Travel expenses; increase, $3,640.-This increase is requested to cover the travel expenses of the three new specialists. The employment specialist will travel during the major portion of the year in the performance of the duties outlined for the position. The special agent for the blind will of necessity be required to travel in establishing relations with the organizations designated by the Commissioner of Education to cooperate with this office in the vocational rehabilitation of the blind, and in making field studies of employment opportunities and possibilities for the blind. An additional specialist was added to the staff during the current year, and no travel funds have heretofore been made available for the expenses to be incurred by this agent. Printing and binding; increase, $1,300.-The employment specialist will be required to secure data on labor standards, trade practices and personnel methods in commercial and industrial establishments into which the disabled are to be rehabilitated Manuscripts on the results of these studies will be published and furnished to the States to aid them in their rehabilitation programs. The special agent for the blind will carry on research and studies in connection with methods of training, vocational requirements of occupations, and the establishment of standards for determining the suitability of blind persons for various types of employment, the results of which will be printed for distribution to the States. In addition many new forms will need to be printed in connection with the operation of stands by the blind. The increase is requested to cover these items. Supplies and equipment; increase, $560.-This increase is needed for office materials, stationery and supplies for the five additional employees included in the estimates, $340; for telephone and telegraph service, $70; charges for express, $20; for incidental items, $10; for the equipment of one office, $120. NOTE. It will be noted that the individual items of increase total $20,880, whereas the total increase in the appropriation is only $20,580, a difference of $300. This is explained by the fact that there is an estimated savings of $300 in 1937, and no savings are estimated for 1938. COOPERATIVE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mr. RICH. The next item deals with the cooperative rehabilitation of disabled residents of the District of Columbia, $15,000. Dr. STUDEBAKER. The justification for that is as follows: This appropriation is authorized for cooperative vocational rehabilitation of disabled residents of the District of Columbia and provides for personal services, printing and binding, travel and subsistence, and payment of expenses of training. placement, and other phases of rehabilitating disabled residents of the District of Columbia. The appropriation of Federal funds is available only when mate ed by the District funds. The District funds are transferred to the Office of Education at the total amount is obligated and disbursed by this office For the current year an amount of $25,000 was made available for this purpose in the District of Columbia. Appropriation Act. This enables this office to enjoy an additional supervisor, a position which has been needed for some time large number of applicants for training eo lid not have been Felped without the aid of additional workers provided through emergenev reef fund. The duties of the sipervisors in rehabilitation of the disabled consists of the folowing activities. 1 Location of cases of disabled persons. 2 Interviewing them for the purpose of determining their eligibility and feast. * for training För Giving advice and counsel with reference to the types of work for wh..eh Pey may be best fitted after training. (4) 1 star los ing programs of training or preparation for specific jobs. 5 Sbery son of esses while ur dergoing training Placement of fisabled persons in employment after training 17 Following up cases after placement for the purpose of determining the itality of their employment. It is essential to the success of the rehabi tation program to secure the cooperation of other pathe and of private agencies These duties heretofore have been performed by two wipers bone The add tional funds provided in the District of Col mbis budget will enable the office not only to supply the additional supervisor but will provide additional funds for the cost of retraining large number of applicants who could not otherwise be served. There was an unexpended balance of only $246 in 1936. There is no change in the Federal estimate for 1938. The total amount authorized, $15,000, is requested. VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION OF DISABLED PERSONS Mr. RICH. Dr. Wright, do you wish to make a statement on vocational rehabilitation of disabled civilians? Dr. WRIGHT. