Then young people begin to settle down; then we can start with Vocational education. Some of us believe that if they learn to work they may, then, in adult life, acquire a good many other abilities through general education. I keep asking myself all the time, Why do the 40 percent become so disinterested in school that they stop going to school? And I don't believe we are fulfilling our obligations to those stranded youths until we more and more answer that question with an organization of education that will not drive them away from school. Mr. FITZPATRICK. What was the early life and circumstances of this party that you referred to? What was the financial condition. under which he read all of those books? Dr. STUDEBAKER. I think probably he was reasonably well fixed. He lived up in New England. Mr. FITZPATRICK. A little better off than the average boy? Dr. STUDEBAKER. I imagine so. He had a very marvelous mind. for that sort of thing. COURSES IN HOME ECONOMICS I think I mentioned this morning that of the 20,000 high schools in the country only about one-third of them have any courses in home economics. Last year we had requests for funds with which to assist in the establishment of home-economics courses in 1,600 additional high schools. I don't know what the figure stands at now. I will ask Miss Fallgatter if she can tell you that. Miss FALLGATTER. The total is 2,643 requests for departments. But many supervisors made it plain when they sent in that number that they had on file, that these requests had come wholly unsolicited; that they had really done no promotional work. So there was a total of 2,643 requests on file January 1 for home-economics departments. Dr. STUDEBAKER. These red dots on this map of Kentucky represent the number of schools in Kentucky that now have courses in home economics. Miss FALLGATTER. As I remember, that is 91 in Kentucky. ESTIMATE OF AMOUNT REQUIRED FOR THE THREE MAJOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ITEMS Mr. JOHNSON. I wonder if Dr. Studebaker would mind making an estimate as to the minimum that he feels is absolutely needed in the three major vocational education items. If the doctor cares to study it, he may put a statement in the record. Dr. STUDEBAKER. As nearly as I can gage the situation from the demands that are coming to our office, I should say that the schools of this country under the terms and regulations of the act would absorb next year 12 or 13 million dollars. Mr. JOHNSON. Without a dollar being squandered or wasted? Dr. STUDEBAKER. Yes; because we always have a safeguard against the reckless use of money in a State, since the States and local communities have to put up some money in order to get Federal funds. Then another thing that we should remember is this: That of any amount appropriated by the Federal Government those portions which are not used in the States are deducted from the next year's ADMINISTRATION OF SMITH-HUGHES ACT Mr. SCRUGHAM. Dr. Studebaker, is the administration of the Smith-Hughes Act in any way under the Department of Agriculture, or does it rest under your jurisdiction? Dr. STUDEBAKER. It is under the Office of Education wholly. The Department of Agriculture has no control over it. Mr. RICH. Are there any further questions? Dr. STUDEBAKER. Perhaps some other questions will come up as the chiefs of the various services discuss trade and industrial education, distributive activities, and so forth. Mr. RICH. I wanted the members of the committee to ask any questions they wished to on vocational education, and then we will go on to trade and industrial education. TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION Dr. STUDEBAKER. All right, Mr. Cushman is Chief of Trade and Industrial Education of the Division of Vocational Education. Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. I am wondering if Dr. Wright would like to make a supplementary statement on vocational agriculture before we go on. Dr. WRIGHT. It would probably be best to consider agriculture when we reach it according to the schedule. Mr. RICH. It will come next on the list. I took the list here given to me by the chairman of the committee. Dr. WRIGHT. I will be glad to go into that later. Mr. CUSHMAN. This first chart [indicating], shows certain facts that were found from a survey of unemployed youth in a typical indus trial State -the State of Connecticut. It covered approximately 43,000 unemployed youth. This sector [indicating] represents the fraction of the number of youth which was unemployed at the time. Of the 43,100 who were unemployed, it was found that 12,660) were untrained for any form of work. It was also found that 18,760 of the number were untrained for any form of skilled work, while 11,740 had some training for skilled work: the training was not sufficient to enable them to compete for stable or permanent employment under the conditions that prevailed at the time the survey was made. While that condition prevailed, it was found that in the same year the State trade schools of Connecticut graduated 300 young men, al of whom se ured good jobs in industry. REMOVAL OF CAUSE OF UNEMPLOYMENT The report of those in charge of unemployment research in that State contains a very strong recommendation that one way to remove one of the fundamental causes of unemployment among youth is to provide more vocational training of the kind that was enabling 300 a year to go out into industry and get good jobs Mr. LEAVY Did that investigation disclose that there was, at that particular time, a shortage of skilled labor in that territory that would have absorbed any number of these boys” who Mr. CUSHMAN 'Yes, sir, to illustrate, there were 25 boys were graduated from the machinists' course of the Hartford Trade Mr. FITZPATRICK. And have spent it for years. Mr. LAMBERTSON. Why was it that they spent more than the Federal Government did? Dr. WRIGHT. They didn't get enough Federal money to match State money dollar for dollar. But they are trying to boost their program. They increased the States expenditures from $2.03 the preceding year up to $2.39 this past year, for each Federal dollar spent for the same purpose. Mr. LAMBERTSON. Under this new act will all the old schools as well the new ones get reimbursmeent or will it be dollar for dollar? Dr. WRIGHT. I don't understand the question. Mr. LAMBERTSON. Under the George-Deen Act that means the old schools as well as the new? Dr. WRIGHT. No, sir. George-Deen funds should be used for the furgther development of the program. Mr. LAMBERTSON. Just for the new? Dr. WRIGHT. Under the Smith-Hughes Act the States must match Federal funds dollar for dollar; while under the George-Deen Act only 50 percent of all expenditures must be matched. Mr. FITZPATRICK. They can spend $5 of their own to every one that they get from the Government? Dr. WRIGHT. Yes. Some do. Massachusetts spent about 11. Dr. STUDEBAKER. Then, Congressman, you will recall that this George-Deen Act starts on the basis of a dollar of Federal money to 50 cents of State or local money; but after a period of 5 years the State must add to its portion until the ratio runs up again to a dollarfor-dollar basis. I guess the theory is that the State would be induced further to develop its own program. