*(c) Vacancies on the Board of a private agency should be filled by election, not by appointment, except perhaps on a temporary basis.

2. Purpose. A legitimate purpose and with no avoidable duplication of the work of other sound organizations.

3. Program. Reasonable efficiency in program management, and reasonable adequacy of resources, both material and personnel.

*(a) Service reports should reflect volume of service in each area where service is claimed. They should be available to the public and should contain a statement of receipts and expenditures or an indication of where such information might be obtained.

4. Cooperation. Evidence of consultation and cooperation with established agencies in the same or related fields.

5. Ethical promotion.

(a) Ethical methods of publicity, promotion, and solicitation of funds.

(b) No portrayal of the blind as helpless.

(c) No use of any living blind person's name or picture without prior permission of individual concerned.

(d) No granting of the right to commercial manufacturers or vendors to couple their support of programs for the blind with their sales promotion.

(e) No representation of products as made by the blind unless the agency employs blind persons to an extent constituting not less than 75 percent of the total personnel engaged in the direct labor of production of manufactured blindmade products. Temporary exceptions may be recognized in the case of experimentation with new products and/or processes.

Direct labor production means all work required for preparation, processing and packing, but not including supervision, administration, inspection, and shipping.

Definition of blindness: The term "blind individual" means an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.

*(f) Publishers of Braille periodicals should check their subscription lists at least once a year to ascertain whether or not their publications are still desired. 6. Fund-Raising Practice. In fund-raising:

(a) No payment of commissions for fund-raising.

(b) No mailing of unordered tickets or merchandise with a request for money in return. Exceptions may be recognized in the case of agencies which use and have used seals as a traditional part of their fund-raising techniques.

(c) No general telephone solicitation of the public.

(d) No entertainment by or in the name of an agency for the blind unless the complete net income from the sale of tickets is paid to the agency and unless the entertainment is in all others respects promoted in accordance with the principles set forth in the overall statement of principles.

(e) No solicition of funds in areas in which the agency soliciting renders no substantial service to the blind of that area.

** (f) No use of cannisters, coin boxes, collection boxes and such on the public streets and in public places; no "postman's walks" and similar fund-raising schemes.

*** (g) No approval to agencies which accept funds from other groups which employ any of the above-mentioned methods of solicitation, which violate the Code of Ethics.

*(h) Twenty-five percent of funds raised would seem sufficient for cost of fund raising, although as much as 40 percent might be justified in some cases. (Cost of office space may be excluded when computing percentage but bequests and income from investments should be excluded when computing total of moneys raised.)

*(i) All moneys raised must be spent for the purpose for which they are solicited. If a justifiable shift is to be made, then the donors should be notified. 7. Audit. Annual audit of books by a State, Federal, or independent certified accountant showing all income and disbursements in reasonable detail. 8. Budget. Detailed annual budget, translating program plans into financial terms.

Adopted, 1954, at Houston, Texas. *Adopted, 1955, at Quebec, Quebec.

***Adopted, 1956, at Los Angeles, California.

9. Activities. Annual report of work of the agency, in reasonable detail, including a brief, informative statement of principal sources of income and types of expenditures, or an assurance in writing that an audited financial statement may be secured from an accountant (whose name and address shall be furnished). 10. Information. Agreement to furnish the A.A.W.B. such information as will serve to establish the right of the agency to the Seal of Good Practice of the A.A.W.B. This to include a financial statement certified by the financial officer of the agency, in such reasonable detail as may be requested; information with respect to the budget of the agency; activities report and forecast of future programs and fund-raising projects. It is agreed that all such information shall remain confidential to the Certifying Committee of the A.A.W.B.

11. Appeal. In the event of disapproval of any application for the Seal of Good Practice any agency so disapproved shall have the right of appeal to the Board of Directors of the A.A.W.B. for a review and final decision.

REPORT OF LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

George E. Keane, Chairman, Assistant to Executive Director, Industrial Home for the Blind, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Your legislative committee met four times during the year and has been active in several areas of legislative effort, and I wish to extend to each member of the committee my own thanks as well as that of the association membership for the splendid contribution each has made to the committee's work.

