tion, the fault lies with the inability of minority groups to take advantage of an apprenticeship program in that particular trade.

Mr. HALL. That is correct.

Mr. POWELL. I would like to adjourn this subject, with the committee's permission, to a date that we can set now tentatively, when you can give us the facts on these promotions in your bureau which are not governed by civil-service registers but it is strictly up to you as the Director. When do you think you can get the facts before us? Mr. HALL. By Tuesday.

Mr. POWELL. We will let you know by tomorrow when we might meet again.

Mr. HALL. Will you restate the question, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. POWELL. I will send it to you in writing.

Mr. FOLEY. I don't think that is necessary. I think I understand what you are after.

Mr. POWELL. What I want to know is why, out of 6,000 workers, over 3,000 Negroes, 1,000 of them have supervisory positions, we will say roughly, or hundreds have supervisory positions, and a minute portion of them are Negroes, despite the fact that I have before me a list of Negroes with good records and many years of seniority, who were passed by those who have not got the seniority but because they are of another race they are appointed supervisors. That is the basic charge.

Are there any other questions that you would like to ask, Mr. Nixon? Mr. NIXON. No.

Mr. POWELL. Mr. Burke?

Mr. BURKE. No.

Mr. POWELL. Thank you ever so much.

Mr. FOLEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. POWELL. As our last witness for today, we will have Mr. Thomas Richardson, representing the Government workers.

TESTIMONY OF THOMAS RICHARDSON, REPRESENTING UNITED PUBLIC WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO, ACCOMPANIED BY MRS. MARGARET P. GILMORE, FREDERICK WIGGINS, AND MRS. ETHEL C. PERRITT, EMPLOYEES OF THE BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING

Mr. RICHARDSON. My name is Thomas Richardson. I represent the United Public Workers of America, CIO. I am here today to support, on behalf of my organization, H. R. 4453.

We are happy to see the agencies of the United States Government included under the provisions of this act. The existence of fair employment practice in the Federal Government strengthens the Government's hand in its efforts to secure compliance with nondiscriminatory policies in private industry. If there is any section of our national life in which the fundamental principles of equality of opportunity must be carried out, it is in the various Government agencies. The existence of job discrimination against Negroes and other minorities in the Federal Government indicates a great need for strong and immediate remedial action. Shortly after VE-day, the United Public Workers revealed that ten Government agencies had a secret but firm policy against the hiring of additional Negro clerical and pro

fessional workers. During that same period, the Federal Trade Commission agreed to accept Negro accounting clerks from the liquidating OPA only after a long public compaign. The Bureau of Internal Revenue in the Bronx, N. Y., answered demands for fair employment practice by moving to Kansas City where it continued its discriminatory pattern. All these things were taking place during a period in which Negro Government employees were attempting to maintain the job gains they had won during the war as a result of manpower shortages and the existence of the wartime FEPC. The fact that the conditions described above as well as many other discriminatory situations were not corrected means that as of today, those job gains have been almost completely wiped out. And the familiar pattern which has been the curse of the Negro in American economic life throughout history has been applied again to rob him of means of livelihood and dignity-i. e., the last to be hired; the first to be fired-and the group in American life which receives the brunt of discriminatory treatment. The United Public Workers appeared before President Truman's Committee on Civil Rights and discussed the intensification of antiNegro discrimination in the Federal agencies. We were among the first to urge this committee to appeal to President Truman to issue an FEPC order for Federal agencies pending the enactment of a national FEPC legislation. We participated in the long, drawn-out campaign to secure the issuance of such an order.

In July 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9980 which had as its stated intent the elimination of discrimination because of race, color, or religion, from agencies of the Federal Government. It is now 10 months since the issuance of that order and discrimination is as widespread and as intense in Government employment as before the issuance of the order. The average Negro Federal employee feels that he has seen little or no change in the strongholds of racial discrimination among Federal agencies since the issuance of the fair employment practice order.

