If the Federal Government, Supreme Court, President, and the Congress, continue their present course, we will likely make it down to that level yet. The facts are that neither Jefferson, Marshall, nor even Lincoln could have believed that the destruction of States rights and the rights of the people could ever have reached the present low level.

You and members of this subcommittee should think before you vote favorably upon these bills, compare the conditions which now exist in the South with those which existed before the Supreme Court decisions. You will find that except for a few individual elections for which you might claim credit, including the Brooks Hays defeat, your actions and those of the Supreme Court have made the situation 10 times worse, and the proposed legislation you have here now is simply another step down that road.

You can make all of these actions a Federal crime, but if you do, the defendants are going to be tried before people in the same State. You can send the FBI into these areas under new laws, but they are in these areas now under existing laws. You can demand that the Federal Government pay all the costs of schools for Negro people to attend; and you thereby fix it so other people in turn will have to provide their own. Why, you can provide for the issuance of an order for integration, but what you really do is drive a further wedge between white and black, and in reality, cause wider separation. You are bringing about further division, which after all is segregation.

Apparently many sections of this country believe in economic segregation; that if certain Negro citizens make enough money to live out in a white section, what of it? I say you are driving toward a caste system based on money and not toward the end that you think you are.

I hope you will take to heart the facts which I have pointed out today.

Mr. SLAYMAN. I have a statement for the record submitted by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

Senator ERVIN. Let the record show this statement is received, and it will be incorporated in the record at this point.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

STATEMENT BY ANDREW J. BIEMILLER, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATION, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I want to thank the committee for this opportunity to express our views on the vital question of civil rights legislation.

We do not intend to burden the record with a repetition of the excellent testimony which has already gone into the record detailing the need for further legislation and explaining the specific objectives of the various proposals. We would like to make some comments about labor's attitude in this sensitive area and then make our specific recommendations.

The AFL-CIO is fully aware of the fact that no laws can by themselves wipe out prejudice and bigotry. We cannot by law decree fairness and brotherhood and equality. There must be personal readjustment in the minds of our people before all traces of bigotry are eliminated. But there is much which can and should be done both by voluntary organizations and by government to make that personal adjustment as rapid and as meaningful as possible. Prejudice and bigotry are personal, subjective things. But discrimination, segregation, lawlessness and inequality are social acts—and these society has a right and a duty to eliminate as rapidly and as thoroughly as possible.

The American labor movement-now united in the AFL-CIO-has taken a clear stand on this great moral question of our times. Before they merged, the AFL, the CIO and many of their affiliated national and international unions testified frequently before congressional committees on many aspects of the civil rights problem. Since 1955, when the two great labor organizations merged, we have spoken with a single voice. The resolution on civil rights adopted at the historic merger convention in 1955 made it clear that the AFL-CIO will work vigorously for the extension of human rights both within own organizations and in society generally.

At its second convention, in 1957, the AFL-CIO was able to report to its delegates the various steps it had taken to implement the resolution of 1955. In its 1957 resolution, the AFL-CIO convention approved these steps and pledged its

support for further action on all fronts. (The full text of that 1957 resolution is included herein as attachment I.)

Labor is as much aware as any other group that full implementation of our civil rights goals is a difficult and slow process. In labor's own ranks, there is yet much to be done. But through our civil rights committee and our department of civil rights, we are determined to make progress as rapidly as possible.

In a speech last year, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer William Schnitzler declared that "there can be no rest for any who cherish liberty, who truly believe in democracy, who are dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, until we drive segregation and discrimination from our borders, until we achieve full civil rights for all our citizens."

For taking a forthright position, the American labor movement has been the target of reactionary, racist forces. Our organizing campaigns have suffered because of this bitter, vituperative opposition. But we are proud to plead guilty to the charges being hurled at us. Mr. Schnitzler, in the same address stated: "The trade union movement does believe in, does use its resources for, and will continue to fight to achieve an end to segregation in our public schools system.

"Let me make this clear. If we had known before we intervened in the school segregation case that the trade union movement would be the target of such abuse, and that its organizing campaigns would face such violent storms, we would still have done exactly what we did.

"We do not intend to compromise. This is a matter of principle and principles cannot be compromised."

