STATEMENT OF DOROTHY DETZER, NATIONAL SECRETARY, WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Senator CHAVEZ. Will you kindly tell the committee what your name is and whom you represent?

Miss DETZER. My name is Dorothy Detzer and I am the national secretary of the Women's International League, 1734 F Street, Washington, D. C.

Senator CHAVEZ. Will you kindly tell the committee what the functions of the Women's International League are?

Miss DETZER. Mr. Chairman it is a peace organization as well as an organization working for civil liberties.

Senator CHAVEZ. Just what, specifically, does it do?

Miss DETZER. It is an organization working for both peace and civil liberties, with its international headquarters in Geneva. It has had sections in 24 countries in the world, most of which, of course, have been smashed by the advance of the German armies through Europe.

I am the American secretary of the United States section.
Senator CHAVEZ. It is organized in this country?

Miss DETZER. It is organized in this country, although it is both a national and international organization. It has had sections as I say in various countries. It was originally organized by Jane Addams of Hull House in Chicago in 1915. It was born in the beginning of the last war, as a matter of fact. At that time, at the very beginning, it had only 12 national sections, but, as I say, around 1930 there were about 24 sections.

Senator CHAVEZ. The personnel of the organization is composed of American members?

Miss DETZER. Composed of American members.

Senator CHAVEZ. Do they have any particular profession?

Miss DETZER. Oh, no; just any American citizen, any women who believe in the aims of the league and pay the prescribed dues. Senator CHAVEZ. What are the aims of the league?

Miss DETZER. I do not happen to have with me the statement in which the aims of the league are written out, but as the name implies, we believe that it is impossible to have peace without freedom or real freedom without peace, that the two are twin sisters that must go together. Therefore, in working for a peaceful world, we do work always on the whole problem of freedom as it relates to races, classes, creeds, and so forth.

Senator CHAVEZ. Have you prepared a statement?

Miss DETZER. Yes; I have.

Senator CHAVEZ. You may proceed.

Miss DETZER. I should like first of all, Mr. Chairman, to submit a resolution passed by our organization favoring this legislation. The resolution is as follows:

RESOLUTION-FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES COMMISSION

To Members of Congress:

The National Board of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting in Detroit, January 28-30, 1944, conscious of the fact that discrimination in employment practices on account of race, creed, national origin,

or ancestry is a denial of democratic principles, calls upon the Congress of the United States of America to enact H. R. 3986 prohibiting such discrimination and establishing & Fair Employment Practices Commission.

Senator CHAVEZ. May I interrupt you?

Miss DEIZER. Yes.

Senator CHAVEZ. How many people are connected with this organization?

Miss DETZER. About 50,000, I think. It is difficult to give an exact number. It fluctuates.

Senator CHAVEZ. Is it regional or national?

Miss DETZER. It is national. It has State branches and local groups.

Senator CHAVEZ. In how many States?

Miss DETZER. There are about 26 organized States, but there are members in every State in the Union.

Senator AIKEN. Do they pay dues in the organization?

Miss DETZER. Yes.

Senator AIKEN. Do you have contributions besides dues?

Miss DETZER. Yes. I think, Mr. Chairman, there is very little that anyone can add today to the testimony which has already been presented to this committee in favor of the legislation, but I merely want to underline a single aspect of the problem which has already been touched on by others, but which I feel has not been sufficiently emphasized-namely, the international value of this pending legis

lation.

I suppose most of us would agree that the single most important problem after the war will be the problem of race. Mrs. John Gunther in a recent article made a very interesting observation. She said that after 25 years since the last war, we can see the real significance of that war was the coming of the Russian revolution; and that perhaps 25 years after this war we shall be able to look back and see that the real significance of it is the coming Indian revolution. I think Mrs. Gunther narrows it too much by limiting it to the Indian revolution, but I think most of us who are aware of the stirring, awakening, growing movement of peoples realize that there is a "racial" revolution taking place in the world. I am using the word "revolution," of course, in its original, basic sense by meaning that a fundamental change is taking place. Now, such great tidal movements in history cannot be stopped, as we all know. They may be retarded but not stopped. I always like to think of what Victor Hugo said about such movements in history:

There is one thing mightier than armies, and that is an idea when its time has

come.

