sion for the Blind in the past to promote beneficial programs and legislation in the State. The commission is proceeding to expand needed and desirable services to the blind in Iowa and has stated that it recognizes the right of blind persons to organize and welcomes the opportunity to consult organizations and individuals interested in the welfare of the blind in planning and carrying out an enlarged service program for the blind.

It was through such cooperation and mutual assistance of the commission and organizations of the blind that led the Iowa Legislature to increase the appropriation for expanded services to the blind persons in the State, for this biennium. To me, this is concrete evidence of the benefits to be derived on a nationwide basis, if the air is cleared and the foundation laid for greater freedom of self-expression by the passage of my bill or one of the other similar measures. We have a fine program to assist the blind people in Iowa. I am proud of the work that has been done by the Iowa Commission for the Blind and by the Iowa Association for the Blind. I believe, as I am sure they do, that there is much work yet to be done; work which can and will be done through the coordinated cooperation of democratically organized groups, who have only the most vital of interests as a basis for their existence.

It is because of these reasons, Mr. Chairman, that I join with my many colleagues to urge your most favorable consideration of this legislation to assure this measure of protection to the right of the blind to self-expression through organizations of the blind.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES UTT, OF CALIFORNIA, IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 14

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I welcome this opportunity to express my wholehearted support and endorsement of H.R. 14 and similar bills now before your committee for the purpose of guaranteeing the rights of blind citizens freely to organize and to express their needs and interests through the processes of consultation with the officials of welfare agencies of the National and State Governments.

I know of the fine record of accomplishment which has been compiled in my own State by the California Council of the Blind, an affiliated organization of the National Federation of the Blind. I know, too, of the close and long-standing relationship of cooperative understanding and mutual respect which has obtained between the California Council and the aid to the blind division of our State department of social welfare. Mr. Perry Sundquist, the director of the aid to the blind division, has had frequent occasion to refer to the numerous values and benefits which have accrued both to the blind and to their State officials through the existence of this collaborative relationship. It is to a large extent a tribute to the organized blind of California that our various State programs for the blind have attained a standard of excellence matched by few other States. Without the continuous advice and articulate participation by the blind of the State such welfare achievements as we have been able to carry out in California would have been unlikely if not totally impossible.

It is unfortunate that this close working relationship between organizations of the blind themselves and the officials of State and Federal agencies is not duplicated in all parts of our land. Too often it appears that agency officials are content to draw upon the professional knowledge and experience of nonblind persons whose viewpoint is only coincidentally similar to that of the blind-and frequently is frankly dissimilar. It is my sincere hope that your committee will find, as I have, that the organized blind as a citizen group receiving special services and affected by distinct programs can make a positive contribution to the improvement of those programs: A contribution, moreover, which no one can make for them.

I, therefore, appreciate this chance to go on record in favor of H.R. 14 and the more than 50 similar bills before your committee for the purpose of supporting the blind people of America in their efforts to achieve political equality, economic independence, and social integration.

STATEMENT OF HON. NEAL SMITH, FIFTH DISTRICT OF IOWA

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to submit for the record this statement in support of the bill, H.R. 5801, I have introduced, which is identical to the bills before your committee for the purpose

of protecting the right of the blind to self-expression through organizations of the blind.

The present hearings have pointed up the efforts and progress which the blind have made in self-care and self-support. They have also served to remove utterly the traditional paternalistic notion that the blind are not competent to speak for themselves.

The legislation before your committee is in keeping with our administrative process under which recognition is given to participation by interested groups in the formulation of our governmental policy- and rule-making process. In this regard, the legislation provides that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall, to the fullest extent practicable, consult and advise with representatives of organizations of the blind in formulating, administering, and executing programs for the aid and rehabilitation of the blind.

In my own State of Iowa, in expanding services to the blind the State commission for the blind has openly recognized the importance of coordinating the plans and activities of the organizations and individuals interested in the welfare of the blind. In a statement on August 20, 1957, our commission, among other things, stated that it "recognizes the right of blind persons to organize to promote the welfare of the blind in the State."

These hearings have also confirmed the long necessity for a national study of the needs and problems of the blind.

I, therefore, hope that it will be possible for your committee to take favorable action on this legislation, to the end that we will improve services to the blind and increase their opportunities for participation in the economic, social, cultural, and educational life of our country.

Hon. CARL ELLIOTT,

House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS,
Washington, D.C., March 20, 1959.

MY DEAR MR. ELLIOTT: Enclosed is a statement on the bills proposing studies of programs for and needs of the blind which are now being considered by your subcommittee. I shall appreciate it if this statement can be introduced into the record of the hearings on these bills.

Sincerely yours,

L. QUINCY MUMFORD,
Librarian of Congress.

STATEMENT OF L. QUINCY MUMFORD, LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS

Several bills now being considered by the Subcommittee on Special Education of the Education and Labor Committee of the House of Representatives propose a study of existing programs for the blind and of the problems and needs of the blind. These proposals are of interest to the Library of Congress because, as the committee knows, the Library administers the national books-for-the-blind program.

