to the crisis in the cities. Among our greatest difficulties is the difficulty of what should be the priority of national attention and national expenditure, and I believe that the crisis in the cities deserves an equal priority with the fighting war, to wit, Vietnam.

This is not reflected in our budget, it is not reflected in the focus of national attention. I believe the Senate in passing the Civil Rights Act indicated clearly that it considers this priority very high, perhaps not as high as I do, but certainly very high, and I deeply believe that you have rendered, as Senator Clark says, an historic service and I am so proud that our mayor and my personal friend, Mayor Lindsay, was associated with this effort, as was Senator Harris, Senator Brooke, and other distinguished Americans, and I think you will have the great gratification of having really marked a milestone in American history in the recognition that we are now an urban culture and that this tremendous crisis, so dangerous to domestic order, tranquillity, and prosperity which rates much higher priority than it has gotten and I will give your report the greatest credit for being, I think, the decisive factor in bringing it about.

Senator CLARK. Thank you, Senator. Will you proceed, Governor. Do you want to read your statement?

STATEMENT OF HON. OTTO KERNER, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

Governor KERNER. If I may, I first add things off the cuff. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am delighted to be here, of course, before the distinguished members of this committee. I come here not only as Chairman of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, but as Governor of a State that shares many of the problems the proposed act seeks to solve or ameliorate.

In response to a statement made by Senator Javits, you will notice that our report indicates that unanimously the members of the committee stated that we thought this problem, this great social problem that faces all of us here in the United States, has no higher priority. We, of course, did not feel that we as the Commission should really delve into the area of the executive and Congress in making a final determination of priority, but we did recognize the responsibility and the great need to move ahead.

May I say also, and this is not contained in my statement, that unanimously all the members of the Commission, I think, agreed that the highest priority so far as the needs of jobs and housing and education, jobs took the first priority without any doubt in anyone's mind on the Commission.

This is why I am really very pleased to be here today to testify as to what we, as a Commission found and what I as Governor have found in my State.

But in commenting on the Emergency Employment and Training Acts of 1968, I cannot help but relate its provisions to the findings of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. You will recall that the Commission, of which I was chairman, made recommendations embracing three basic principles:

To mount programs on a scale equal to the dimensions of the problems; To aim these programs for high impact in the immediate future (in order to close the gap between promise and performance);

To undertake new initiatives and experiments that can change the system of failure and frustration that now dominates the ghetto and weakens our society.

In relating the act to the first principle mentioned, that of mounting programs on a scale equal to the dimensions of the problem, it appears to me that your committee recommendations have taken into consideration this principle. I believe it is good, too, that this act recognizes that there must be orderly development of programs and that there are gains to be made from experience and experimentation.

I judge this from the manner in which the proposed act shows participation increasing over a period of years. There is, I observe, provision for the employment and training of 450,000 hard-core unemployed the first year, 900,000 the second year, 1.8 million the third year and in fiscal year 1972, hopefully, there will be 2.4 million participants.

Senator CLARK. Governor, do you mind if we interrupt from time to time?

Governor KERNER. Not at all.

Senator CLARK. Do you think those are feasible goals?

Governor KERNER. Yes, I do. Certainly in the private sector already, knowing there had been certain contracts signed with Government offices to train in the private sector, in just one company in Illinois, 200 a month in one plant of this one company. That is 2,400 in one plant in 1 year.

Senator CLARK. I guess you are familiar with the work done by the Scott-Pirie Co. out in Chicago.

Governor KERNER. I think so.

Senator CLARK. That has been sort of a landmark of what can be done in quite a short period of time.

Governor KERNER. Yes, Mr. Virgil Martin started that in 1961 or 1963. I must say the selections they took at that time were not really hard-core as we understand them. They were bright young people of high school age or about that age who had shown great promise, but for one reason or another could not continue with their education. Senator CLARK. Most of them were dropouts?