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act provides Federal aid to the States and Territories for establishing and maintaining a service whereby persons who become vocationally handicapped through injury or disease are prepared for and placed in remunerative employment so that they may become economically independent and self-supporting citizens. The functions of the Federal office are to promote the work, bear a part of the cost, provide a service of advice and research whereby the program of vocational rehabilitation may be made as efficient as possible. In many instances vocational rehabilitation is a complicated and involved process. Each person presents a special problem which requires a particular solution owing to variation in age, education, occupational experience, aptitude, desires, and type and extent of disability. They cannot be handled in mass. The usual procedure after locating the disabled person is to study his interests and abilities, advise with him in the selection of a suitable vocation, secure for him hospital treatment and artificial appliances when found necessary to make him employable, provide him with specialized vocational training that will fit him for the selected vocation, and then aid him in finding satisfactory employment. Forty-five States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii are providing rehabilitation services to their handicapped persons. Kansas passed rehabilitation legislation last week. Favorable consideration is being given to rehabilitation legislation in the other two States Delaware and Vermont. Programs have just started in Puerto Rico and Hawaii this fiscal year. There has just come to my attention a description of the excellent start in rehabilitation work made in Hawaii published in the Hawaii Educational Review. The article states that surveys indicate that there are 729 persons in Hawaii needing rehabilitation service. Interesting descriptions are given of a number of cases now receiving rehabilitation service. One is a Hawaiian with permanent partial paralysis of legs resulting from a broken back, who is being trained as a radio repairman, and whose picture appears on the cover of the magazine. Another is of a Portugese young man 21 years of age who lost his right leg above the knee and through rehabilitation is becoming a skilled jeweler. A third case is that of a Japanese girl, a deaf mute, who is learning dressmaking. Other cases described include, beside native Hawaiians, a Korean, a Filipino, and a Chinese. I want to describe a typical case from one of the States. Owen Smith, when 18 months of age had an attack of infantile. paralysis which left his right leg weak and deformed. He is the son of a tenant farmer who had 11 children. When this crippled boy came to the attention of the State rehabilitation department he was 18 years of age, his crippled leg was 3 inches short, the heel had slipped entirely under the foot, as shown by the picture. He was able to do very little farm work. His older brothers picked on him because he did not do as much as they did. An orthopedic surgeon operated on the foot gratis, and a civic club took care of his hospital bill. As soon as his foot had healed the rehabilitation department provided training in watchmaking for him. He has successfully followed this trade for the past 8 years. Social workers state that he was the only member of the family not on relief during the depression. Another interesting case is that of a young man who lost his left arm at the shoulder by the accidental discharge of a shotgun with which he was guarding convicts. With the aid of the State rehabili tation department this unfortunate young man entered a busines college where he successfully complete a course in bookkeeping, leading his class at all times. Immediately upon completion of the course he secured employment as a bookkeeper with a large power company. He has been handling the pay rolls and doing general office work for five hydroelectric plants for a number of years. his services he receives $125 per month, with house rent, water, and lights. He is better paid, better contented, and far happier in his present position with one arm than he was in his former position with two good arms. Rehabilitation statistics Number of rehabilitations last year.. Cod of rehabilitation per esse Average earnings or wage per week. NEEDS FOR FULL APPROPRIATION State aid, $1,938,000. Full amount requested. 1. Long waiting list of applicants in most States. For 10 338 41 726 $251 76 17 94 2. Most States have received State appropriations matching full allotment under the Social Security Act. Many receive local allotments to supplement State allotments. 3. Under the act States in a position to use more than their allotment of Federal funds on a population basis may secure additional funds from a reapportionment of funds which other States are not in a position to use. Any estimate of the amount of unexpended balance for 1937 would be purely a guess because too many variable factors enter into consideration. An estimate cannot be based on 1936 expenditures because the additional $938,000 under social security was not appropriated until February 1936, and did not reach the States until March. Legisla tures in regular session in about 30 States this year. BLIND ACT The act passed at the last session of Congress placing responsibility upon the Office of Education for appointment of agencies in the States to license band operators of vending stands in federally owned public buildings and for making surveys of opportunities for vending stands and surveys of employment opportunities for the blind in industry. Additional appropriations are required to carry out the provisions of this act. NEED OF NEW WORKER Three Federal acts contain provisions for the cooperation of their administrative agencies with the vocational rehabilitation service (the act providing for the United States Employment Service; that part of the Social Security Act providing for service to crippled children and the act providing for the operation of stands in Federal and other buildings by blind persons). All of these acts involve the finding of suitable opportunities for the placement of physically handicapped persons. The finding of such opportunities requires the cooperation of employers-particularly of employers of large groups of workersin working out standards of selection and methods of placement by which such employers can employ handicapped