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE Mr. RICH. What relation does the Agricultural Department have to Education, and also what relation does your Department have to the land grant colleges? Dr. STUDEBAKER. Mr. Linke can discuss those two features. Mr. JOHNSON. I would suggest, Mr. Chairman, that Mr. Linke be permitted to make a statement. Mr. LINKE. I would like to state this in the beginning: Back in our days, back in the years when you and I went to school, when a boy got an education, he left the farm; and as a result of that we left on the farm an uneducated class of people. But the thing that we are trying to do in this work of ours is to turn back on the farm, if possible, an educated and trained class of people. I think vocational education in agriculture will go a long way to avoid getting this country into what we call the peasant problem. There is no doubt in my mind but what we are confronted with this problem today, but if we can turn back on the farms of this country a trained and educated class of people, I think we need not fear for the agriculture of the future. Now, I want to present some charts to show the growth of our program of vocational education in agriculture and the need for its further development. We have here a chart which shows the gradual development of our program from 1918, when we started with only 500 departments of vocational agriculture, up to 1937 when you will see we have 6,151. You can see that during the depression the rate of growth in number of schools establishing departments of vocational agriculture slowed up considerably. During the depression period there were a good many of our teachers who went over into other activities on account of getting better salaries. Therefore we had fewer schools established as you will note. But recently there has been a large increase in the number of requests for Federal aid to establish new departments. We had over 600 new departments of vocational agriculture established in the schools last year. If you look at this chart, you will see that if we receive no more than enough Federal funds to carry the schools that we now have, the curve on this chart will flatten out. But if we receive the amounts authorized under the George-Deen Act something in the neighborhood of two or three thousand additional schools can be established because there are demands for them. We get word every few days of the increased number of schools demanding departments of vocational agriculture. People have realized what this type of educational training means to the boys in high school and to the adult farmers. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Let me ask you a question there. I am sorry to interrupt you. You say that the boys with an education used to leave the farm, but that your Department wants to send them back. Would that tend to increase production on the farms? Mr. LINKE. Not necessarily. Our program does not increase the number of farmers, but provides training for those persons who are going to farm anyway. Young men trained in vocational agriculture are interested more with economy in production and with proper marketing of the product than they are in increasing total production. Our program encourages crop rotations, conservation of the soil, and a better balanced agriculture including the removal of submarginal land from production through reforestation, etc. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Then according to your argument you would take acreage out of production? Mr. LINKE. Yes. I believe submarginal lands should be removed. from production. Mr. FITZPATRICK. I know. But you just said that the Office of Education wants to fix up the soil and reforest it and other things. If you do that, you will take acreage out of production? Isn't that the idea? Mr. LINKE. Yes; under certain conditions. Mr. FITZPATRICK. How, then, could you say that by sending back educated youth to agriculture they would benefit by it unless they increased the production? Mr. LINKE. I said that it would increase the production per unit or acre, but there would be under the soil conservation program less acreage under production. Mr. FITZPATRICK. That is just what I said. If we increase the production per acre, they would have to take acreage out of production, wouldn't they, in order not to have a surplus? Mr. LINKE. Yes. Mr. FITZPATRICK. It seems to me that you are putting back acreage into production. Mr. LINKE. No, not necessarily, Mr. Congressman. I happen to own a farm, and I know just what the farmer is up against. The idea is that he can produce on less acreage more product per acre. Then he can put some acreage into pasture, forests, and so forth, and be conserving the soil. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Your experts might show the farmer where he can produce more per acre. But the thing is that you cannot show him where he can find a market for it. Mr. RICH. Wouldn't you be able to help the farmer a lot if you would prohibit a lot of this importation of farm produce from other nations? Mr. LINKE. Yes, insofar as they are competing crops or farm produce. NEED FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENTS OF VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE Now, here is something that Dr. Studebaker has already mentioned. We have about 10,000 rural high schools where it might be possible to establish departments of vocational agriculture and where it is really needed. We have 6,151 rural high schools where departments have already been established under the appropriations given by the Congress. There are 10,000 additional schools which ought to have departments. Of this number 3,000 have already applied for new departments and actually want them. Ohio wrote in just a few days ago and said that the demand for new departments is overwhelming. I would like to show you another chart on the potential need for extending vocational education in agriculture. This is the question about which you were asking. This chart shows the number of farm boys from 14 to 20 years of age, both in school and out of school in the United States according to the 1930 census. There was a total of 1,178,000 farm boys in school of which number 203,199 were enrolled in vocational agriculture, which is about 17 percent. Mr. LEAVY. Is that the figure of 1930, or have you brought it down to date? Mr. LINKE. We used the 1930 census to indicate the total number of farm boys both in and out of schools, and the number who are taking Vocational agriculture was secured from State reports in our files. Mr. LEAVY. Two hundred three thousand one hundred and ninetynine were the boys taking agriculture? Mr. LINKE. Yes, farm boys. Mr. LEAVY. That is in 1936? Mr. LINKE. Yes; 1936. Mr. LEAVY. But this figure of 1,178,454 is the figure as of 1930? Mr. LINKE. Yes; the total number of farm boys in school according to the 1930 census. Mr. LEAVY. Then the figure would be substantially larger if you had the present number? Mr. LINKE. Yes; I think so, because there have been a great many farm boys who have been in the city and who have come back on the farms, you know. Mr. LEAVY. Then that percentage would be lower now? |