Governor KERNER. Yes, but I think it was for economic reasons rather than for scholastic reasons. May I say that in a study done by Frank Kessel, a 40-man commission established in Illinois in 1941, studied 450,000 dropouts in Illinois. They came to the conclusion in studying their scholastic background if they had been able to complete their education, 25 percent were potential Phi Beta Kappa if they had been able to go on. So I think we are losing a great deal of talent because of that.

It is my belief that by providing financial assistance to employers so that their investments in labor and equipment are safeguarded, you will secure that "inmediate high impact," which is the second principle that we found and established in our report, that the report cited as a basic principle.

You have also provided, in the beginning of the program, for double the number of training slots and jobs to come from the public sector as are to be provided by private industry. By 1972, you show equal

numbers from industry and Government, with private enterprise providing eight times more opportunities than at the inception of the program. I would like to inject here that with the Federal assistance in the State we have had these on-the-job training programs in the State in mental health, particularly nursing services, and we have trained these people so exceedingly well that I am delighted to report the private sector took some of them away from us to be used in hospitals other than State institutions. This was very pleasing to all of us.

This program is not too ambitious, in my opinion. The incentives provided by the act are needed to safeguard the employer's investment in time, money, and equipment and will be sufficiently attractive to start off the program without stifling delays. The contributions to the economy of the successfully trained and employed man will provide the impetus for succeeding years of growth. None of us here, I know, are discounting an additional incentive-the profound satisfaction that comes to the individual who helps another human being to a successful, productive life.

It just occurs to me that Caterpillar Tractor a little less than 2 years ago started out on a program and sought only one incentive in hard-core unemployed. That is those that had very bad employment records. All they wanted in these individuals was, do you want to work? Of these 58 that were employed about 20 months ago, 44 are still with Caterpillar Co. One of them is in a junior supervisory position.

They gave them on-the-job training in their own plant at their own cost during the daytime and hired an educational foundation to give them the reading, writing, arithmetic voluntarily in the nighttime. Forty-four out of a total of 58, I think, is a remarkable example of what can be done.

Senator CLARK. I do, too. Do you have any breakdown on the racial basis of those 44?

Governor KERNER. No; I do not. I recall their personnel man indicated the overwhelming majority were Negro.

Senator CLARK. Of course, Caterpillar has an equal employment record.

Governor KERNER. Yes; they do.

The third thing found was to undertake new initiatives and experiments that can change the system of failure and frustration that now dominates the ghetto and weakens our society. This was the Commission's third principle.

I will later comment at length on some of the initiatives and experiments we have used in my own State. For the moment, I will only say that it is a source of satisfaction to me that the act provides, not only for the obvious, but has considered and included such aspects of the total picture as upward progression of the individual, assistance to rural areas, and child care. We feel that all of these must be an element. Senator CLARK. Upward progressions, of course, means promotion. Governor KERNER. Yes.

Illinois is fortunate in that it is economically prosperous; has an employment rate well below the national average, both statewide and in Chicago: good wages; and a diversity of industry and occupations. Senator CLARK. Governor, you mean an unemployment record?

Governor KERNER. Yes; it is a mistake, since about the middle of 1964 our unemployment rate has not been above 2.8. It has been down as low as 2.3, and in some of our industrial centers our employment rate even today is lower than it was in World War II-unemployment

rate.

Senator CLARK. Of course, that would not include some areas of Chicago, would it?

Governor KERNER. It does include Chicago where the unemployment rate, of course, is three and four times what it is outside of the ghetto areas and I may comment on it later here.

It also has serious problems of city slums, untrained rural migrants, limitations on complete integration, and artificial barriers to employment and occupational advancement.

Senator CLARK. Governor, do you still have a good many unemployed, and at the moment, unemployable migrants coming in from the South?

