Every State in the Union has laws on its statute books that are enforced to a greater or lesser degree, depending upon the state of public opinion in those counties of that State. It has been so for 150 years or more, and it will always be. Senator DONNELL. Are you willing to leave the enforcement of the Federal statute to a greater or lesser degree in the various States? Mr. GARSIDE. Every Federal statute on the books is administered in that fashion. Senator DONNELL. When a Federal law is made I believe it should be enforced throughout the United States, but I want to make that fact clear, I do favor education, mediation, and preliminary processes, but after all, when a law is enacted it is the law, and I cannot conceive how any official could countenance the enforcement to a greater or lesser degree when a law is passed. Mr. GARSIDE. Bear in mind I am not talking about the oath a man takes to enforce the law. I am talking about the discretion he applies in enforcing it. The Interstate Commerce Commission does just that. So does every agency pass upon the facts in a given situation and a given locality in the exercise of their discretion for reaching various conclusions as a possible course of action and a wise course of action. It has always been so. It does not mean you vitiate the law in the process. I am thinking of discretion that is necessarily lodged in any responsible official saying how he shall proceed, when he shall proceed, the course of action he shall follow to make effective the law. Do I make that clear? Senator IVES. I do not think you and the chairman are talking about the same thing. I do not think you mean enforcement. I think you are thinking of the procedure to arrive at a decision. You believe in enforcement. There is no argument about it? Senator IVES. You are talking about the procedure in any locality, a delayed procedure against a very speedy one? Mr. GARSIDE. That is right. Senator DONNELL. It seems where there is discretion lodged in a public official, it does not mean that a rule shall be laid down that there must be 39 minutes of conciliation and 21 minutes of other procedure. Certainly there is no such contention as that, but I shall never subscribe to the position when a law is passed that it is left to the discretion of some official whether it shall be enforced to a greater or lesser degree. I want to go on record unequivocally, and irrevocably, and finally as to that. Mr. GARSIDE. I agree with you. Senator IVES. I feel the same way, but I do not think that is pertinent to this situation. Senator DONNELL. I believe it is. Is there anything further of these two witnesses? Senator SMITH. I do not think that Colonel Garside has quite finished. Mr. GARSIDE. I have just about completed. Senator SMITH. I am just exploring the wisdom of such legislation as this which we all admit is going into a new field to do something we all agree must be done. We must prevent discrimination and give opportunity for economy and education to everybody. It is just a question whether we can pass a law to accomplish it, whether we are wise enough to lay one down. Let us admit there are areas where prejudice is stronger. Not only the South, but the Midwest and the State of California is very sensitive about this due to the Japanese situation. The South-I am not accusing them of being the only area. I am simply stating where you have public opinion to deal with it might be wise to show by the proven method of trial and error and not force a law the Federal Government will have to deal with rather than show the cooperative spirit referred to by Mr. Turner. I think what Mr. Turner did with these big business concerns is excellent. I am not sure I would agree you could have brought that about if you had said, "This is the law and you must obey it." Fortunately that was not in the law you have but because the law was back there and the heads of those companies in Rochester felt they had better do it before it was too late. Businessmen want to see these problems solved. In many cases they resent the encroachment of the Federal Government in saying you must do this and this. Mr. GARSIDE. It is interesting. A group of businessmen were to meet with our commissioners to discuss the formation of a local council in that area. One of the group expressed the opinion that the creation of a local council was not wise, and one of the others who was the head of the leading industry said, "Let us have some sense in this thing. We know the commission is going to create a council. Therefore it is better for us to come in and cooperate." We had certain authority. We were a legalized body and had certain powers. It certainly impressed itself on him enough to change his mind. Senator DONNELL. Now, are there any further questions of these gentlemen? Senator SMITH. That is all I have. Senator DONNELL. Any further questions, Senator? Senator ELLENDER. I have others but I am not going to impose on them. Senator DONNELL. I deeply appreciate you gentlemen taking your time to come and give us the benefit of your testimony. The chairman has received a letter dated June 17, 1947, from A. Philip Randolph, with which letter was enclosed four documents, one a statement by William C. Jason, Jr., of the National Alliance of Postal Employees; the second a statement on the letterhead of the Illinois Council for a State Fair Employment Practices Law; the third a statement submitted by Joseph D. Lohman, associate director for race relations, Julius Rosenwald Fund, and lecturer in sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.; and the fourth a statement by the Most Reverend Francis J. Haas, bishop of Grand Rapids; and Mr. Randolph in his letter requested that the first three documents mentioned be inserted in the record of the hearings on S. 984 and expressed the hope that the statement by Bishop Haas also be made a part of the record in the hearings in this matter. If there is no objection, and I pause for objections, these four docu ments will be received. (The documents referred to follow :) STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES BEFORE THE SENATE PUBLIC WELFARE COMMITTEE, SUPPORTING THE NATIONAL ACT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT, S. 984 My name is William C. Jason, Jr. I am the welfare director of the National Alliance of Postal Employees and