This program was established by the Pratt-Smoot Act of 1931, which authorized an appropriation to the Library of Congress for books for the adult blind. Then only books in braille and other forms of raised type were available, but by 1934 long-playing records for the use of the blind had been developed and were added to the program. These Talking Books, as they are called, have become the most popular form of reading for the blind. Today there are about 50,000 users of Talking Tooks and 10,000 users of braille books in the United States and its Territories and insular possessions-the areas served by the national program. In 1952, the word "adult" was removed from the language of the authorizing act, thus enabling the Library to serve blind children as well as blind adults.

Congress appropriates money to the Library of Congress for the procurement of books in braille, Talking Books, and compact, sturdy, but inexpensive machines on which the blind can play the records. The books are distributed by 30 libraries (the Library of Congress is one of them) throughout the country, and the machines are distributed by 55 State agencies for the blind; these agencies and regional libraries are not subsidized or directed by the Federal Government but perform these services as their contrirbution to this cooperative program. There is no charge to the blind for the books or the machin

lent to them. They do not have to go to the trouble and expense of going in person to the libraries or State agencies; once they have been certified as blind, they can make arrangements for borrowing books and machines entirely by mail.

The Library of Congress conducts a continuing study of ways to improve this national service. In addition, we have recently had the benefit of an outside survey of this activity. Under the auspices of the American Foundation for the Blind, and with our full cooperation, an extensive, objective examination was carried out under the direction of Francis R. St. John, librarian of the Brooklyn Public Library. The report was published by the foundation in 1957 under the title "Survey of Library Service for the Blind, 1956." Some of its recommendations were being implemented even before the report was published, and the Library was able to make further strides forward when, in 1957, Congress removed the ceiling there had been on the amount that could be appropriated for the books-for-the-blind program. Additional funds were subsequently made available for more books and for more Talking Book machines until today we are in the happpy state of being able to say that there does not exist anywhere a backlog of requests for machines that cannot be filled. Of course, individuals may sometimes have to wait a bit to get a particularly popular book, just as sighted readers do at their public library or the corner rental library.

It should be emphasized that this library service is available to all the 350,000 blind persons in our country. With the U.S. postal service acting as the blind's bookmobile, no area is too remote to be reached. The fact that only 60,000 of the 350,000 blind now use the service is not indicative of restricted service or of lack of interest. It should be remembered that many of the blind were not readers of books when they had their sight, so they do not necessarily turn to books when they become blind. Also, many of the blind are old and no longer have all the faculties essential even for listening to Talking Books. Thus, although there are certainly possibilities for increasing the number of blind readers, it is not likely that the time will ever come when all the blind use their library service.

It is true that more people are added to the ranks of the blind every year as the life span is lengthened and that the service must also be expanded to care for their reading needs. Congress has always been most understanding of this, and orderly expansion is going on all the time. Professional standards in the cooperating libraries are being raised, and technological advances promise relief soon to the serious space problems some of the libraries have. A 7-inch, 81⁄2 revolutions per minute record, which will play four times as long the the old 12-inch, 33% revolutions per minute record, is being developed, along with a correspondingly small machine on which to play these records. We expect, as new Talking Books and machines are ordered, to convert to these new models. Obviously, they will require much less storage space, will be more convenient for the blind, and will cost the Government much less in postage.

There are other programs that provide reading materials for the blind, such as textbooks, but they do not overlap the Library's service. Instead, with fine cooperation, these programs supplement each other to the advantage of the Government, the States, and the blind.

The Library of Congress has no objection to being included in any study that may be made. It does, however, in view of the recent survey that has been made of library service for the blind, the raising of the ceiling on appropriations for the program, and the technological and other advances that are being made, question whether sufficent new information would be developed to warrant the cost. Nevertheless, if a study is to be made of services for and needs of the blind, it seems to the Library that the $450,000 proposed in H.R. 5243 for a review only of those programs supported wholly or in part by Federal funds is a more realistic figure than the lower sums proposed in other bills for more inclusive studies. Also, none of the present bills provide that the membership of the proposed study commission or committee include a professional in the field of library service for the blind. The Library, therefore, urges that, if library service for the blind is to be surveyed, any bill reported out by this committee specify that a professional in this field be included in the membership, because there are many technical problems involved in this service.

STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ON BILLS RELATING TO LIBRARY SERVICE TO THE BLIND

This statement has been prepared by Germaine Krettek, director of the Washington office of the American Library Association. This organization is a nonprofit, professional association of more than 22,000 members, consisting of librarians, trustees, and friends of libraries interested in promoting library services throughout the United States by increasing the accessibility of books and libraries to all. The association is, therefore, interested in legislative proposals to strengthen and expand specialized library services to the blind.

Several bills calling for the establishment of a temporary national committee or Presidential commission to study the needs of blind persons are currently being considered by your subcommittee. Presumably one of the services that would be considered in such a proposed survey would be the national books for the blind program which is administered by the Library of Congress with funds appropriated by the Congress. This important library service to the blind, which supplies books in braille and Talking Books, now reaches more than 60,000 individuals in this country through the cooperation of 30 libraries and 55 State agencies for the blind which distribute the machines on which to play Talking Books.

