Typed up by Jamie Coville.


JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
(COMIC BOOKS)




HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
EIGHTY-THIRD CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
PURSUANT TO
S. 190

----------

INVESTIGATION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE
UNITED STATES
----------
APRIL 21, 22, AND JUNE 4, 1954
----------

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary






UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1954




COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

WILLIAM LANGER, North Dakota, Chairman

ALEXANDER WILEY, Wisconsin
WILLIAM E. JENNER, Indiana
ARTHUR V. WATKINS, Utah
ROBERT C. HENDRICKSON, New Jersey
EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illinois
HERMAN WELKER, Idaho
JOHN MARSHALL BUTLER, Maryland

PAT McCARRAN, Nevada
HARLEY M. KILGORE, West Virginia
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi
ESTES KEFAUVER, Tennessee
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina
THOMAS C. HENNINGS, Jr., Missouri
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas

------

SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE UNITED STATES

ROBERT C. HENDRICKSON, New Jersey, Chairman

WILLIAM LANGER, North Dakota

ESTES KEFAUVER, Tennessee
THOMAS C. HENNINGS, Jr., Missouri

HERBERT J. HANNOCH, Chief Counsel 1

-------------------

   1. Herbert Wilton Beaser succeeded Herbert J. Hannoch as Chief Counsel to the subcommittee on May 1, 1954.



CONTENTS

----------------

Page

Statement of  Fulton, Hon. E.D., Member, House of Commons, Canada ----------------------------------- 248 
Statement submitted by --
    Eichhorn, William A., executive vice-president, American News Co., New York, N. Y. -------------- 279
    Fiske, Joseph J., education director, Cartoonics, New York, N.Y. -------------------------------- 166
    Kaplon, J. Jerome, chairman, juvenile delinquency committee, Union County Bar Association,
      Union County, N.J. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 293
Testimony of ---
    Appel, Charles, proprietor of Angus Drug, St. Paul, Minn ---------------------------------------- 233
    Bender, Dr. Lauretta, senior psychiatrist, Bellevue Hospital, New York, N.Y. -------------------- 151
    Black, Samuel, vice president, Atlantic Coast Independent Distributors Association,
      Springfield, Mass ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 266
    Chamberlain, Harold, circulation director, Independent News Co., New York, N.Y. ----------------- 222
    Clendenen, Richard, executive director, United States Senate Subcommittee To Investigate
      Juvenile Delinquency --------------------------------------------------------------------------   3
    Davis, George B., president, Kable News Co., New York, N.Y.-------------------------------------- 236
    Dybwad, Gunnar, executive director, Child Study Association of America, New York, N.Y. ---------- 119
      Eichhorn, William A.,. executive vice president, American News Co., New York, N.Y. ------------ 274
    Fitzpatrick, Assmblyman James A., chairman, New York State Joint Legislative Committee To
      Study the Publication of Comics --------------------------------------------------------------- 202
    Freedman, Benjamin, chairman of the board, Newsdealers Association of Greater New York and
      America --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 215
    Friedman, William K., attorney and publisher New York, N.Y. ------------------------------------- 146
      Froehlich, Nomroe, Jr., business manager, Magazine Management Co., New York, N.Y. ------------- 167
    Gaines, William M., publisher, Entertaining Comics Group, New York, N.Y. ------------------------  97
    Kaplon, J. Jerome, chairman, juvenile delinquency committee, Union County Bar Association,
      Union County, N.J. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 280
    Kelly, Walt, artist, creator of Pogo, president, National Cartoonists Society, accompanied
      by Milton Caniff, artist, creator of Steve Canyon and Joseph Musial, educational
      director, National Cartoonists Society, New York, N.Y. ---------------------------------------- 109
    Meyer, Mrs. Helen, vice president, Dell Publications, accompanied by Matthew Murphy, editor,
      Dell Publications, New York, N.Y. ------------------------------------------------------------- 195
    Peck, Dr. Harris director, bureau of mental health services, children's court, New York City
      count of domestic relations, New York, N.Y. ---------------------------------------------------  63
    Richter, William, counsel, News Dealers Association of Greater New York, N.Y. ------------------- 183
    Roth Samuel, publisher, New York, N.Y. ---------------------------------------------------------- 195
    Schultz, Henry Edward, general counsel, Association of Comics Magazine Publishers, Inc.,
      New York, N.Y. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------  69
    Segal, Axel, president, Stravon Publications, New York, N.Y. ------------------------------------ 189
    Wertham, Dr. Frederic, psychiatrist, director, Lafargue Clinic, New York, N.Y. -----------------   79

