Of necessity, I can only speak for myself; however, our experience in this field has been very limited. We do have civil rights statutes in force and there have been a few successful prosecutions. This leads me to the conclusion that we, in North Dakota, do not have the problems that some sister States might; consequently, I see no compelling need for a Federal authority in this area. Of course, merely setting up the Commission does not solve the problem and the ultimate decision lies with the Congress. I trust that this information might be of service to you. HELGI JOHANNESON, Attorney General. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., Chairman, Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: I am pleased to submit my views with respect to Senate bills 1117 and 1219 relating to the extension of the Commission on Civil Rights. I strongly recommend the continuation of the life of this Commission, and particularly favor Senate bill 1219 which would make the Commission a permanent agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government. The most serious and insidious denial of the rights guaranteed by our Constitution result from political, economic, and social discrimination. Making the Commission on Civil Rights a permanent part of our Federal Government would be a great step forward in overcoming the abuses and denials of the equal protection of the law because of a person's race, religious, or racial origin. Although I urge the enactment of these statutes, it is my opinion that the authority contained therein should be extended to permit the handling of specific complaints in areas other than those involving voting. Although both bills would empower the Commission to provide advice and technical assistance with regard to equal protection of the law in all civil rights areas, they are silent on such vital and important matters as the right of Government officials to intervene in civil rights cases. They are also silent with respect to such matters as housing, employment, public accommodation, and education. There should be provisions for hearings on these subjects with the right to issue orders enforceable in the courts. Sincerely yours, WALTER E. ALESSANDRONI, Attorney General. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Providence, April 30, 1963. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 24, 1963, together with copies of the two bills introduced in the U.S. Senate with reference to the Commission on Civil Rights. At your request, I have studied both bills in detail and while in no way professing to be an expert on the question in issue, it is my opinion that S. 1117, the administration bill, appears more desirable and more effective than Senator Saltonstall's bill, S. 1219. As I have indicated to you in prior answers to your correspondence, I am firmly convinced of the necessity of guaranteeing to every citizen of this Nation, the right to the secret ballot. I realize fully some of the practical difficulties attendant upon the passage of legislation to accomplish this purpose and for that reason, I would respectfully suggest that S. 1117 can certainly be termed a step in the right direction. You, of course, have my consent to the insertion of my comments in the published record of the hearing to be held on either or both of the bills in question. Very truly yours, J. JOSEPH NUGENT, Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr. U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. JULY 9, 1963. DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: In your letter of June 14, 1963, you raise the question of possible duplication between the work of this Division and the clearinghouse and technical assistance functions which would be given the Commission on Civil Rights under S. 1117 and S. 1219. As you know, the omnibus administration bill, S. 1731, contains the same provisions as S. 1117. I can assure the members of your committee that the duties and functions of the Commission and the Civil Rights Division would be quite distinct. I should like also to relate these duties to those of the Community Relations Service which the administration has proposed in S. 1731. The Division's primary responsibility is to conduct litigation to enforce civil rights statutes. Current and cumulative information, both factual and legal, on such matters as bombings, sit-ins, police brutality, rejection of Negro voters, private desegregation suits, and local and State legislation affecting civil rights, is basic to this work. The Division, therefore, maintains files of pertinent newspaper clippings and legal case materials which are then used in connection with litigation. These files have, on occasion, permitted us to provide information to other Federal agencies and to Members of Congress, and we have been happy to do so. But this is incidental. The real purpose of the information compiled is to provide the Division with the kind of specialized “library” which it needs for its specialized legal work. It is not a "clearinghouse” and it is not prepared to act in that capacity. Our work with local officials, to which the Attorney General referred, is also closely related to our primary duty of litigation. As the Attorney General stated, “* * * we have reopened and maintained communication with Negro and white leaders in the South and the North. As a result, we have been able to use our good offices effectively to mediate a great number of disputes, permitting considerable progress toward ending discrimination." These efforts have enabled us to avoid litigation in many instances. But we do not provide “technical assistance" and we have no staff members who are regularly assigned to mediation or advisory duties. The administration has therefore proposed not only the expansion of the duties of the Commission on Civil Rights but also the establishment of a Community Relations Service which could enter into racially troubled areas and carry on the tasks of mediation and extrajudicial settlement of local problems. The proposed legislation