am appearing before this committee for Mr. Ashby B. Carter, of Chicago, the president of this organization. I am here at his special direction. The membership of the National Alliance of Postal Employees is composed exclusively of those who work or have worked in some branch of the postal service. The most of them are clerks, carriers, railway mail employees, mail handlers, custodial employees, and charwomen. The 15,000 members are organized into 92 branches which are divided into 10 districts coextensive with the area of the United States. The National Alliance of Postal Employees most emphatically favors the passage of Senate bill No. 984. The history of this organization quickly explains this position. In 1913, the alliance was organized because of the growing discrimination in the postal service which was reflected in a wholesale dismissal of Negro railway mail clerks. Even today, the need for this organization is found in the irregularities incident to appointments, upgrading, preferred assignments, and supervisorships, frequently experienced by eligibles who are members of this minority group. As Federal employees we have naturally looked to the Federal Government for correctives. During the existence of the President's Fair Employment Practice Committee, several of our branches sought to gain just, indiscriminatory patterns of appointment and upgrading throughout the postal service by addressing themselves to that committee. The ineffectiveness of this procedure was due to the lack of authority vested in that committee. We are happy to note that provisions of section 10 of this act feeling that they are mild enough for all officials of good intent if forcible enough to demand a respectful compliance. The alliance membership in branch, district, and national sessions has constantly voted active and financial support for a national bill that would cancel out discriminatory employment practices wherever found in Federal agencies. This position of our organization has not been taken solely because of the bitter experiences of members seeking appointments and upgrading. Each of us as a member of the American family has witnessed employment discrimination affecting our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and children. We are on safe grounds when we state that job discrimination is far too fashionable and popular in this country. Those most prone to discriminatory practices announce their position without hesitancy and challenge those who believe in fair employment practices. This organization is of the mature mind that democracy to survive, thrive. and encompass the earth must make discrimination unpopular, unprofitable, and impossible throughout the land. This is required to effectuate our role as the most potent exponent of democratic procedure abroad. It is our further opinion that the most effective process for combating subversive tendencies are found in the passage of Senate bill No. 984, because such a measure shows conclusively that the Federal Government is not inclined to longer adopt an indifferent role to those who daily practice a limitation of democracy in employment. To bring this statement directly within our organizational experience, we have not yet been able to find within the framework of governmental procedure the means whereby the members of this minority group, even those who are veterans with 10-point preferences, can acquire clerkships in a number of post offices like Memphis and Knoxville, Tenn., and New Orleans, although they have met the civil-service requirements. We could give in detail many of the general observations made by others in behalf of this measure. We do not feel that such is required. We are sure that you, the committee, appreciate that we know from bitter experience what we are talking about. In spite of all that employees of our group have suffered in some sections of the postal service, we hasten to acknowledge that we are infinitely better off than many others. We need the passage of this bill; they infinitely more so. In conclusion, to show how sincerely and seriously we desire the passage of this bill, I have attached copies of a brochure which the alliance prepared in quantity and has circulated from the national office as an insert for the past year. We thank you for this opportunity to appear. We hope that the committee can find merit in this presentation. Respectfully submitted. W. C. JASON, Jr., Welfare Director. A FAIR EMPOYMENT PRACTICE LAW AND THE ALLIANCE Almost everybody in the alliance belongs to America's largest minority group. Almost everybody in the alliance is sensitive to unfair employment practices because he has experienced them himself or with his own eyes has seen people denied jobs or all jobs but the dirtiest, lowest-paying ones, because of race, creed, or national origin. The alliance knows that Christian preaching, democratic teaching, and impartial justice—all of them together-have failed to remove this economic cancer that is destroying America as the "land of opportunity." The alliance knows that even in the despair of total war with its near total employment, an Executive order was required to give millions of loyal Americans a chance to contribute their skills to victory. Although Executive Order No. 8802 was imperfect in its application, it conclusively showed that nothing short of a national law can fully protect 40,000,000 citizens-Negroes, Jews, Catholics, and the descendants, if not the actual foreignborn, of Europe, Mexico, and the Orient-in their rights to jobs as big as their God-given abilities. Because the alliance was born as a desperate attempt to stem the rising tide of discrimination in the postal service; because the alliance has down the years fought as best it could with a limited formula, limited funds and limited friends, we hailed the Fair Employment Practice Committee as a sorely needed ally in the Nation-wide struggle for equality of job opportunity. Because the alliance knows that the destruction of the Fair Employment Practice Committee, and the failure of Congress to pass a fair employment practice law, are at sharp variance with the expressed wishes of the majority of the American people; because the alliance sees each day more and more employees revert to the old reactionary practice of openly advertising, "Help wanted, white, Gentile, Protestant," the