EXHIBITS

[Number and summary of exhibits]

Page

1. Letter of Dr. Robert Felix, director of the Institute of Mental Health, addressed to Mr. 
     Richard Clendenen, executive director, Senate Subcommittee to Investigate 
     Juvenile Delinquency --------------------------------------------------------------------------2  10 
2. Survey made by the Library of Congress on Crime Movies, Crime Comic Books, and 
     Crime Radio Programs as a Cause of Crime ------------------------------------------------------2  12 
3. Copy of article The Comics and Delinquency: Case of Scapegoat, appearing in December 
     1949 issue of the Journal of Educational Sociology --------------------------------------------2  23
4a. New York State Legislative Document (1951) No. 15, Report of the New York State 
      Joint Legislative Committee To Study the Publication of Comics -------------------------------1  28 
4b. New York State Legislative Documents (1952) No.64, Report of the New York State 
      Joint Legislative Committee To Study the Publication of Comics -------------------------------1  28 
4c. New York State Legislative Documents (1954) No.37, Report of the New York State  
      Joint Legislative Committee To Study the Publication of Comics -------------------------------1  28
5. Copy of Brain Washing: American Style -----------------------------------------------------------2  28
6a. Publishers whose comic books have been evaluated by the Committee on Evaluation of 
      Comic Books, Cincinnati, Ohio ----------------------------------------------------------------2  36 
6b. An Evaluation of Comic Books, July 1953, printed by the Committee on Evaluation of 
      Comic Books, Cincinnati, Ohio ----------------------------------------------------------------2  40 
7. 555 Comic Magazines Rated, reprint from Parent's magazine ---------------------------------------2  45
8a. Letter of Association of Comic Magazine Publishers, Inc., addressed to all publishers of  

      comic magazine alleging that comic magazines are communistic ---------------------------------2 60 8b. Copy of Are You a Red Dupe? --------------------------------------------------------------------2 62 9. Comics Code adopted by the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers ----------------------------2 70 10a. What Parents Don't Know About Comic Books, reprint from Ladies' Home Journal of November 1953 -1 90 10b. Comic Books -- Blueprints for Delinquency, an article appearing in the Readers Digest, May 1954 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 90 10c. Bound Copy of Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Frederic Wertham -------------------------------1 90 11. Copies of educational comic books published by Entertaining Comics Group -----------------------1 97 12. Copies of crime and horror comic books published by Entertaining Comics Group ------------------1 105 13. Code of the National Cartoonists Society -------------------------------------------------------1 116 14. Comic Books Help Curb Delinquency, an article appearing in The New York Times, April 17, 1954 -2 117 15. Looking at the Comics: A Survey by the Children's Book Committee of the Child Study       Association, reprint from Child Study --------------------------------------------------------1 121 16. Chills and Thrills in Radio, Movies, and Comics, reprint from Child Study ----------------------1 122 17. What About the Comic Books?, reprint from Woman's Day ------------------------------------------1 122 18. Looking at the Comics -- 1949, reprint from Child Study ----------------------------------------1 123 19. List of Child Study publications available to the public ---------------------------------------1 125 20. Information concerning the names of the board of directors, the contributors, and the       members of the Child Study Association of America --------------------------------------------1 135 21. Code of the National Comics Publications, Inc. -------------------------------------------------2 139 22. Letter of Dr. Carl H. Rush, executive assistant, American Psychological Association, addressed       to Mr. Richard Clendenen, executive director, Senate Subcommittee To

Investigate Juvenile       Delinquency ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 162 23. Copies of crime and horror comic books published by Magazine Management Co. --------------------1 183 24. List of books published by Stavon Publications -------------------------------------------------1 192 25. Printed material submitted by Mrs. Helen Meyer -------------------------------------------------1 199 26. Bound copies of several 35-cent novels ---------------------------------------------------------1 207 27. Brochure listing titles of books ---------------------------------------------------------------1 212 28. Names of magazine wholesalers who have refused to accept crime and horror comics ---------------1 219 29. Documents submitted by Mr. Charles Appel -------------------------------------------------------1 236 30. Samples of ads appearing in magazines distributed by Kable News Co. ----------------------------2 242 31. Window display and pledge card of the New Jersey News Dealers Association ----------------------1 285 32. Copy of interim report, juvenile delinquency committee of the Union County Bar       Association of New Jersey --------------------------------------------------------------------2 290 33. Depravity for Children, a group of articles appearing in the Hartford Courant from       February 14 to April 25, 1954 ----------------------------------------------------------------2 294

1. On file with the subcommittee.
2. Printed in the record.



Introduction and Testimony of Mr. Richard Clendenen.