Governor KERNER. No; that has slowed down. That inmigration actually started to slow down the latter part of 1961-62. As a matter of fact, my own experience in speaking to some of the people in the railroad stations, some of them had returned to the Southland because they did not find the land of promise that they had expected. There were job opportunities, but unfortunately they were not accustomed to live in the city, No. 1; and No. 2, they did not have any of the skills to fill the jobs.

In Illinois now we have approximately 100,000 skilled job openings. What we have been attempting to do is take the semiskilled and raise their skill to fill the skilled jobs, and taking the completely unskilled and giving them the capability of filling those semiskilled jobs that become available.

We realize, of course, the Congress has recognized the needs of the States as shown by the passage of such legislation as the Manpower Development and Training Act, the Economic Opportunity Act, and the Public Works and Economic Development Act. Illinois has used, to the fullest extent, all the resources provided by the Congress. However, there remains in Illinois, as in all the States, an urgent need for immediate and positive action.

Senator CLARK. Do you have a pretty good Equal Opportunity Act in the State of Illinois ?

Governor KERNER. We have a reasonably good one. As a matter of fact, my general assembly appropriated only half the amount of money that is necessary. I have been speaking to the legislative leaders so when they come back again in July that they will, I hope, increase the present appropriation by 100 percent.

The number of cases that is handled is about three times what we anticipate at this time. Many of them, of course, are sent to us by the Federal level and we are just unable to handle them quickly and efficiently which, of course, you must do if you are going to be effective Senator CLARK. Does the State commission have enforcement power?

Governor KERNER. No; it does not have enforcement power as such. It has to go into court to enforce its orders.

Senator CLARK. It can go to court?

Governor KERNER. Yes, but fortunately we have not been to court very frequently.

Senator CLARK. Those things can usually be conciliated.

Governor KERNER. Sitting and dialoging, they can be settled.

Senator CLARK. Isn't there an ordnance in Chicago, we are pretty proud of our ordnance in Philadelphia.

Governor KERNER. Yes; I have not heard of any complaints. If there are no complaints, I assume it is working satisfactorily.

Senator PROUTY. Governor, do you have any serious problems with labor unions in this respect?

Governor KERNER. Yes, of course we do. As a matter of fact, chide them both privately and publicly, and may I say it is in the trade and the craft unions.

Senator CLARK. The building trades?

Governor KERNER. Yes; the building trades primarily. The general, UAW, Steelworkers, all of these unions, of course, have had an open door to all minority groups for many years. In fact, many of them are in top organizing positions.

Senator CLARK. They have recently promised to be good boys. Senator PROUTY. Is this based on racial prejudice or is it just trying to project the jobs of their members?

Governor KERNER. Let me say I suppose there is an economic base for this, too, and this prompts one of the reasons for racism? Let me say one of the unions in Chicago, unless you are related to someone who is in, you don't have an opportunity to get in. They are that tight.

As I say, I have made no secret of my feeling about it both privately and publicly.

Senator MURPHY. Mr. Chairman?

Senator CLARK. Please interrupt, gentlemen, any time you feel so inclined.

I yield to you, Senator Murphy.

Senator MURPHY. Governor, your last remark interests me. Must a person be a relative of a member in order to be admitted to the union? That is as it used to be in New York 30 years ago.

Governor KERNER. Let me say I know of only one union that I would accuse of that, and it's one local only. I do not think that is true in all, but in one they practically must have a relationship, really, to be able to get in.

THE IMPACT OF ON-GOING POVERTY PROGRAMS

As I indicated earlier, unemployment rates in Illinois and Chicago are well below the national average. Yet we, too, are experiencing the paradox of "poverty amidst plenty," with 14 of our downstate communities classified as "areas of substantial unemployment" and with persistent pockets of high unemployment continuing in the inner city slum areas of Chicago and in and around several Chicago suburban areas.

Certain of our counties downstate in 1961 had an unemployment rate close to 30 percent. Of course, they are down now. They are persistent, they are in our Appalachia. We do have an Appalachia in Illinois in our coal-mining area in some of our southern counties.