In our opinion the time is long overdue for the passage of FEPC legislation. If the present session of Congress is ended without action, an inexcusable betrayal will have been committed. Promises have been made freely on all sides. They must be redeemed. We should like this letter made part of the printed record of your subcommittee's current hearings as an expression of our support for your bill. Very truly yours, HUGH BRYSON, President. STATEMENT OF HARRY M. LEET, LEGISLATIVE CHAIRMAN, GOVERNMENT WORKERS UNION, CIO, ON H. R. 4453 Government Workers Union, CIO, is an organization of Federal, State, and municipal employees with local unions throughout the country. We endorse the objectives and the specific provisions of H. R. 4453. The bill estblishes the principle that there shall be no discrimination on account of race, color, religion, or national origin in employment subject (with minor exceptions) to the jurisdiction of Congress. Existing discrimination on this account is notorious, well established and vicious. In a democracy, one of the principal functions of government is to insure equal opportunity for all persons. The color of a person's skin, his religious beliefs, or the group within which he happened to be born are all irrelevant to this principle, and discrimination based on such extraneous factors is in direct conflict with the American creed. In putting into practice our inherent belief in democracy, our Government both in its National and State branches has in the past given wide protection to those unable to protect themselves. For example, State legislation establishing safe working conditions, workmen's compensation, and limits on the hours and types of work which women and children are permitted to engage in and Federal legislation in the wages and hours field are all precedents for legislation to achieve this goal. More than the humanitarian and democratic principles upon which this legislation is based, a Fair Employment Practices Act is required by the economic and political needs of our country. Our failure to live up to our own beliefs in the field of racial, religious, and color discrimination frequently embarrasses us in our dealings with other nations. To tolerate discrimination is to place ourselves in company with those totalitarians of both the right and the left who disregard the dignity of the individual in the name of some "greater" good. By denying our own principles through tolerating discrimination, we provide ammunition for those very groups who would destroy the democracy we have thus far achieved. In addition, in our personal dealings with representatives of foreign countries discriminatory practices embarrass us because those representatives themselves are frequent victims of the discrimination. Basically, the question of discrimination on account of race, color, religion, or national origin rests on an economic foundation. The economic interests of those who benefit by the discrimination are the principal reasons for its continuance, regardless of the way in which such interest is covered over by a crust of emotional prejudice. This country cannot afford to continue the economic waste involved in discrimination. Our facilities are stretched to the utmost by our efforts to aid in the reconstruction of war-crippled countries. At the same time, the economic needs and goals of our own.population in reaching higher living standards are making unprecedented demands on our resources. We can no longer tolerate the loss of manpower, the loss of ability, and potential contributions to our welfare which the victims of discrimination might otherwise make, and the cost of maintaining separate facilities and the pattern of segregation resulting from discrimination. This fact makes it imperative that Federal action be taken to end discrimination. The problem cannot be left to the drawn-out and all too often futile processes of State legislation. Moreover, because the problem of discrimination is basically economic, its solution cannot be left to the gradualist approach involved in education or exhortation. For one thing, there is not time, democracy today is on trial, and we shall need our full resources in the contest. For another, where powerful interests conflict with ideals, education alone will not subdue selfishness. Education is no answer to a monopolist, because monopoly is better for him individually than competition. It is, therefore, necessary to have antitrust laws. So also with the economic beneficiaries of discrimination. Regardless of how often it is shown that discrimination is economically wasteful for the country as a whole, is inhuman toward the individuals involved, and is contrary to democratic principles, the economic interests of these beneficiaries will insure that discrimination be maintained. Consequently, education alone will not suffice. Still a third reason for the necessity of a law, as opposed to reliance on education, pleading, and other long-range measures, is that once the barriers of race or religious prejudice are broken down, association between the various groups leads to a friendliness and understanding which creates a more fertile