Evening star., 1949-07-28
By Chris Mothisen

| py NsNfS NotHtSGu
Although broad legislation on the subject
already has passed the Senate. the bitterest
phase of the controversy over the Federal
| aid-to-education program has developed in
| connection with a bill which has not even
been reported to either house of Congress
| from committee.
This is the Barden BILL sponsored by Rep
| resentative Barden, Democrat. of North
Carolina. The bill is stalled in the House
Education and Labor Committee because not
| enough members of the committee will vote
to send it to the House floor for action.
The pigeon-holed measure was intended
to be a substitute for the one the Senate
| passed.
Mr. Bardens bill seeks to make certain
that no Federal money given the States
under the assistance program goes to non
public schools This Is the principle that has
been the center of dispute combining legal,
philosophical and emotional elements.
The argument has involved prominent
personalities on both sides. The most recent
exchange to focus public attention on the
| bill has been that between Francis Cardinal
Spellman of New York and Mrs. Eleanor
| Roosevelt,
| Cardinal Spellman repeatedly has attacked
the Barden measure as "anti-Cathollc dis
elimination"
Mrs Roosevelt defending it as properly
|
cept of separation of church and state, has
herself been called anti-Catholic by the
Catholic prelate.
The Mccormack Priest "Compromise."
In an effort to reduce the heat of the con-
troversy, Majority Leader Mccormack Of the
House, Catholic. and Representative Priest
of Tennessee, the Democratic whip, 'Bap-
| tist, are working to bring out of another
committee wholly different bill.
This measure, similar to one also passed
| by the Senate represents limited Federal
aid program. aimed solely at improving the
| health of the Nations school children.
The school health bill was reported favor
ably to the House Commerce Committee
Monday by a subcommittee headed by Mr..
Priest. Nonpublic schools as well as tax
supported institutions, would be able. to par
ticipate in the grants.
This bill is not intended as 4 complete
substitute for either the Senate-approved
/ bill on overall Federal education aid, or for
the Barden bill 1t is called compromise.
but the compromise lies in the effort to get
1t to the House floor ahead Of any broader
school aid measure
Mr.. Mccormack, Mr. Priest and others
think participation of nonpublic schools in
health program would prove less-volatile
proposition than such participation in funds
for all services. including transportation for
pupils and provision of textbooks.
The idea is to bring to the floor pilot
model" Federal educational aid bill which
might placate Catholics and still not be
found too hard to take by defenders Of the
church-state separation thesis.
Barden Bill Poses the Issue.
| Members Of the House have been bonn
barded with communications on the Barden
bill. 1t has been demanded, on the one
hand. that they kill the discriminatory"
measure. On the other. there has been a
clanor that they not permit Catholic pres
| sure" to foil enactment of any school aid
| program.
II the health bill reaches the floor and is
approved, some of the House leaders rea-
son. it may be easier to bring the Barden
bill before the House There, opponents
would have opportunity to change it, by
amendment, to conform to the Senate
passed overall aid bill. which would leave
to the States whether nonpublic schools
| could participate.
In the meantime, number Of House
members have Joined Representative Sims,
! Democrat OF South Carolina, in signing a
| petition to bring the broad Senate bill to
the floor. The total of signers, however,
still is well below the 21S needed to get the
measure out Of the Education and Labor
Committee without the consent Of that
committee.
What the Bills Provide.
Here are the principal features Of the
three bills involved in the controversy:
u. The overall grant-in-aid program ap-
proved by the Senate: This measure is called
| the Educational Finance Act Of 1949 It
would authorize expenditure of $500 900 900
| annually for Federal grants to the States at
the rate of IS per child of school age plus
additional money, up to 500 per pupil, for
the poorer States.
The Senators admittedly tried to avoid
meeting head-on the issues OF Federal assist
ance to racially segregated schools and to
| parochial and private schools.
| With respect to segregated schools, the
Senate bill merely would require the States
to make fair and equitable" apportion-
| ment Of the money as between white and
colored. The bill contemplates q minimum
annual expenditure Of SIS per pupil by the
States. including the Federal grants
| Taking cognizance Of Supreme Court rul-
1ngs that nonpublic schools cannot be sup
ported with public funds. the Senate, never
theless, provided that private and parochial
institutions could get money for bus trans
portation and any other services for which
State law would permit State funds to be
| used.
The Senate Labor and Public Welfare
Committee noted that the Supreme Court
had drawn a distinction between transpor-
tation Of pupils, for example. and outright
support of ponpublic school.
Barden bill supporters, however, contend
the Senate bill compromises the church.
state separation principle.
History and Purpose Of Barden Bill.
& The Barden bill: Mr. Barden headed
subcommittee to which the Senate bill was
referred. The subcommittee decided to put
it aside and recommend to the fun commit
tee Mr.. Bardens substitute.
The Barden bill would prohibit Federal
aid to parochial schools. It would ban use
Of Federal dollars for transportation or
health program for parochial school pupils.
The bill contains provision which would
permit the use of the court Injunction to