Mr. Chairman, as you well know, these feelings are based upon facts and I would like to take the opportunity to present to this committee some of the more outstanding instances of discrimination against Negroes in Federal employment as they exist, 10 months after the issuance of the President's order. I would like to say, however, that this situation was helped by the fact that the President's order had some major weaknesses which we are happy to see are not included in this bill. There has been a lot of talk about reliance upon volunteer compliance to secure fair employment practice in this country. I think that the failure of Executive Order 9980 which called upon agency heads to voluntarily carry out the intent of the FEP order is a demonstration that even in the Federal Government where the Chief Administrator makes known his policy against discrimination and requests cooperation of his aides that the volunteer method has not worked. It is, therefore, inconceivable that the volunteer method would work for private industry where there is no direct control by the Federal Government.

It is because of the lack of enforcement powers in the President's order that the following situations exist. Perhaps the most dramatic is the situation at Chamblee, Ga., in a Veterans' Administration hospital, where Negro veterans employed in that agency have been fighting discrimination in promotion and hiring. At one time, in their fight

90748-4924

against this discrimination, these veterans returned to their locker rooms to find the walls plastered with Ku Klux Klan stickers. I present one of these stickers to the committee for its information. The discrimination in hiring and promotion against these veterans continues and they have been given no guarantee from management that even on this Government reservation will they be protected from the Ku Klux Klan. This perhaps is one of the more dramatic instances, although I would like to say that it does not differ too much from the average treatment of the Negro Federal employee in Government agencies of the South.

I would like to deal most specifically at this time with a situation which has been in existence for years and which despite the issuance of the Presidential FEP order continues unabated. That is the one found at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the Treasury Department in Washington, D. C., a stone's throw from the White House and within a one-zone taxi limit of the United States Capitol. At the time the FEP order was issued, the United Public Workers communicated with Secretary of Treasury John Snyder urging that he utilize this order to correct the widespread discriminatory practices in this agency. We have received a reply signed by Acting Secretary of Treasury, E. H. Foley, stating that there was no discrimination at the Bureau and that Negroes were employed in the clerical, trades assistant, and craftsmen categories. He further stated that over 50 percent of the Bureau's employees are Negroes, which he felt compared favorably with any other agency or private establishment. Since that time, the officials have afforded no relief from discrimination to the Negro employees at the Bureau.

Concretely, the discrimination is as follows:

In August 1948 an examination was announced open only to veterans of World War II who complied with certain rigid qualifications for the position of apprentice plate printers. About 30 Negro employees of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing met these qualifications. The holding of the examination would have meant that these men who become apprentice printers, and that subsequently many or all of them could become printers. You should realize that there is not a single Negro printer among the 400 men employed at the Bureau in that capacity.

The examination was canceled after being officially announced. The stated reason for cancelation is that there are enough printers available, so that with the modernization of equipment, there is no need to train apprentices. This statement cannot be reconciled with the following facts. First all plate printers at the Bureau are working 54 hours per week, or 14 hours of overtime every week, at time and one-half rates. Second, we have a communication from Civil Service Commissioner Frances Perkins which says, in part

For several years we have not been able to recruit all the plate printers the Bureau needs. We have, in fact, recently authorized a temporary appointment for an available plate printer the Bureau was lucky enough to pick up.

I would like to read to the committee a letter of commendation which was written in 1945 by a United States naval commander in the Pacific. To Whom It May Concern:

Frederick N. Wiggins, boatswain's mate second class has served under my command since December of 1943; first at the naval ammunition depot at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, T. H., and since March of 1945 at this activity.

During the time he served at West Loch, Wiggins was in charge of the boat pool and all personnel attached. The boats under his direction were engaged in delivering ammunition to units of the fleet, both day and night, under most difficult conditions due to black-out regulations then in effect. At no time was there a failure to make deliveries on time and many written and verbal commendations from commanding officers of fleet units were recei ed, not only on deliveries, but also on the clean neat appearance of both the boats and the crews, as well as, the seamanlike manner in which the boats were handled.

