Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/105

Rh The experiment F suggest to you is the following: My book has been selected, Seduction of the Innocent, which is nothing bet a scien- tifle report on comie books in that 1 tried to make in understandable langnage, thel is what it is except that it inclades areas other than juvenile delinquency.

This group was selected by a group af men of untinpeachable in- tegrity, Christopher Morley, Chifton Fadiman, Lovemen, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Jolm P. Marquand; they selected this book on acconnt of its truth, and T suppose its writing, and it has been annonnced all over the country that 1t is a Book of the Month Chub selection.

The contracts have heen signed. The question L would tike to put: to you is this: Will this book be distributed er will the sinister hand of these corruplers of children, af thig eomic-book industry, wil! they prevent distribution? You can very easily find that out and then you can see how difficult if ts far parents ta defend their children against conve books if they are nat allowed to read what they contain,

Thank you.

The. Senator Kefauver, do vou have any questions?

Senator. Yes, I have one or two, Mr. Chairman.

Dr. . I assume more than any other psychiatrist in the United States—perhaps [T should not be asking this—but you, over « long period of tine, have interviewed children, you worked in hos- pitals, clinies. aud schools, observing the reaction to evime and horror comic books,

Could you give us any estimate of how many children this study has been made from—lrem which you dertve your conclusions é

Dr. . Yes. L figured out at one time that there were more than 400 children a year come lo my attention, or did come to miy al- tention during the hulk of this investigation.

Now, I cannot say, however, that every one of these children had as complete a study as I think they should have. I mean, some of them J saw a few times; some have all kinds of tests, good social services; some had been before the court: some [saw privately aud considered in great detail, but by and large | would say thal we have seen hundreds and hundreds of children.

Senator. Any way it runs into many thousands?

Dr. . Some thousands. I would not say many thousands.

Senator. Yon have actually asked and tried te develop from many of these children how it was they happened to try to com- mit, or how it was they happened to commit this, that, or the other crime; 1s that correct?

Dr. . Senator, that is not exactly correct. For instanee, if I have a child sent to me—I remember the commisisoner of the ju- yenile aid bureau of the pohee once came to visit me to see how I exam- ined a clild because he had a good report of my clinic in Queens. This was a eluld who had committed some delinqnency. I spent an hour talking te this child, I didn't even mention the delinquency. didn't say a word about it.

The commissioner asked me afterwards, "Why didn't you mention it?"

I said, "I don't want to put him on his guard. I don't want to tempt him to lie to me. I want to understand this child. I want to understand the whole setting."