In the same spirit, Mr. Chairman, we respectfully call upon the Congress to enact legislation which will put it, the Congress, clearly and unmistakably in support of the Supreme Court decision. It is a sad fact that 5 years after the historic decision, the Congress of the United States has yet to take a first step in recognizing and supporting it.

From our own experience inside labor, and from our study of the national problem, we realize that racial equality cannot be achieved overnight or by fiat. But there must be, and we feel certain there can be, significant and uninterrupted progress if Congress will provide the backing and the tools with which to make such progress.

THE DOUGLAS-CELLER BILL

In a statement adopted in February of this year, the AFL-CIO executive council endorsed S. 810, the proposed Civil Rights Act of 1959, introduced by Senator Douglas for himself and a distingushed bipartisan group of Senators (see attachment 2). It described this bill as the clearest and the timeliest of the major proposals on civil rights offered to the Congress this year. It is a bill which would provide precisely the kind of backing and tools which are needed at this crucial and delicate stage of the civil rights challenge facing America.

S. 810 embodies a positive and affirmative approach. It is based on clear approval of the Supreme Court's decision as reflecting the moral ideals of the Nation; it declares that the basic constitutional rights shall be protected by all due and reasonable means; and it stresses positive, constructive actions to obtain peaceful accommodation. Only as a last resort does it provide machinery for enforcing the law of the land through civil actions instituted by the Department of Justice. This is precisely the combination of tools that is needed-education, technical, and financial assistance, negotiation and consultation-but all of this within the framework of obedience to the law, with ultimate, sanctions if necessary. It is the grossest form of distortion to label this proposal as punitive or a force measure.

The administration proposals embodied in S. 942, S. 955, S. 956, S. 957, S. 958, S. 959, and S. 960, would if enacted constitute some progress, but fall far short of the needs. The provisions in S. 958 for assistance to the States in 'adjusting to desegregation are welcome, but they are merely halfway steps that are better treated in the Douglas bill.

It is disappointing that the administration has failed to include the vital part III of its 1957 bill in its current recommendations. Surely the experience since 1957 only adds support to the case for part III. Deletion at that time

The

of this provision contributed to the climate of lawlessness and resistance. tragic events in Little Rock might never have happened if the Federal Government had been clothed with the authority contained in part III. It is bitter irony indeed that the Congress yielded to the demagogic cries that part II meant

troops would be used to enforce desegregation, only to find that the absence of Federal authority permitted the deterioration of the Little Rock situation to such a state that in the judgment of the President the use of Federal troops 'became necessary.

Part III-now incorporated as titles VI and VII of the Douglas bill- should be the heart of any civil rights legislation enacted by the 86th Congress. Its significance has been recognized by the introduction of a number of bills, such as S. 456, which do this alone. It would be much better, however, if this important authority were granted the Attorney General as part of a total program which sought first to provide vitally needed technical and financial assistance and Federal leadership to States and communities. This the Douglas bill does.

It cannot be repeated too often that the powers conferred in titles VI and VII could not be used where State or local officials deny any person the equal protection of the laws on account of race, color, religion, or national origin, but only upon a signed complaint and when in the judgment of the Attorney General the person aggrieved is unable to seek effective legal protection for the right involved. In many of these situations it is unrealistic to suggest that the individuals who are deprived of their constitutional rights by State or local officials should themselves bear the burden of seeking to vindicate their constitutional rights. It is particularly unreasonable to leave the vindication of these rights to private citizens where the issue is school segregation; since the delays inherent in the deliberate speed formula laid down by the Supreme Court make it likely that the individual plaintiffs will never themselves be the beneficiaries of the litigation they institute. That of course accounts for the major role the NAACP has played and has had to play; but various States are resorting to all sorts of devices, constitutional and otherwise, to hamstring the operations of that organization. Administration spokesmen have argued that for the Federal Government to play an active role in school segregation litigation would arouse particular resentment among the opponents of integration. It is hard to take seriously the suggestion that these elements prefer the NAACP to the Federal Government as a litigant. The extreme steps taken in many States against the NAACP are both a full answer to this argument and are additional reason why the Federal Government should itself undertake the responsibility of protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens.