ground for education. In fact, reliance solely on education and progress generally to eliminate discrimination leads to a vicious circle. Discrimination denies its victims the education and other advantages which would place them on a level with other groups; because they lack these advantages they cannot obtain good jobs and decent living conditions, which in turn are necessary to secure education and other advantages. To this extent discrimination is self-perpetuating and the chain must be broken at some point. H. R. 4453 accomplishes this. The approach of the bill emphasizes conciliation and elimination of discrimination by consent. This is highly desirable, since the complete elimination of discrimination ultimately depends on public repudiation of it. However, in the event voluntary efforts fail, strong enforcement provisions are needed. This the bill also provides. Section 10 of H. R. 4453 extends to Federal employment the antidiscrimination principle of the bill. The President has already established administrative channels for the correction of discrimination in Federal employment. Thus far no positive action has been taken pursuant to the President's direction, and the policy generally has been to await complaints. As a result, progress in Federal employment has been very slow and discrimination flourishes in large areas of it. For example, in the District of Columbia government, not covered by the President's fair-employment order, very few Negroes are employed in any but the most menial jobs. Out of 170 employees in the Assessor's Office, there are 5 Negro messengers and 1 CAF-3 Negro clerk. In 120 of the Office of the Auditor, there is 1 Negro messenger and 1 clerk in charge of the property yards. In the Unemployment Compensation Bureau, out of 193 employees there are 20 Negro clerks, 1 Negro messenger, and 1 Negro laborer. In the Highway Department out of 560 employees there are 163 Negroes mostly guards and laborers, with 1 messenger, 1 mimeograph operator, 2 foremen of road gangs, and several mechanics. On such boards as the Zoning Commission and the Real Estate Commission, in which Negroes clearly have a substantial and important interest, there are no Negroes. On this account, Government Workers Union urges that this provision of the bill be amended by adding enforcement provisions to it similar to those contained in the sections of the bill dealing with private employment. On the whole, H. R. 4453 represents an understanding and effective method of curtailing discrimination. Government Workers Union strongly urges that it be reported favorably. WOMEN'S TRADE UNION LEAGUE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Hon. ADAM C. POWELL, Jr., Chairman of Subcommittee, Committee on Education and Labor, House Office Building, Washington 29, D. C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN POWELL: The Women's Trade Union League of the District of Columbia supports, unqualifiedly, H. R. 4453, a bill to "prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, or national origin." Our league has always maintained there should be no discrimination in employment because of color or race and that each person should have equal opportunity for work for which he qualifies. The wartime fair-employment-practice law proved that job opportunity can be more nearly equalized by legislation. The several State laws which have since been enacted are further proof of the need and effectiveness of such legislation. We urge your committee to give favorable action on H. R. 4453. We ask that this letter be included in the record of the hearings. Sincerely yours, Mrs. MARY MASON JONES, MAY 27, 1949. Hon. ADAM C. POWELL, Jr., House Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN POWELL: The officers of the Associated Retail Bakers of America have instructed me to convey to you the following resolution which was adopted by the national convention in Milwaukee this week: "Resolved, That we register our strong objection to so-called FEPC proposals such as that provided in the bill H. R. 4453 because, while the apparent objectives are sound and good, the problem of discrimination with which it deals is one that cannot be met and would only be aggravated by an attempt to solve it by passing a law." A copy of this communication is being sent to the clerk of the Committee on Education and Labor, and it will be much appreciated if you will include this in the record of your hearings. Respectfully, WILLIAM A. QUINLAN, General Counsel. AMALGAMATED CLOTHING WORKERS OF AMERICA, Hon. ADAM CLAYTON POWELL, Jr., Chairman, Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor, House Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN POWELL: The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America urges the House Committee on Education and Labor to report favorably H. R. 4453, a fair employment practices bill that will do two things: 1. Declare discrimination in employment because of race, color, creed, or national origin to be against national policy and in violation of Federal law. 2. Establish a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission fully empowered and equipped to enforce observance of fair employment practices in all matters relating to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment. We urge the passage of such legislation at the earliest possible moment for the following reasons: 1. Racial or religious discrimination in employment is offensive to the basic. concepts upon which our democracy is established. Those who practice it rob citizens of their right to free access to employment opportunities and should be restrained by law. 2. Such discrimination depresses the wages of minority groups, creates a competition for jobs based on falling living standards, impairs the buying power of the wage-earning public, and opens the door to economic collapse and social bitterness. 