Such a study as proposed by the legislation under consideration might well indicate areas for improvement in this library service, but it should be noted that a national "Survey of Library Service for the Blind" was made in 1956 by the American Foundation for the Blind in cooperation with the Library of Congress. The findings of this survey were recently endorsed by the ALA's Round Table on Library Service for the Blind. The Council of the American Library Association (our governing body), in accepting the report of the Round Table on Library Service for the Blind, noted that the report recognized that library service to the blind was one of the areas in need of understanding and support and that many of the survey's recommendations have already been implemented by the Library of Congress.

It also is worthy of note that in 1957 Congress removed the ceiling on funds that could be appropriated for the books for the blind program. Subsequently, with additional funds made available by the Congress, the Library of Congress has been able to procure an increased number of books in braille. Talking Books, and the machines on which to play the Talking Books. This has resulted in an expansion and an improvement of this valued free service to the Nation's blind. If such a national commission to consider the problems related to blindness and allied matters is established, it is the recommendation of the American Library Association that sufficient time and funds be allowed to complete a thorough study.

Although H.R. 5243, for example, specifically provides that library services for the blind would be studied, neither that bill nor any of the others introduced on the subject, provide for membership on the committee or commission of a professional in the field of library services to the blind. The American Library Association considers this essential and urges that this provision be specifically included in any bill reported out by this committee.

STATEMENT OF HON. STEVEN V. CARTER, FOURTH DISTRICT OF IOWA, ON THE BARING BILL (H.R. 14)

The bill under consideration by this committee, H.R. 14, is designed in part to insure that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, consult to the fullest extent practicable with representatives of organizations of the blind in the formulation, administration, and execution of programs for the blind. It seems to me there is no one who can ever know more about a given set of circumstances than the person who is most directly affected by them. Does anyone exist who can know more about the problems, desires, needs, and aspirations of the blind than the blind themselves? Certainly not, and so far as I can see, there can be no issue concerning the validity of this piece of legislation.

The other provisions of the bill would seem to me to be equally immune from controversy. They are to the effect that the blind shall have freedom of self

expression through organizations for the blind, and that this freedom will be free from regulation, influence, or duress by any agency, its officers or employees, concerned with the administration of Federal funds for the benefit of the blind.

Organizations which have been founded by the blind exist for the purpose of advancing their welfare and common interests. These organizations provide our blind citizens with the opportunity for collective self-expression. They are thus able to express their views on the programs that our National and State Governments are adopting for their aid and rehabilitation. It is most important that these views be heard and considered.

May I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Honorable Walter S. Baring for his leadership of this worthy piece of legislation. It is very gratifying to me personally to have joined in its sponsorship.

Mr. CLEVELAND M. BAILEY,

NATIONAL MEDICAL FOUNDATION FOR EYE Care,

New York, N.Y., March 9, 1959.

Chairman, Subcommittee on Special General Education,
House Education and Labor Committee,

Washington, D.C.

DEAR CONGRESSMAN BAILEY: On behalf of the trustees of the National Medical Foundation for Eye Care, I respectfully request that the following statement be incorporated in the proceedings of the Subcommittee on Special General Education of the House Education and Labor Committee:

The National Medical Foundation for Eye Care is composed of physicians who have a primary interest in the preservation and conservation of eyesight, and affiliated members from the general public. These physicians recognize that blindness presents special educational and sociological aspects as well as special medical aspects, all of which are interrelated.

The "blind" includes people with varying degrees of blindness. Their special needs are determined by the extent and nature of the medical impairment in each case. The diagnosis of all aspects of the condition and the accurate prognosis for each blind person are distinct medical considerations. These people are the concern of the physician with his general medical training and special qualifications in ophthalmology, the science of the eye and the related structures of the body and their functions and diseases.

Blindness is always due to disease. It is indeed a phase of disease and not something apart from it. The medical and the social rehabilitation of the individual begin with the medical diagnosis and evaluation. The educators, administrators and sociologists who are concerned with the problem of the blind seek first an understanding of the medical impairment of the visual system and of the whole man.

In the past 25 years, great advances have been made in the prevention and the treatment of the blinding diseases. New drugs, notably the antibiotics and the corticosteroids, have contributed to reduced incidence, recovery from disease and the prevention of complications which often destroy sight.

Diseases once responsible for much of our blindness are being controlled. Syphilis and tuberculosis are much less common; ophthalmia of the newborn is no longer a major cause of blindness; sympathetic ophthalmia is amenable to treatment today. Retrolental fibroplasia arose as a serious cause of blindness; research showed the cause of the disease and how to prevent it.

The shift in age distribution in our population introduces new factors in the consideration of the blinding diseases. The lengthening of the lifespan has increased the incidence of blindness due to the diseases associated with advancing age glaucoma, cataract, and the degenerative diseases. More effective surgery has meant restoration of vision for more people with cataract and detached retina. Treatment for glaucoma means the prevention of blindness. Whatever the disease which has caused the blindness in a given case, its impact on the whole person physically and emotionally must be evaluated medically and related to the general medical condition. If the blind individual is to make his maximum contribution to society, any long range plans for the sociological problems of the blind must consider the control of blindness, which in turn hinges on medical practice and medical research.