the standards range from good to bad.

West Virginia, for example, spent approximately 2.5 percent of its income for schools during the 1943-44 period, and the amount is even higher today, yet our State was thirty-ninth in the Nation in the amount of average expenditures per child. Our expenditures averaged less than $94 per child in average daily attendance, while other States, with higher incomes, spent a much smaller percent of total income on schools-yet they were able to spend far more per pupil.

This simply boils down to the fact that our State government takes in far less money per capita than many other States. And, as a result, we are the second State in the Nation in the amount of effort- or percentage of income spent on schools-but thirty-ninth in results-or the amount spent per child.

In contrast, New Jersey and New York each spend more than $190 per child, yet this takes only 1.74 percent, and 1.54 percent, respectively, of their total incomes.

They rank first and second in the Nation in the amount of money spent per child. But, they are seventeenth and twenty-ninth, respectively, among the States, in the percentage of toal income expended on schools.

Many States, including West Virginia, are in the unfortunate position of being unable to increase expenditures without drastic new taxes. Many of our leading industries are owned by people who live in other States, and our State receives comparatively little or no income from many sources that normally would help support our State government. The money goes to support schools in other States.

West Virginia is not the only State in this position.

It is quite evident that one of the chief difficulties in financing education is the tax base on which it rests. According to the exhaustive study by the President's Advisory Committee on Education, State and local government's furnished 99.4 percent of tax revenues devoted to public schools in 1936. And three-quarters of the school expenditures came from property taxes, largely those on real estate, which also had to bear the brunt of most other local expenditures.

These proportions have not changed greatly in the last decade. In addition to having a limited tax base, school taxes often are limited in amount. By that I mean many States restrict by constitutional provision or by statute the amount of taxes which may be levied on real property. Of course, new tax sources have been utilized in some States in recent months to meet additional school needs. But, generally speaking, the situation has not improved very much.

The solution, in my opinion, lies in Federal aid to education. In making this statement I am well aware that some people picture this proposal as a new bureaucratic idea. Nothing could be further from the truth. The facts are that since Civil War days the Federal Government has aided higher education through landgrant colleges, and since 1917 Federal funds have been available for teaching vocations to high-school students.

The first general Federal aid to education program was proposed that same year. Draft rejections for illiteracy in World War I brought out the inadequate school systems in many States.

Immediately the American Federation of Labor launched a campaign for Federal aid to education, and it has been in the forefront of this battle ever since. During the ensuing years, many educators and public officials joined this worthy drive. Widespread interest was stimulated in 1938 by the report of the President's Advisory Committee on Education which showed the varying ability of the States to finance schools. Unfortunately, legislation was not passed by the Congress. In this respect, the fight has been rather discouraging.

Lengthy hearings have been held in every session of Congress for a decade, but only once-in 1943-did a Federal-aid bill reach the floor, and then after 6 days of debate it was sent back to committee. The opposition claimed that allocation of Federal funds would inevitably involve Federal control of local schools.

During the Seventh-ninth Congress sentiment for Federal aid lined up behind two major bills. One was favorably reported in 1946, but it was lost in the closing-day rush.

Several new measures are now pending in both the House and the Senate. Educators, generally speaking, are supporting S. 472, a clearly drawn measure that would offer Federal funds to provide a minimum floor under our educational system. The State schools would have sole jurisdiction over how the Federal

funds would be spent. As many educators have pointed out this measure clearly provides good insurance against undesirable Federal control of the schools.

I am informed that this measure starts with an appropriation of $150,000,000 in 1948, and it reaches $250,000,000 in 1950. Other measures, now pending, provide varying sums to be allocated to the States and all are worthy of serious consideration. I specifically referred to S. 472 because I am more familiar with it than I am with S. 199 and the other Federal aid to education measures now pending before this committee.

One big question, of course, is: can we afford this additional expense? The answer, in my opinion, is that we have never spent enough money to make our school system function properly. It is an undisputable fact that the better the education in a State or city the higher the standard of living. Education makes people good producers and good consumers. Rather than ask, can we afford this additional expense, I believe we should ask ourselves: can we afford not to make this additional effort to improve our schools?

In closing, I wish to add that if a democratic society such as ours is to endure and prosper, one luxury we can least afford is a static or declining educational system.

I sincerely hope the Congress will do everything possible to place our schools on a standard commensurate with our high democratic goals for education presents a new frontier for prosperity in America.

I am informed that Mr. Pahres E. Reeder, executive secretary of the West Virginia State Education Association, has forwarded to the subcommittee a letter setting forth the State association's views on Federal aid to education. I hope that the subcommittee will give this letter careful consideration and place it in the subcommittee's report on the hearings.