3. Wherever fair employment practices have been encouraged by governmental agencies and by law, marked improvement in the economic and social well-being of the community has been the result. 4. Experience has shown that the vast majority accept fair employment practices willingly and without resistance if they are protected by law from unfair competition of those few who seek to profit from unfair practices. 5. Such legislation and its effective enforcement will add to the prestige of American democracy among the people of other lands. Sincerely yours, HYMAN BLUMBERG, Executive Vice President. STATEMENT OF HARRY T. STEWART, VICE PRESIDENT, ON BEHALF OF LOCAL NO. 251, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POST OFFICE CLERKS Mr. Chairman and members, my name is Harry T. Stewart. I am vice president of Local 251 of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks, Brooklyn, N. Y., representing more than 2,000 post office clerks. I am very grateful for this opportunity of submitting a statement in behalf of my organization in support of the proposed fair employment practice legislation, particularly H. R. 4453, on which hearings have been in progress. We feel proud of the fact that we live in a democracy. We feel that it is the aim and purpose of our lawmakers to eliminate any undemocratic practice, that if permitted to continue would gnaw away at our democratic foundations and put us in a light before the world of preaching one thing while practicing another. We contend that discrimination in employment is an undemocratic policy that carries all of the evils of sowing disunity in our Nation. The United States is often referred to as the land of opportunity. land of opportunity be limited when applied to minority groups? Should We spent in World War II billions of dollars and thousands of lives. This tremendous expenditure in men and money was to stop a man and nation bent on forcing a doctrine of racial supremacy on others. Our inspiration for sacrifice was always the thought that we were fighting to make the world safe for democracy. Today we are spending over $6,000,000,000, over $400 for every man, woman, and child, to protect the rights of every man, woman, and child of minority groups in certain other nations. Negroes, Jews, and Catholics contribute in taxes to these funds. Can we, with principle or honesty or without appearing in a very peculiar light continue to send this kind of money to Europe or anywhere else to protect the rights of citizens of other nations while we permit a denial of the same rights to a large number of our own? We have had and now have certain organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the bund that are constituted to and are outspoken in their effort to prevent Negros, Jews, and Catholics from enjoying privileges that should be the right of every citizen. For our Government to permit any discrimination in employment -opportunities to be practiced in any manner is in effect to aid and give comfort to these subversive organizations in putting these minority groups in a separate category. This aids and perpetuates the policy of singling out Negroes, Jews, and Catholics as groups to be treated differently and perpetuates a minority problem. In all fairness and honesty it seems that there should not exist a question of whether fair-employment-practice legislation should be enacted. The question should be how to make this type of legislation effective. The aims of the FEPC should be the aim of every democratic American, to eliminate the undemocratic principle of persons being selected for employment because of race, creed, or color. For us to argue that we must find the perfect piece of legislation before enacting any would be like saying we must find the perfect piece of legislation against murder, before enacting laws to stop it, while murder continues unpunished. If we want democracy, any legislation to practice it cannot be cast aside on any grounds whatsoever. We herewith submit illustrations of what can happen to a minority group as a result of discrimination in employment. The New York Times of December 1, 1939, carried an article headed "Slave Markets in Bronx Decried." This presents the story of Negro women standing on street corners offering their services to the highest bidder, which was usually a ridiculous amount. (I herewith submit a copy of that article.) I wish to call attention to a headline on page 3 of the World