OTHER PROPOSALS

In addition to supporting the Douglas bill, the ALF-CIO urges the Congress to take action in a number of related areas.

One administration bill, S. 957, merits special commendation. We endorse the proposal that would require that election officials preserve Federal election records for 3 years, such records to be available to the Attorney General for examination, and would authorize district courts to compel production of such records for examination. The recent experience in Alabama is sufficient evidence

of the need for this authority. With this additional step, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 should be able to make a substantial contribution toward securing this basic right of franchise to all American citizens regardless of race.

Another administration bill which deserves favorable consideration by the Congress is S. 942. This is the proposal to give stautory authority to the President's Committee on Government Contracts. The AFL-CIO has worked closely with this Committee and is keenly aware of both its accomplishments and of its present weaknesses. ALF-CIO president George Meany and vice president Walter Reuther serve as members of this Committee. Statutory authority would undoubtedly make more effective the Committee's activities in coordinating and assissting the efforts of Federal agencies in the enforcement of nondiscrimination clauses in Government contracts. These efforts have been helpful, but greater authority for the Commission is needed. The administration proposal should be strengthened to authorize the Commission to hold full dress hearings with subpena power and to direct any Government contracting agency to terminate á contract or to refrain from making a new contract where, after reasonable warning, the Committee finds that discrimination has persisted.

Although the matter is not before this Committee at this time, we wish to state that a full-fledged Fair Employment Practices Act is the real answer to discrimination in employment. State and local laws have been helpful and we urge their extension and strengthening. But we express the hope that before long the Congress will enact enforceable fair employment practices legislation.

Last year, the AFL-CIO testified before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee in the matter of the outrageous bombings which have taken place in

houses of worship, schools, community centers, and homes of persons associated with efforts to establish equal rights for all our citizens. A number of bills dealing with this problem are before this committee, i.e., S. 73, S. 499, and S. 956.

S. 956, the administration proposal, aims to bring the Federal Government into these bombing cases by making it a Federal crime for a person to flee across State lines to avoid arrest or prosecution for such bombing. The other proposals would make it a crime to ship explosives in interstate commerce for the purpose of bombing any building of described types. The description, unfortunately, does not cover residential property, and this omission should be corrected. All of these bills have as their basic objective the bringing in of the FBI to help apprehend the criminals and to forestall such acts. There is no desire to deprive local authorities of their rights and responsibilities in enforcing law and order. The Congress should enact such provisions which will insure the most expeditious participation of the Department of Justice in preventing and if necessary punishing these despicable acts.

We support extending the life of the Civil Rights Commission, but such extension must not be used as an excuse for failing to enact legislation the clear need for which has already been amply demonstrated.

ACTION CANNOT BE DELAYED

We are pleased that this committee has moved promptly to consider civil rights legislation. It is our hope that agreement can be reached in committee without delay and that the Senate will pass a meaningful bill very soon. Expeditious action is needed if final congressional approval in 1959 is to be achieved.

Before long there will be another September, and that means new challenges in school desegregation. And even sooner than that there will be primaries and then elections. The situation cannot wait. New legislation is needed and needed now.

ATTACHMENT No. 1

RESOLUTION ON CIVIL RIGHTS ADOPTED AT THE SECOND CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF THE AFL-CIO, DECEMBER 1957

In the course of its first 2 years, the AFL-CIO has carried forward with diligence and vigor its policy of equal rights and of equal opportunities for all, regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin. Our federation has taken firm steps to give practical application to its nondiscrimination policy and to win for its widest acceptance both within the ranks of labor and in the community at large.

Dedicated to bring about the full and equal rights for all Americans in every field of life, the AFL-CIO has provided leadership in the American community in taking timely actions to affirm and to secure these rights.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council, assisted by the committee on civil rights, initiated a number of practical programs to implement the principle of nondiscrimination proclaimed in the AFL-CIO constitution.

In this work, prior consideration was given to the removal of discrimination within the ranks of the AFL-CIO itself. For the enduring goal of our federation is to assure to all workers without regard to race, creed, color or national origin their share in the full benefits of union organization.