Mr. Reeder also has forwarded to me a copy of a statement he sent to the House Subcommittee on Education. This statement contains much more information concerning West Virginia's need for Federal aid to education than did the letter to the Senate subcommittee. I humbly request that this statement by Mr. Reeder be placed in the record along with my statement. His statement follows: "During the past 20 years West Virginia has put forth great effort to improve its public school system. We know that we have made progress, but the facts provide conclusive evidence which shows that far greater effort must be exerted if we are to rise above our relatively low educational rank.

"WEST VIRGINIA'S EDUCATIONAL RANK

"The study of education made by the United States Chamber of Commerce and based on the census data of 1940 shows that West Virginia adults rank low educationally. The following rankings highlight our status in education:

"West Virginia ranked thirth-ninth in the circulation of 18 nationally known magazines; West Virginia ranked thirty-eighth in the median years of school (8.4) based on population 20 years of age or over; West Virginia ranked forty-first in percent of population 25 years of age and over that had completed 4 years of college or more; West Virginia ranked forty-second in percent of population 25 years of age and over that had completed 4 years of high school; and West Virginia ranked forty-seventh in the percent of adults who completed as much as 1 year of high school.

"WEST VIRGINIA'S EDUCATIONAL OBLIGATION

"The number of children that a State has to educate constitutes to a large extent the educational obligation of that State. According to the most recent information, West Virginia stands first among the 48 States in the number of school-age children, 5 to 17 years old, per 1,000 persons. In 1943, for each 1,000 people in the country as a whole there were estimated to be 216 children in this age bracket. West Virginia heads the list with 281 school-age children in each 1,000 of the population. California stands at the foot of the list having only 172 children of school age in each 1,000 of the population. West Virginia is forced to provide a school program for its 281 children per 1,000 population out of a per capita income of $790 (based on 1944 data) while California is called upon to support 172 school-age children per 1,000 population out of a per capita income of $1,539.

"In considering the extent of the burden of educational responsibility and the per capita financial ability to carry that burden, we wish to emphasize the fact that the West Virginia wage earner is only one-third as able as the California wage earner to support an educational program of equal quality.

60144-47-pt. 1--34

"WEST VIRGINIA'S FINANCIAL EFFORT

"According to information provided by the United States Office of Education and by the National Education Association, West Virginia in 1943-44 ranked second among the 48 States in an effort to support its public elementary and secondary schools. Effort as measured for the States was based upon the percentage which the total current expenditures for education was of the total income payments. At that time, New Mexico which was spending 2.61 percent of its total income payments for education ranked first among the States in effort to support education. West Virginia spending 2.47 percent of its total income payments for education ranked second. Over the Nation as a whole the percentage was 1.53. The least effort was put forth in Maryland where the percentage was 1.08.

"In other words, West Virginia's effort to support education at that time was over one and one-half times the average effort put forth throughout the United States and approximately two and one-half times the effort put forth in Maryland. Even with this high degree of effort in financial support, West Virginia lagged far behind the United States average and the State of Maryland. In 1944-45, West Virginia's expenditures for education amounted to $93.18 per pupil as compared to a national average of $125.41 and a Maryland average of $113.98. The same year West Virginia's average teachers salary was $1,526 as compared to a national average of $1,846 and a Maryland average of $2,080.

"In 1933, by an act of the legislature, West Virginia brought about a reorganization of school districts for the administration of the public school system. The new plan of organization provided for a county unit of administration. Today we have only 55 county school administrative units as against 404 units prior to the reorganization. This fact is pointed out in order to show that all nonessential administrative costs have been done away with.

"After the establishment of the county unit system, it was found that many of our rural counties were not able to finance the minimum program of education. There developed within the State the realization that all West Virginia youth must have more nearly equal educational opportunities. As a result of this philosophy and belief and through successive legislative acts, a reasonable equalization of educational opportunities has resulted-limited only by the financial inability of our people to enrich further the minimum program of education. "In order to highlight the growth of State aid to our county school districts, aid necessary for building a more nearly equalized program of education, we submit the following table.

1 This large increase in State aid to county school districts came as a result of the organization of the county unit system and in support of the philosophy of equal educational opportunities. 2 An increase of 66 percent over the preceding biennium.

"INCREASED EFFORT FOR NEXT BIENNIUM

"The 1947 legislature enacted into law a general fund budget for the next biennium amounting to $118,732,381. Of this amount more than $87,000,000 was appropriated for all educational purposes, a figure higher than the entire 1945-47 budget of $86,572,908. Of the $87,000,000 set aside for education $70,043,936 represents State aid to be distributed to the respective counties for the support of the public schools during the next biennium..

"Extra tax levies voted by the counties during the present year plus the legislative appropriations referred to above will bring public school expenditures next year to an estimated $53,500,000, an increase of 80 percent over the $29,743,512 spent in 1943-44.

"It is estimated that in 1947-48 West Virginia will be spending for education 3.24 percent of our estimated total income payments. In comparing this per