Conant Backs Federal Help To Schools at Mayor Parley

Citing the current "crisis of public education," President Conant yesterday urged passage of Senator Robert Taft's bill to extend federal financial aid to schools at the U.S, Conference of Mayers now meeting in New York.

"Many people are at first sight suspicious of federal aid bills," President Conant told the Waldorf-Astoria conclave, but asserted that in the Taft measure--Senate Bill 472--"the abstention from any degree of federal control over the states is painstakingly detailed."

He also landed the bill for its section which specifies that states must provide their own education up to capacity if they are to remain eligible for federal aid. "This requires a substantial effort on the part of each state, and a reasonable concern for the education of all its children, regardless of race or color."

President Conant underscored the need for aid to public schools below the high school level, where many sections "do not have the resources to provide a satisfactory education."