To this end, machinery has been established to effect compliance with the AFL-CIO civil rights policy throughout the ranks of the labor movement. Complaints, charging existence of discrimination by an affiliate, after staff investigation, are handled by a specially constituted compliance subcommittee of the civil rights committee. If, after diligent efforts to enlist the cooperation of the affiliate concerned and, after due notice and hearing, it is found that discrimination complained of still exists, the committee on civil rights may certify the case to the executive council for appropriate action to effect full compliance with the AFL-CIO civil rights policy.

Gratifying and responsive cooperation has been extended by our affiliates in the effectuation of this vital program. A growing number of our affiliates, including national and international unions, as well as State and city central bodies, have established machinery of their own to administer and further their civil rights programs.

An important contribution to labor's progress in the civil rights field was the calling of the first national trade union civil rights conference by the AFL-CIO in Washington last May. To exchange experiences, share the know-how and

to hold common counsel on the best ways and means to win broad acceptance and support of labor's nondiscrimination policy is to lay groundwork for future progress, whether at the local union or the national level.

Of foremost concern to us has been the assurance of equal employment opportunity to all workers. The use of nondiscrimination clauses in collective bargaining contracts has been extended and now effectively bars discrimination in hire, tenure, and conditions of employment as well as in advancement to a better job, in a major portion of unionized establishments. Progress has also been made, on union initiative, to assure equal opportunity in vocational training and apprenticeship training programs.

We have participated in the work of the President's Committee on Government Contracts which coordinates and assists Federal agencies in the enforcement of nondiscrimination clauses in Government contracts and have pressed for effective administration of this important program.

We have continued to back the enactment of enforcible State and local fair employment laws and the vigorous application of such laws.

On the national scene, the last 2 years have seen both progress and reverses in civil rights. The courts of the land have continued to insist that discrimination and segregation in schools, in public transportation and in other public facilities are repugnant to basic constitutional guarantees of equality. Hundreds of communities have successfully implemented these decisions. But there has also been willful defiance of the law of the land, culminating in the disgraceful incident at the Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.

Labor's reaction to Little Rock was made unmistakably clear on September 24, 1957, when the AFL-CIO Executive Council unanimously declared "that the defiance of law and order in Little Rock by a mob of demonstrators against school integration is completely intolerable." The council voiced its support of Federal troops to enforce compliance with court orders, for failure to have used full power of the Federal Government would have meant defiance of the law. of the land, threatening national sovereignty and bringing lawlessness in its wake.

While supporting the action of President Eisenhower's action in the Little Rock situation, we nevertheless feel morally obligated to express our keen disappointment, shared by millions of other Americans, at the failure of President Eisenhower and his administration to provide vigorous and positive leadership and initiative essential for the implementation of the historic Supreme Court decision of May 17, 1954. This failure created the tragic political and moral vacuum which encouraged the attitudes manifested in the Little Rock incident.

The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, won after bitter struggle, with strong support from the AFL-CIO, is a significant forward step in the evercontinuing struggle for human rights. The bill, as finally enacted, was weakened by the elimination of title III. President Eisenhower's failure to give backing to the inclusion of title III in the bill, led to this setback. Despite this and other weaknesses, the new law establishes new and far-reaching safeguards of civil rights proclaimed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The President has appointed the members of the Civil Rights Commission established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957. We look to the Commission and the Department of Justice to act vigorously to carry out the objectives of the law. It will be their responsibility to assure the enforcement of the right to vote guaranteed to every American citizen. It will be their joint responsibility to expose the areas where civil rights are still being violated and to study and interpret the effects of these violations. It will be the Commission's responsibility to bring forward meaningful and practical suggestions for further action to assure inviolate exercise of civil rights by every American.

The role of government, National, State and local, is vital to the maintenance of freedom and democracy in our land. In the final count, however, the triumph of human rights will be best assured by the understanding, dedication and action of the people themselves.

Labor with other liberal groups will carry on its historic struggle for human justice in the spirit of brotherhood. As unionists, we hold that intolerance of race, creed, or color in our ranks or in our communities is incompatible with the principles embodied in our constitution.

Resolved, That the AFL-CIO carry forward its historic drive to affirm and secure equal rights for all Americans in every field of life, and that the AFLCIO continue to assure to all workers without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin, the full benefits of union organization.

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