Federal-state relations; organization and administration of state governments; natural resources; education; and organization and administration of penal systems

Governors discussed assuming greater responsibility from the federal government and what it would take to be prepared.  They talked about organization of state government, including the question of how much power the Governor should have. They also talked about the short versus long ballot and the proliferation of boards and commissions over which Governors had no control. But some Governors expressed the belief that the people should have the power to elect high-level officials, while others did not, and several expressed the desire for compromise (e.g., elections of Secretary of State and Attorney General and appointment of other officials).

At this time, President Eisenhower had signed legislation creating a temporary commission (known as the Kestnbaum Commission--or the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations) to study state-federal relations.  In his speech to the Governors, the President talked about the division of responsibility between levels of government, but also made pointed reference to why support for expenditures to protect Indochina was important.  Specifically, in addition to espousing the domino theory, he stated that the U.S. must protect our power and ability to secure needed resources from the Indonesian territory and Southeast Asia.

Governors discussed the baby boom and its expected effect on schools, the recruitment and training of teachers, and the need to improve the condition of school buildings.  Mention was made of the Southern Regional Education Board, under which, for example, rather than incur the outlays necessary to build and maintain a veterinary school, Kentucky opted to enter into a contract to help its students study at existing veterinary schools elsewhere within the regional board's jurisdiction.  Governors also talked about the extent to which states should aid local educational operation.

Governors discussed prison riots and the need to eliminate overcrowding and provide prisoners with meaningful activity.  The subject of equitable sentencing for comparable crimes was also mentioned.  And they discussed rehabilitation, parole, and the general treatment of prisoners with a view toward preventing recidivism.

Governor Dan Thornton of Colorado said: "...one of the things that we should concentrate on in our thinking is to try to work out a system whereby a pensioner might engage in partial employment and be able to keep part of his income without having it deducted from his pension...I believe that by having these people working and doing casual employment, seasonal work, eventually we could relieve our tax situation and make these people more self-sufficient, which seems like a good American principle."

Governor John Fine of Pennsylvania mentioned a case in which the FBI investigated the death of an inmate in a Pennsylvania mental institution and the state was being held liable, under 18 USC 242, rather than the individual staff member who was involved. (See resolution below)

Former Governor Val Peterson, now federal civil defense administrator, said "Our military is doing a good job, and is working hard at an attempt to defend America adequately from a Soviet attack, but the fact of the matter is that the offensive in the air is way ahead of the defense...this country is wide open to attack, and should the Soviets decide to strike, they have the capability today to make a devastating attack upon the United States, and they will have a tremendously increased capability one year from now, or five years from now, or ten years from now, both in terms of long-range bombers and in terms of an adequate supply of atomic bombs."

Governor Thomas Dewey of New York said: "I can remember Governors coming here year after year and telling me they spend 70 percent of their time each morning picking the daggers out of their backs that have been thrust there overnight by the other ambitious elected officials on the state ticket. It seems a little ludicrous that a state government shouldn't be a team. The only way I know to make it so is in accordance with the Federal Constitution. I don't see how the people of the United States could well elect a Director of the Mint or a Director of Mines, or a Secretary of State, or all the other highly specialized jobs, and I think the same applies in the state."

George Humphrey, Secretary of the Treasury, said: "We realize that during the past twenty years particularly the federal government has come into many fields, which under the Constitution are the primary responsibility of states and local governments. This has resulted in duplication and waste...A major area of this sort of development has been the growth of federal grants-in-aid for more than thirty programs at present...In some cases the federal government has apportioned fixed amounts among the states; in others it meets state expenditures; and in a few it finances the entire state expenditure. While these grants have greatly stimulated some state activities, they have complicated state finances and often made it difficult for the states to provide funds for other important services. It is the hope of this Administration that the new Commission on Intergovernmental Relations will come up with recommendations for straightening out the lines of authority...It is our hope, and I am sure it is your hope, that we can obtain a sounder relationship between all divisions of government in the nation."

Governor Johnston Murray of Oklahoma said: "I would like to point out that in the decade between 1970 and 1980, the increased use of oil in [the] continental United States will be about 109 percent over that which was used in 1950. What I'm getting at is [that it] is up to us to encourage all of our states to seek and keep on seeking oil."

Governor William Beardsley of Iowa said: "We have had a rather novel experience in our state. We have the first educationally-owned television station in the nation, and we have the feeling that through the process of time...these facilities can be used materially in expanding educational opportunities for youth of our state as well as in the field of adult education..."

But in reaction, Governor Alfred E. Driscoll of New Jersey said: "Is it possible for governmental agencies to confine themselves to straight dissemination of the facts, or will they inevitably get into the field of propaganda?" James Bennett, Administrator of Prisons for the U.S. Department of Justice, pointed out that: "...prisons are at the bottom of the administrative and financial totem pole. They are the last to get consideration...We have no alumni to go out and get assistance for us; we have no satisfied customers to come and help us. We just have to depend upon a riot now and then to bring attention to the problems of the prisoner and the institution where he is held."

Selected Resolutions Adopted:
(1) Endorsing a report by the Council of State Governments (CSG) recommending interstate cooperation in holding periodic mental health conferences and an interstate clearinghouse to exchange information on the prevention and treatment of mental illness, as well as requesting CSG to organize an interstate conference to develop working plans on executing these proposals; (2) requesting CSG to study and report back on the problem of lack of uniformity of state statutes and statutory interpretation with respect to the imposition of taxes on the net income of corporations, with a view toward attaining uniformity and equity relative to the apportionment of net income among states in which the corporations did business; (3) urging review and clarification of 18 USC 242 to ensure that it would not empower federal officials to interfere with the lawful and proper operation of state institutions [18 USC 242, as originally enacted, made it a crime--punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or by death--for a law enforcement official or care giver to willfully deprive someone of rights or privileges protected by the Constitution]; (4) directing CSG to make its facilities available to the new Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and urging that early consideration be given to estate tax inequity, withdrawal by the federal government from gasoline taxes, participation by the states in planning and execution of future national programs for the development and utilization of natural resources, and maintenance of the National Guard; and (5) calling upon citizens to consider the idea of purchasing Savings Bonds.