expanding the duties of the Commission on Civil Rights would authorize that agency to provide information, advice and assistance upon the request of a private or public agency. This would be a logical extension of the present investigative and reporting duties of the Commission. The Commission has held hearings, collected a large amount of information, and published useful and valuable reports concerning many facets of racial discrimination and civil rights. The Civil Rights Division, on the other hand, does not hold hearings and does not publish reports or compile extensive bibliographical material. We find the publications of the Commission most helpful in our work. The functions of our agencies, as I have stated, are separate and distinct and the proposed extension of duties of the Commission has no counterpart in the Civil Rights Division. If I may be of any further assistance to your committee, please feel free to call upon me at any time. Sincerely, BURKE MARSHALL, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. JULY 9, 1963. Hon. ROBERT F. KENNEDY, DEAR MR. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I would appreciate your apprising the subcommittee of the total number of complaints referred by the Commission on Civil Rights to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Specifically, the subcommittee would like to know the nature of the complaints and the action taken upon the complaints by the Department. The subcommittee will appreciate your prompt attention to this request. Sincerely yours, Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., Chairman. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: This is in reply to your letter of July 9, 1963, requesting information concerning the number and nature of complaints referred to this Department by the Commission on Civil Rights and the action taken upon such complaints by this Department. I have examined the statistical records kept by the Department to determine whether information you seek would be available, and have concluded that in order to provide the information you seek it would be necessary to review in detail each of the files relating to the more than 3,000 complaints received annually from various sources. This is due to the fact that our machine listings contain only a single source for each complaint whereas, in fact, many complaints are received simultaneously, or approximately so, from more than one source. To provide you the statistics obtained from the mechanized records would be misleading; to obtain them by individually researching all our files would greatly overburden our limited staff and interfere with essential functions. While I would like to be of assistance to you in this matter, practical difficulties make that impossible. Sincerely, BURKE MARSHALL, Civil Rights Division. 42. U.S. CODE § 1975 CHAPTER 20A.-CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION 1975. Commission on Civil Rights. (a) Establishment. There is created in the executive branch of the Government a Commission on Civil Rights (hereinafter called the "Commission"). (b) Composition; appointment. The Commission shall be composed of six members who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than three of the members shall at any one time be of the same political party. (c) Chairman and Vice Chairman. The President shall designate one of the members of the Commission as Chairman and one as Vice Chairman. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman in the absence or disability of the Chairman, or in the event of a vacancy in that office. (d) Vacancies. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the same manner, and subject to the same limitation with respect to party affiliations as the original appointment was made.. (e) Quorum. Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. (Pub. L. 85-315, pt. I, § 101, Sept. 9, 1957, 71 Stat. 634.) SHORT TITLE Section 161 of Pub. L. 85-315 provided that Pub. L. 85-315, which enacted sections 1975-1975e and 1995 of this title, and section 295-1 of Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees, amended section 1971 of this title, and sections 1343 and 1861 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and repealed section 1993 of this title, should be popularly known as the "Civil Rights Act of 1957." 20-982 0-63-23 1975a. Rules of procedure. (a) Opening statement. The Chairman or one designated by him to act as Chairman at a hearing of the Commission shall announce in an opening statement the subject of the hearing. (b) Copy of rules. A copy of the Commission's rules shall be made available to the witness before the Commission. (c) Attendance of counsel. Witnesses at the hearings may be accompanied by their own counsel for the purpose of advising them concerning their constitutional rights. (d) Censure and exclusion of counsel. The Chairman or Acting Chairman may punish breaches or order and decorum and unprofessional ethics on the part of counsel, by censure and exclusion from the hearings. (e) Defamatory, degrading or incriminating evidence. If the Commission determines that evidence or testimony at any hearing may tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, it shall (1) receive such evidence or testimony in executive session; (2) afford such person an opportunity voluntarily to appear as a witness; and (3) receive and dispose of requests from such person to subpena additional witnesses. (f) Requests for additional witnesses. Except as provided in this section and section 1975d (f) of this title, the Chairman shall receive and the Commission shall dispose of requests to subpena additional witnesses. (g) Release of evidence taken in executive session. No evidence or testimony taken in executive session may be released or used in public sessions without the consent of the Commission. Whoever releases or uses in public without the consent of the Commission evidence or testimony taken in executive session shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned for not more than one