persons on a basis that will be fair and equitable to all concerned. The function of this agent (employment specialist) would be to secure data on existing labor standards, trade practices, and presonnel methods and then to assist State staff members in working out with employers the standards and methods to be applied in the different fields of employment in the different States. NEED OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES Mr. JOHNSON. I have one more question. I believe that in case the appropriation was increased for agriculture and trades and industry and home economics, the administrative cost would necessarily have to be increased. I believe the item included in the estimates for administrative cost is $73,000? Dr. STUDEBAKER. Yes, there is included in the Budget estimates for administration $264,060. Of this amount $73,000 is authorized by the George-Deen Act. Mr. JOHNSON. Would you care to make an estimate or state what would be needed in case this appropriation was increased? Dr. STUDEBAKER. It is $73,000 now. It ought to be increased by $105,000 to give us a chance not only to administer the new act, which will be much larger and much more complicated, but also to enable us to do a certain relatively small amount of good research work in connection with its administration. An increase is also needed to develop a small staff for distributive occupations-a new activity. At the present Mr. Barnhart is the only one in this field. The estimate of $178,000 included funds for that purpose. Mr. JOHNSON. I believe there was $350,000 authorized under the George-Deen Act for administrative purposes alone. Is that right? Dr. STUDEBAKER. That is right. And what we were really asking for is $178,000 of that authorization instead of the entire $350,000. Mr. JOHNSON. That is the estimate that I wanted to get. FURTHER ENDOWMENT OF COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND THE MECHANIC ARTS Mr. RICH. Shall we proceed now to take up this subject of agriculture? The item is found on page 466 of the bill and is for the further endowment of colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts, $1,980,000. Dr. STUDEBAKER. I wish to submit the following justification: 139751-37-pt. 1-42 The act approved June 29, 1935, provides in part for the more complete endowment and support of land-grant colleges in the several States and the Territory of Hawaii. Section 22 (a) authorizes an appropriation of $980,000 for each fiscal year after the date of the enactment of the act, to be paid annually to the States and the Territory of Hawaii in equal shares. Section 22 (b) authorizes an appropriation of $500,000 for the fiscal year following the first fiscal year for which an appropriation was made, and for each of the 2 fiscal years thereafter $500,000 more than the amount authorized to be appropriated for the preceding fiscal year, and for each year thereafter $1,500,000. The appropriations authorized in this section are allotted to the States and the Territory of Hawaii in the proportion which the total population of each such State and the Territory of Hawaii bears to the total population of all the States and the Territory of Hawaii. The appropriations under this act are in addition to and for the same purposes as the sums provided in the acts of August 30, 1890, and March 4, 1907, which provide a permanent continuing appropriation of $2,550,000 “to be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural, and economic science, with special reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction" and "for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts." No part of this appropriation is used for administrative expenses in the Office of Education. The first appropriation was made in the amount of $980,000 for the fiscal year 1936, $1,480,000 was appropriated for 1937, and the estimate for 1938, in ac cordance with the provisions of the act, is submitted in the amount of $1,950,000. ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON, D. C. Mr. RICH. There is one other question that I would like to ask Dr. Studebaker. In the field of government education it has been sug gested by some people that a school of government be established in Washington similar to West Point for the Army and Annapolis for the Navy. Is your Department defending that institution? Dr. STUDEBAKER. No; I should very much prefer to see what we can do to work through our office, especially in the Division of General Education, with the colleges and universities of the United States, to improve their methods of training for public service. That is one of the items to which I called your attention early in the hearing. Mr. RICH. I am with you on that, but I am against this political school of government here in Washington. EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Mr. RICH. We would like to hear something from this department that you call editors or assistant editors. What are their duties? Give us a little explanation of that. Dr. STUDEBAKER. Mr. Boutwell is the editor. His office edits all of these publications which I exhibited here this morning, and a list of which Dr. Goody koontz has put in the record. Mr. RICH. Do you have in your department any propaganda phases of education for the enlightenment of Members of Congress? Dr. STUDEBAKER. We do not have any. Mr. RICH. Do you have anything in your Department of Education which deals with subjects outside of education in the broad sense? Dr. STUDEBAKER. Can you give me an illustration of what you have in mind" Mr. RICH. Do you get into the fields of government that are not in the educational line? |