Telegram of Tuesday, April 27, 1937, calling attention to Jersey's "Tobacco Road." This presented a shantytown of Negroes, living in virtual peonage, in poverty, destitute, and hopeless. Can people living in such hopeless squalor expect to educate their children or prevent them from becoming sickly and juvenile delinquents? (I herewith submit article.) In the Herald Tribune of Monday, May 16, 1941, our late President Roosevelt is quoted as serving notice on both labor and management that they must eliminate employment discriminations against Negro and other minority groups, indicating his belief that discrimination in employment had to be done away with. These illustrations represent a blight on America. In face of the fact that we have many instances where large numbers of Negroes, Jews, and Catholics work harmoniously together, there is every reason to believe that a fair employment practice policy could in a reasonably short time become an accepted policy followed without friction. The largest employer in our Nation, the United States Post Office Department, which has all racial groups working together in practically every large city in our country, serves as an outstanding illustration of how easily we can adjust ourselves to a "no discrimination" policy. Continued discrimination against some 50,000,000 Americans, which takes in about 13,000,000 Negroes, 23,000,000 Catholics, and 5,000,000 Jews, cannot but do great damage to our Nation. The members of my organization will be pleased to have favorable action on the Fair Employment Practice Act. (The articles referred to above are as follows:) [From the New York Times, December 1, 1939] "SLAVE MARKETS" IN BRONX DECRIED CITIZENS' GROUP ACTS TO STOP HIRING OF NEGRO DOMESTICS ON STREET CORNERS The practice of hiring for housework Negro women who congregate on street corners in the Bronx, known as "domestic slave markets," was severely condemned yesterday by the Bronx Citizens' Committee for the Improvement of Domestic Employees, meeting at the Bronx Union YMCA, 470 East One Hundred and Sixtyfirst Street. To end this economic demoralization it was decided that special committees should be organized to study the following three proposals for eliminating the situation: That Bronx housewives should be "educated" that this system of employing domestics is economically unsound both to themselves and their employees. That discussions be held with the State employment department with a view to improving the plight of these unemployed women. That centers or special agencies be established in the sections where they congregate in order to shelter them in severe weather and also see that prospective employers pay them fair wages. The committee includes clergymen, community workers, doctors and representatives of labor and civic organizations. Those at the meeting yesterday included Wilbur D. Simmons, assistant district superintendent in the Bronx of the division of placement and unemployment; Rabbi Jerome Rosenbloom of Tremont Temple, who represented the Bronx Council of Rabbis; the Reverend Edler G. Hawkins representing the Bronx Clergy Association and the Reverend H. Norman Sibley of the University Heights Presbyterian Church. [From the New York World-Telegram, April 27, 1937] COMMUNITY OF 1,000 LIVES IN STATE OF VIRTUAL PEONAGE-MYSTERY SHROUDS ORIGIN OF SICK AND DESTITUTE GROUP EXISTING WITHOUT HOPE IN RAMAPO HILLS-PASTOR INSTIGATES STATE INQUIRY (By Elliott Arnold, World-Telegram Staff Writer) Forget everything you've ever heard about the plight of the share croppers of the South, and go today for a quick visit among the Jackson Whites, who constitute an economic and ethnological horror in New Jersey's Ramapo Mountains-less than an hour from Broadway. It won't be a pretty picture you'll see, among these poverty-degraded mountain people. Intermarried, ignorant, sick with the sickness that comes from endless cold and hunger, they live in atavistic gloom just over the pretty hills. from the fashionable estates around Erskine Lakes, N. J. Less than an hour's drive over the wide, modern highways of New Jersey, they live. They've lived there since Revolutionary days. They trace their lineage for 150 years and more. And they've never been in New York. One in ten has a radio-the old battery sets because there's no electricity. One in fifty has been to a motion picture. None has ever owned a new dress or suit or pair of shoes. CONDITION EXPOSED The condition of these more than 1,000 persons who have occasionally appeared in the news without themselves knowing it-they never read newspapers-was brought to light through the efforts of the Reverend A. F. Chillson, of Hohokus. After months of complaining, the Reverend Mr. Chillson finally has persuaded William J. Ellis, commissioner, of the State department of institutions and agencies, to assign an agent to investigate. The investigator has a job on his hands. No one knows where the term "Jackson Whites" originatel. The people who are known by that name are the descendants of the Negroes, Indians, and Dutch,. and English who settled and interbred in the early 1700's. Later Hessians,. Italians, and the French joined them. |