It seems to me, from the remarks of members of this committee, it is quite obvious that the time has come for the realization of the idea of equality among the races.

Senator CHAVEZ. Of course, when you are referring to equality you are referring to equality of opportunity.

Miss DETZER. Yes, equality of opportunity. Of course, I happen to believe too in all equality, but I am speaking to this bill and this bill is limited to equality of opportunity.

As an American, I am very proud that our country has demonstrated its moral leadership in taking already two steps in the way of

equality-namely, the action of the Congress in this last year in abrogating the Exclusion Act as it relates to China and the action of our Government in regard to putting forward the date of Philippine independence. Now, these two acts relate to races outside our borders. Yet only when our country gives substance to these international gestures by providing equality of opportunity within our borders does it seem to me that the sincerity of those acts will be actually confirmed.

We want this bill to become law because we believe that it is in line with the finest American tradition and because it is a pure matter of justice. But it is for more than this that we urge its passage. Our country has demonstrated its capacity as a leading economic power in the world today, but history in a sense is merely the monot onous record of the collapse and passing of civilizations and cultures which have depended alone on the fact of power or of political skill and ignored the necessity of moral values.

This pending legislation recognizes, we believe, a basic value, so we urge its passage because in America it is a matter of justice. But we urge it also because we are profoundly convinced that this act of justice would have a psychological and moral effect throughout this world which cannot be measured.

I want to say a word too in regard to this legislation, in its effect on our Jewish citizens. The strange and degrading phenomenon of anti-Semitism, of course, has existed in the world for some time, but as far as I know and as far as I have been able to find out, never before until the Nazis came to power was this particular evil used as a national policy. This deliberate policy is perhaps as barbarous a thing as any government has ever done in the history of the world. Almost anybody can recognize that this national sin of commission is one of the greatest evils that the world has ever known, but there are also national sins of omission. We believe if our Government fails to act affirmatively about this problem as it relates to Jews in our country that we will be guilty of a sin of omission that will not, of course, be equal to what the Nazis have done, but will differ only in degree if not in kind. So from the point of view of our Jewish citizens, it seems to us that this bill is the kind of action that American must take-an affirmative act which will show not only that America repudiates the kind of thing that has happened abroad, but can deal creatively with such a problem.

Senator CHAVEZ. May I interrupt? I am trying to follow your reasoning so I can understand it. What you have in mind, notwithstanding the fact that there might be and probably will be from now until doomsday individual prejudices and individual discrimination, you do not want governmental sanction of that prejudice and discrimination.

Miss DETZER. Yes. We not only do not want governmental sanction of prejudice and discrimination but it seems to us that a government which possesses real moral leadership must act affirmatively in regard to prejudice and injustice.

Senator CHAVEZ. It accepts the responsibility.

Miss DETZER. It accepts the responsibility. That is all I have to say, Mr. Chairman.

Senator CHAVEZ. Thank you very much.

Dr. Reissig.

STATEMENT OF DR. FREDERICK E. REISSIG, WASHINGTON COMMITTEE ON INTERRACIAL RELATIONS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Dr. REISSIG. Mr. Chairman and Senator Aiken, my name is Frederick E. Reissig. I am vice chairman of the Citizens Committee on Race Relations of the District and chairman of the executive committee. This committee is made up of 80 leading white and colored citizens organized about a year ago. I have before me the first printed annual report of this committee.

Mr. Chairman, I am here just for a moment to say that this committee would like to go on record as favoring this bill, and also I would like to give just one illustration of how discrimination works in a professional group locally. I refer to the Gallinger Hospital, which is a municipal hospital, in which there are over 1,000 patients and 70 percent of these patients are colored, and outside of seven graduate colored nurses in this hospital it has no colored nurse, no visiting colored physician is allowed in this hospital. No colored patient who goes to this municipal hospital can have a colored physician to attend him. I just want to give this one illustration as to how discrimination works locally among a professional group.

