THE BILL WILKERSON HEARING AND SPEECH CENTER
NASHVILLE 4, TENNESSEE

W. W. BERRY, PRESIDENT { L
W. O. VAUGHAN, M. D., VICE-PRES. \,

GRANVILLE S. BOURNE, SECRETARY : N r
CULLEN DOUGLASS, TREASURER

W. W. WILKERSON, M. D., CHM. OF THE BOARD | | y K 4 December 3l, 1958 aN

eRe r

Congressman John E. Fogarty we on oe H - ee VM #
House Office Building j V K.
Washington, D. C. awe Z

Mt a ‘«
Dear Congressman Fogarty: a we on = N Me ae

Ae
(ir

J t AY

Ay

Upon receiving a letter from you, the great humanitarian, stating that you would
introduce a bill for the training of personnel in the hearing and speech field in i

the next Congress, I realized that the year of 1959 would be my finest. The fact A
that you will introduce the bill assures its passage. On behalf of the millions

of persons handicapped with hearing and speech defects, I give you my sincerest

thanks. Words are inadequate to express the great good that will be done for this pl mh
nation. yY jw
At the same time that I sent you the proposed bill, I requested the State Attorney- - \
General's office to review the bill, and he rendered the following opinion:

That he had erred in that the content of the last sentence in Section 2, beginning pat ie
with the word, "However," would be unconstitutional, as it would be impossible

to require a city, county or state to utilize all or any specific amount of funds

for educational purposes. He stated that under such a provision, Tennessee, V

and he was sure many other states, would be unable to participate in this program. [7
However, he further stated the well-known fact that it would be necessary for

cities, counties, or states to appropriate funds in the amount decided by the State
Legislatures, et cetera, for the matching of Federal funds under this program.

Under Section 4, sub-heading E, he stated that you might wish to enlarge this

program to include not only the Master of Science level, but also the Doctorate
level. In these changes I concur.

As
‘q ah

It is recognized by those who know of your great work that you need no help

in formulating such programs. I, too, realize this. However, because of my
intense interest, I must offer you my services as you may see fit to use them. I
shall be glad to come to Washington to be of any possible help in drawing such

a bill and to discuss the matter publicly or privately with the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare, Congressmen and Senators. I am further prepared to have
this program discussed at grass roots levels with Congressmen and Senators by
contacting the vast number of people interested in such a program in every state

of the Union. I am further prepared to have an outstanding group of persons,
whatever number you may designate, to appear before committees at public hearings.
Am I correct in assuming that the bill will come before your committee in the House?

I would also like to know the name of the committee dealing with such problems in
the Senate.
page two Congressman John E. Fogarty December 31, 1958

You may rest assured that I realize my inadequacies in handling national legislation,
and all of my suggestions or offers of help in obtaining passage of the Legislature
may not be needed. I am, therefore, dependent upon you for guidance and
instructions, and will do only that which you advise. Recognizing that the bill
which you will introduce will be your handiwork and comes from your intense interest
in humanity, I want your permission to tell people that you will introduce such
legislation, but that I do not know exactly what the bill will contain.

I would appreciate your secretary forwarding to me copies of the legislation which |
you will introduce as soon as it is completed. As busy as you are, letters from
your secretary answering these questions would be most acceptable.

Yours very faithfully,

; -

J / /
Ath flthaweovfe/
W. W. Wilkerson, Jr. M. D.

WWW /aap