During the fire and explosions which wrecked and sunk several landing ships tanks, Wiggins, in charge of a small tug removed a barge load of powder to a place of safety, although one of the engines in the tug was inoperative. When this had been done; he continued to operate the tug in rescuing men from the water who had jumped or been thrown overboard by the explosions.

Wiggins was transferred to this activity on March 18, 1945; where he has been in charge of the personnel engaged in the upkeep of the area. His performance of duty has been outstanding and a credit to himself and the naval service.

W. R. SPEAR,

Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy (Retired), Commanding. Mr. Wiggins is here today and, with your permission, I would like to have him stand so that I could ask some questions of him since he is typical of the Negro veteran involved in this situation.

Another type of discrimination that affects hundreds of Negro employees at that agency is the problem that faces the printers' assistants We have here almost 2,000 employees, almost all Negro, many of whom have held their present positions for nearly 7 years with satisfactory work records and who have developed many special skills. They have been required to compete with 15,000 other persons to attempt to achieve permanent status on their jobs. Yet the plate printers, whose skills may be at a different level but are no more specialized, may achieve permanent status by merely filling out a job application, form 57.

Mr. Chairman, there is present here with me today Mrs. Perritt who is employed as a printer's assistant at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. With your permission, I would like to have her stand and I would like to ask her several questions.

Mr. Chairman these two conditions high light the existence of discrimination in this agency but in an atmosphere where you find such conditions you will also find many other shocking cases. I have here with me today Mrs. Margaret P. Gilmore whom I would also like to have stand.

Mr. Chairman, this completes the points we had on the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. If there are any questions we will certainly be happy to answer them. The passage of this bill would change these conditions but I would also like to point out that these conditions should be corrected long before the passage of this bill in the interests of fair play and justice.

Mr. Chairman we are particularly happy to see that the bill includes all agencies of the Federal Government, its Territories and possessions, because that will include under the coverage of this bill the Panama Canal Zone where there exists today a discriminatory situation that is a shame to our Nation. I would like to call your attention to just a few facts. Despite the removal of the "silver-gold" terms from the personal journals of that agency, there still is a sharp discrimination between the white American workers and the West Indian Negroes, Panamanians, and other workers formerly known as silver workers. I am listing for your information the difference in wages paid for the performance of the same duties in some of the jobs.

I would like to call your attention to the fact that although the school teachers perform the same duties, the West Indian Negroes and Panamanian are not paid the same wages as the white American teachers. Is it that the children of the former "silver" workers are supposed to receive much less education than that received by the children of the former "gold" workers? While I am not at this time delving into the problem of Jim Crow and segregation I do want to point out that the very existence of this system places a discrimination burden on a Negro because he cannot rise beyond the highest point of his separate compartment in that system. The chairman is well aware of the discrimination shown these workers in retirement benefits by our Government because he only recently introduced a bill to correct this inequity. Since H. R. 4453 does cover agencies of the Federal Government, passage of the bill as it now stands will strike a new blow for freedom for the minority peoples here in the United States as well as those employed by our Government on the Panama Canal Zone. We urge the passage of this legislation. The good and decent people of this Nation expect it and want it. The entire world is watching our action on it.

Mr. POWELL. There is one problem which you have there, which I would like brought back next week, and that is the problem of the Panamanians.

Mr. RICHARDSON. Yes.

Mr. POWELL. We are going into that situation. I think this bill does cover the Panamanian situation, which is an everlasting disgrace on our Nation, with its gold and silver standards.

What I would like you to do now is to give us some facts concerning the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, so we can, by a special officer, tonight, inform Mr. Hall as to just what answers we want. In other words, you educate us now.

Mr. RICHARDSON. I have here with me two of the employees of the Bureau of Engraving, and with your permission, I would like to have