That is the only statement, Mr. Chairman, that I wish to make.
Senator CHAVEZ. That is a bad feature of the whole thing.
Dr. REISSIG. Yes.

Senator CHAVEZ. Now, can you tell us why this bill should pass?
Dr. REISSIG. In order to remedy the condition.

Senator CHAVEZ. In order to remedy the condition which you have outlined?

Dr. REISSIG. Yes; we hope this bill will help this condition.
Senator CHAVEZ. Have you read it?

Dr. REISSIG. I know it in principle.

Senator CHAVEZ. Will you state to the committee then your ideas as to the principle?

Dr. REISSIG. That there should be no discrimination in industry or in labor or business, in employment of any kind. I take it that is the

principle of it.

Senator CHAVEZ. Yes. Of course, there is a school of thoughtvery substantial, too-that maintains that individual business and individual persons should act with all kinds of freedom. Do you feel that it should go to the extent of having that freedom developed in public institutions such as the Gallinger Hospital?

Dr. REISSIG. Well, I should think so. It would seem so. I do not know why it should not. This is largely a race issue that we are trying to overcome.

Senator CHAVEZ. The point I want to make, Dr. Reissig, is this: Of course, we cannot control the millions of individual instances which we face.

Dr. REISSIG. That is right.

Senator CHAVEZ. We are going to have individual race prejudice and individual race discrimination, but do you think a government should have institutions tolerating discrimination in races?

Dr. REISSIG. No, indeed.

Senator CHAVEZ. Thank you, Doctor. It appears that there are some witnesses who were to appear and who are not present at the

moment, and there are some witnesses that were down on the list and that have other business to attend to, so I shall try to accommodate them.

Is Mr. Carey here?

STATEMENT OF JAMES B. CAREY, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, COMGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Mr. CAREY. My name is James B. Carey. I am secretary-treasurer of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. I appear here to testify in behalf of President Murray, of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

I come before your subcommittee to urge a favorable and early report on S. 2048, a bill to make the Fair Employment Practice Committee a permanent Government agency.

I urge this favorable report in the name of more than five and onehalf million American men and women of all racial and national origins who comprise the membership of the Congress of Industrial Organizations.

The principles of our organization are the very opposite of discrimination on grounds of race, color, creed or nationality. This is more than a matter of simple justice with us, though the application of just treatment to all is one of America's cornerstones. It is a matter of practical common sense. The unions that are affiliated to the C. I. O. have found that discrimination against any minority of our citizens results in damage to the interests of all. We have found this true in practical, day-to-day application, and considerable of the success of the C. I. O. in building powerful unions for mutual protection is due to the recognition of that truth.

The Nation as a whole, due in large measure to the excellent work of the Fair Employment Practice Committee, and to the impact of a great war, has made the same discovery. War production has demanded the end of discrimination on the job as a wasteful and highly dangerous habit that must be ended to secure maximum output through maximum national unity.

The soldier at the front does not inquire into the color or beliefs of the worker who makes his weapons. All he requires is the assurance of a sufficient supply to enable him to do his job. Only by breaking down racial barriers on the job have we been able to secure that supply in sufficient quantity and of sufficiently high quality to be worthy of our fighting men.

The soldier at the front has further required the assurance that decency and fair play still obtain at home. The struggle against discrimination in the United States has contributed in direct ratio to its success to the achievements of the fighting forces. Our successful fight against nazi-ism, fascism, and Japanese militarism has been immeasurably aided by the degree of success we have achieved in the fight against racism here at home.

Now that military victory is approaching rapidly, we come closer to new problems that will require ever greater national unity for the solution. The role of our Negro citizens, of citizens of other minorities and origins in the solution of these problems becomes even greater than before.