Evening star., 1961-05-24
Conant Views
JobIess Youth

By HARVEY CLRW
Star Staff Writer

DR.. James B. Conant said
today that unemployment
among the youth Of our large
cities is social dynamite" and
may require a Federal program
OF public works to alleviate it.
The noted educator told the
opening session of the Confer
ence on Unemployed Out-of-
School Youth that the jobless
rate among such youths has
reached about 20 per cent. He
characterized this as "an ex-
ploSive situation. 1t is social
dynamite"
Unless local management
and labor take up the chal-
lenge, 1t may be necessary for
Congress to appropriate funds
for public works programs to
alleviate the problem of un-
employment among youths 16
to 81 in the large Cities" he
said.
An assurance of early Gov
ernment action in the youth
employment field was given the
conference by Labor Secretary
Goldberg, one of three cabinet
members to address the group.
Message to Congress
Mr.. Goldberg said President
Kennedy will send a message
to Congress tomorrow contain
ing proposals for increasing
employment opportunities for
youths. He did not specify the
messages contents, but indi-
Gated it may include something
on job training as we'll as
some kind Of program that
links the energy and presently
wasted manpower of unem-
ployed young men with the
needs in our natural resources
and conservation programs"
Other areas suitable for Gov
ernment action, he said, are
better law enforcement, better
job placement programs and
"a stepping up Of the drive on
prejudicial hiring and men,
bership policies in business and
labor"
Mr.. Goldberg, Attorney Gen.
eral Robert Kennedy and We'll
fare Secretary Ribicoff are
members of the newly formed
Presidents Committee on Juve-
nile Delinquency and Youth
Crime. The latter two were
scheduled to address the con-
ference this afternoon. Vice
President johnson will speak
tonight.
DR.. Conant, president emeri-
tus Of Harvard University who |
is now studying American high
schools for the Carnegie Foun-
dation. is chairman of the
youth conference and it's key
note speaker.
Aims TO Increase Jobs
Some 400 educators, social
workers and labor specialists /
are attending the 3-day meet
ing at the Statler Hilton Hotel. !
An outgrowth of the 1860 !
White House Conference on
Children and Youth, its aim is
to develop ways to increase en-
ployment among urban youth !
who have left school.
In his keynote address, DR..
Conant said unemployment |
among youths under 20 is four
times greater than the rate for
all workers. He said this has
serious implications for the
Nations crime rate. the econ
omy and the fight against COM
muniSm.
He blamed the situation upon
a variety Of factors, but singled
out the existence of large urban
Slums and discrimination
against minority groups as the
largest contributors.
What was especially shock
ing to me in my visits to the
large cities in the last school
year was the discovery that the |
employment of youth is liter
ally nobody's affair" he con-
tinued. mo single agency in
any of the cities has the data
as to the unemployment picture |
in that city"
DR.. Conan'ts warning was
supported by another speaker.
Evan Clague. commissioner of
labor statistics fer the Depart !
ment of Labor. who said that |
this decade would see as million
youths reaching The age group |
1920.