alliance is committeed to do all in its power through its national officers, its branches, and its individual members to bring about the passage of a bona fide fair employment practice law-a law that is most emphatic concerning Government agencies and utilities (local and national because of their public nature) but which does not omit private employments from its application. The alliance is certain that a fair employment practice law is necessary as an added section to the Bill of Rights, thereby establishing in America's most sacred document the right to equal work opportunities. The alliance is convinced that a fair employment practice law is needed to implement the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the Federal Constitution, as a fuller definition to citizenship rights and immunities. The alliance concludes that a fair employment practice law is as necessary to protect citizens from exploitation through discrimination as are the laws against murder and theft. EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE, NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES, WILLIAM C. JASON, JR., Secretary, SNOW F. GRIGSBY. THE ILLINOIS COUNCIL FOR A STATE FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LAW, Chicago 5, Ill., June 10, 1947. STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF S. 984 TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES COMMISSION The Illinois Council for a State Fair Employment Practices Law, representing 215 affiliated civic, religious, veteran, labor, business, and community organizations throughout the State of Illinois respectfully requests favorable action on bill S. 984 establishing a national fair employment practices commission for the American people. Executive Order No. 8802, which opened new avenues of employment opportunities for many hundreds of thousands of citizens of Illinois, provided the people of this State with the opportunities of participating freely in the economic democracy of our country. It permitted people of all races and religions to secure for themselves the equality of opportunity which enabled them to enjoy the advantages of greater purchasing power which benefited business and the community as a whole. During the war years minority groups aided immeasurably in augmenting the production of war materials and ammunition badly needed by our armed forces. Their contribution has been acknowledged everywhere as an important factor in the success of the Allied armies. The accomplishments of the President's committee can be viewed with pride in view of their successful handling of cases of employment discrimination and the effective job that was done in having industry accept the principles of fair employment and utilizing the greatest skills of the American people regardless of their race, creed, or religion. Today, with the absence of an FEPC law we view with alarm the marked increase of discrimination in employment that has taken place in the State of Illinois. There has been a substantial increase in discrimination on the part of business and employment agencies. Negroes are among the first to be discharged. War veterans of minority groups are encountering increasing difficulty in securing employment. In asking for the passage of an effective FEPC law as embodied in S. 984 the Illinois council has the support of the widest group or organizations ever formed, representing hundreds of thousands of people for the passage of any piece of legislation offered. Among the organizations supporting this legislation are: The League of Women Voters, the Illinois Council of Churches, the Illinois Federation of Labor, the Chicago and Illinois Industrial Union Council, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (Department of Illinois), the American Legion (Department of Illinois), and the Governor's interracial commission. The passage of S. 984 will mean greater purchasing power for the people of our State, and subsequent increased markets for business. It will mean lower taxation for slums through the improvement of blighted areas. It means lower tuberculosis and child-birth death rate, and a step forward in eradicating juvenile delinquency. The experience of the many organizations in our State devoted to the problem of eradicating employment discrimination conclusively proves that the educational process is not enough; this is substantiated by the work of the President's committee which, effective as it was in time of war nevertheless has not carried its effect over into peacetime with FEPC not in effect. The experience of FEPC in those States in which it is an operation now-Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey-reveal the accomplishments such a law can have where education is buttressed with adequate enforcement powers. Discrimination in employment is on the rise in Illinois. We urge the passage of S. 984 to provide the equality of employment opportunities to all citizens of our State. EDWARD MARCINIAK, Chairman, Illinois Council for a State Fair Employment Practices Law. Y STATEMENT MADE FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR IN BEHALF OF SENATE BILL 984 [Submitted by Joseph D. Lohman, associate director for race relations, Julius Rosenwald Fund, and lecturer in sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., June 13, 1947] It is a paradoxical comment on American democracy that in the desperate war years some of the most important advances toward the practical realization of our democratic creed took place. While we were engaged in the tragic struggles abroad, the requirements of the fighting front demanded that we utilize all of our resources-both human and material-at home. Under the watchful and encouraging eye of the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice, American industry put aside-as never before--the shackling and disabling employment policies of discrimination and prejudice in the crucial defense industries. Thousands of American citizens entered our factories in the service of democracy. Many of these had been previously barred from industrial and commercial employment because of discrimination as to color, race, religion, or national origin. We became the arsenal of the democracies, but the marvels of our production were in no small degree due to the fact that the necessity and urgency of our 4 |