Joining with the American Foundation for the Blind, we were represented before committees of Congress on several occasions, either in favor of or in opposition to bills under consideration. All such action was taken within the mandates of earlier conventions in the pursuit of a better way of life for blind persons.

Two measures in particular received special attention and action in this regard:

Amendments to title X, Social Security Act, were presented to the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives requesting extension of benefits through some of the liberal proposals included in Mr. King's bill (H.R. 5129) or, as an alternative, the minimum proposal contained in Mr. Jenkins' bill (H.R. 695).

For those not familiar with these two measures, they are concerned with exemptions of earned income and other assets of blind persons receiving public assistance. The Jenkins bill simply extends the $50 earned income by permitting additional earned income of 50 cents for every earned dollar until the total grant in assistance has been attained by that portion of earnings not exempted. Other liberalizing factors are included.

The King bill does not change the present basic exemption contained in title X, but does add liberalizing features including: The exemption of substantial holdings in real and personal property, of greater insurance values, of income from new business enterprises engaged in by blind persons which may be required for the improvement of the business, and other features, including a more liberal allocation of Federal grant money to the States. Your committee will continue its effort to effect such amendments to title X unless this convention should direct otherwise.

The second matter of urgent importance was the possibility of amending title II of the Social Security Act concerned with disability insurance. Your committee was concerned that, despite the fact that a provision has been written into the law creating disability insurance and establishing eligibility requirements and procedures, the amendment fell far short of the mandated proposal of our AAWB convention. In accordance with your directive, the legislative committee has attempted to secure amendments to title II that will provide full benefits to any person employed in covered industry who shall lose his sight, as of the time of the onset of blindness. Most of you are aware of the confusion and disappointment occasioned by the interpretations of "gainful and substantial employment" as interpreted by local OASI officers. To avoid this, and to be sure that the benefits secured would not be affected by earnings, we have requested the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives to write into any new amendment that such benefits shall be considered as though the applicant had reached age 72 interpreting it in the same way as that of actual benefits at age 72 which are not related to disability. Since this proposal was made to accomplish the purposes of your directive of the 1957 and earlier conventions, your committee will continue to urge this amendment.

Your committee has been asked by the National Rehabilitation Association to endorse a new rehabilitation bill, prepared by it and presented through its secretary general, E. B. Whitten, which would in effect broaden the interpretations of rehabilitation now prevalent by including training and assistance in self-care procedures for the severely handicapped. The NRA has requested AAWB support for its measure. While this does not specifically relate to blindness and may not affect our programs due to the categorical administration of work for the blind, your committee under the general directives of the convention to act for the welfare of the blind has given and will continue to give its support to this measure. This will be a new experience for us, since it has been work for the blind which has for the most port initiated liberalizing expansions of existing laws.

Your committee has tabled for future consideration two very important matters: First, possible amendment to the Vending Stand Act to avoid some of the present misinterpretations of this act pending further efforts by State and Federal executives to explore the possibility of adequate and more sympathetic interpretation; and second, a proposed library bill to improve and extend facilities for the distribution of reading matter for the blind by creating funds to be allocated to the States so that this distribution could be planned within each State. This measure was tabled pending further study by its proponent and others interested in this subject.

Most of you, I know, have been familiar with the unfortunate controversy created by the introduction of the Kennedy bill (S. 2411) during the current session of Congress. In accordance with your mandate of the 1957 convention, your committee has taken every feasible step to oppose this bill. Unless this convention directs otherwise, it will continue to do so should such opposition become necessary during the next Congress.

While many other measures were considered, it was clear that no significant legislation could be passed this year because of the unusual involvement of Congress in world affairs and in other investigatory procedures. It is hoped that we may have more success with the new Congress in 1959.

Respectfully submitted.

George E. Keane, Chairman; V. R. Carter; Francis J. Cummings,
Ph. D.; Alan T. Hunt; J. Arthur Johnson; Douglas C. MacFar-
land, Ph. D.; Charles M. See; Allan W. Sherman; Byron M.
Smith; Edward J. Waterhouse, Litt.D.; Charles Weber.

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