Plenary Session Transcripts

Governors Attending:

Guests:

Discussion Subjects:

Unicameral legislature of Nebraska; conflicting tax sources; increasing scope of federal authority; should states surrender authority to the federal government in the conduct of schools?; obligation of the states in relief and unemployment; state cooperation through the Council of State Governments; Delaware Basin and related subjects; interstate cooperation with respect to flood control and flood control compacts; interstate cooperation in crime control; and report of the National Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor

Points of Interest:

Governor Robert Cochran of Nebraska talked about the pros and cons of the unicameral legislature that had been established in his state in 1934 by amendment to the state constitution.

Legislation was pending in Congress at this time to appropriate $100 million in federal aid for education.

Governors discussed mutual concern about whether the federal government's venture into the realm of education would encroach on states' rights. Governors discussed the report of the National Committee on Prisons and Prison Labor. It was mentioned that the Supreme Court had issued a ruling in 1937 prohibiting the interstate transport of prison-made goods into a state that prohibited the ownership, sale, or use of prison-made goods, and requiring clear labeling of prison-made goods as to sender and recipient. [Kentucky Whip and Collar Co. v. Illinois Cent. R. Co., 299 U.S. 334 (1937)] Governor Leslie Miller of Wyoming said that because prison-made goods in ordinary commerce had been outlawed, some states were permitting the manufacture and exchange of prison-made goods for use in tax-supported institutions.

When the conference ended, Governors traveled by train to Washington to meet with President Roosevelt.

Memorable Quotes:

Governor Robert Cochran of Nebraska said the following about the new unicameral legislature in Nebraska: I am frequently asked my opinion as to the merits of the one house legislative system, to which I usually make the same reply I made to a Washington correspondent....I told him...that he should ask me this question eight or ten years from now, by which time I should be able to give him an intelligent answer...it must of necessity be considered an experiment which cannot be judged by one session....the advantages...appear to be principally these. It comes more nearly to fixing legislative responsibility on each legislative member; it eliminates the conference committee...[i]t makes possible public hearings on each bill; [and] measures...can be passed more expeditiously...the dangerous points...appear to be the non-political feature, and...the absence of veto power.....and the possibility of cliques, or blocs developing, by those only interested in a special field of legislation."

Governor Olin Johnston of South Carolina said with respect to federal aid to education: "...there is no reason why a national department of education could not be organized and operated to assist education in the several states without in any way conflicting with the sacred right of states." But he also said: "It would be a bureau like no other Bureau we have ever seen. It would probably be under a cabinet officer...This bureau would move to adopt standards and theories and ideas, and probably propaganda, which would be packaged in capsules for the public school system of America...irrespective of what might be prevailing conditions in any given state."

Resolution Adopted:
Calling for a general conference on conflicting taxation between different levels of government.