year. (h) Submission of written statements. In the discretion of the Commission, witnesses may submit brief and pertinent sworn statements in writing for inclusion in the record. The Commission is the sole judge of the pertinency of testimony and evidence adduced at its hearings. (i) Transcripts. Upon payment of the cost thereof, a witness may obtain a transcript copy of his testimony given at a public session or, if given at an executive session, when authorized by the Commission. (j) Witness fees. A witness attending any session of the Commission shall receive $4 for each day's attendance and for the time necessarily occupied in going to and returning from the same, and 8 cents per mile for going from and returning to his place of residence. Witnesses who attend at points so far removed from their re spective residences as to prohibit return thereto from day to day shall be entitled to an additional allowance of $12 per day for expenses of subsistence, including the time necessarily occupied in going to and returning from the place of attendance. Mileage payments shall be tendered to the witness upon service of a subpena issued on behalf of the Commission or any subcommittee thereof. (k) Restriction on issuance of subpena. The Commission shall not issue any subpena for the attendance and testimony of witnesses or for the production of written or other matter which would require the presence of the party subpenaed at a hearing to be held outside of the State, wherein the witness is found or resides or transacts business (Pub. L. 85-315, pt. 1, § 102, Sept. 9, 1957, 71 Stat. 634.) 1975b. Compensation of members. (a) Each member of the Commission who is not otherwise in the service of the Government of the United States shall receive the sum of $50 per day for each day spent in the work of the Commission, shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary travel expenses, and shall receive a per diem allowance of $12 in lieu of actual expenses for subsistence when away from his usual place of residence, inclusive of fees or tips to porters and stewards. (b) Each member of the Commission who is otherwise in the service of the Government of the United States shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for such other service, but while engaged in the work of the Commission shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary travel expenses, and shall receive a per diem allowance of $12 in lieu of actual expenses for subsistence when away from his usual place of residence, inclusive of fees or tips to porters and stewards. (Pub. L. 85-315, pt. I, § 103, Sept. 9, 1957, 71 Stat. 635.) § 1975c. Duties; reports; termination. (a) The Commission shall (1) investigate allegations in writing under oath or affirmation that certain citizens of the United States are being deprived of their right to vote and have that vote counted by reason of their color, race, religion, or national origin; which writing, under oath or affirmation, shall set forth the facts upon which such belief or beliefs are based; (2) study and collect information concerning legal developments constituting a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution; and (3) appraise the laws and policies of the Federal Government with respect to equal protection of the laws under the Constitution. (b) The Commission shall submit interim reports to the President and to the Congress at such times as either the Commission or the President shall deem desirable, and shall submit to the President and to the Congress a final and comprehensive report of its activities, findings, and recommendations not later than 2 years from September 9, 1957. (c) Sixty days after the submission of its final report and recommendations the Commission shall cease to exist. (Pub. L. 85-315, pt. I, § 104, Sept. 9, 1957, 71 Stat. 635.) 1975d. Powers. (a) Staff director; appointment and compensation; personnel and services. There shall be a full-time staff director for the Commission who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and who shall receive compensation at a rate, to be fixed by the President, not in excess of $22,500 a year. The President shall consult with the Commission before submitting the nomination of any person for appointment to the position of staff director. Within the limitations of its appropriations, the Commission may appoint such other personnel as it deems advisable, in accordance with the civil service and classification laws, and may procure services as authorized by section 55z of Title 5, but at rates for individuals not in excess of $50 per diem. (b) Services of voluntary or uncompensated personnel. The Commission shall not accept or utilize services of voluntary or uncompensated personnel, and the term "whoever" as used in paragraph (g) of section 1975a of this title shall be construed to mean a person whose services are compensated by the United States. (c) Advisory committees. The Commission may constitute such advisory committees within States composed of citizens of that State and may consult with governors, attorneys general, and other representatives of State and local governments, and private organizations, as it deems advisable. (d) Exemption from conflict-of-interest statutes. Members of the Commission, and members of advisory committees constituted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, shall be exempt from the operation of sections 281, 283, 284, 434, and 1914 of Title 18, and section 99 of Title 5. (e) Cooperation With Federal agencies. All Federal agencies shall cooperate fully with the Commission to the end that it may effectively carry out its functions and duties. (f) Hearings; issuance of subpenas. The Commission, or on the authorization of the Commission any subcommittee of two or more members, at least one of whom shall be of each major political party, may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and act at such times and places as the Commission or such authorized subcommittee may deem advisable. Subpenas for the attendance and testimony |