Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/135

Rh and sexy stuff, for a reulymade market of men and older boys. On the stands, these ie as uccessibie to children as the familiar comics addressed to them.

We cun no indre separate the child's reading of comies from the sefling in which he lives than we can separate the child from schools or newspapers or athletics er neighhurhoods. The parent's task becomes that of managing, uet the comics as u protdem by ifself, but the growth and development of fhe child.

We have to protect chiklren agaist excessive addiction and against the mast objectionable samples: and we lve to guide then toward more discriminating selections. This is especially dificult because the very same violence and cruli- ties and shrilluess (hat we mosi dislike wand fear in the comics assault our children through the movies and the radio as well.

We cannot fight what is objectionuble in the comics (or in olher commercial means of entertainment or information) by calling for more censorship or more police guards.

An association of comics bouk publishers is heing formed to promote a cade (sumething that a few of the larger publishers had already undertaken) te guide in tuaintaining standards, Time will tell how sinecre or how effective this effort will be. Bui we need a wider and a more active and more intelligent ioterest on the pirt of parents for miuking their community a good place for ait children Lo live in.

Ina followup of its 1943 comics survey, our children's book commit- tee examined in 1919, 213 magazines and found, along with some wel- come changes in some categories, the following, quoted from a report

i also wish to place in evidence.

The. Again, Mr. Dybwad, this will be made a part of our permanent files. Let that report be exhibit No. 18.

(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No, 18," and is on file with the subcommittee.)

Mr. (reading):

The most regrettable chimge since the early survey has been the increased number of these magazines dealing with "real" crime. and those featuring sex- ually suggestive and sacistie picfures. These are yresumably not addressed to children, are, perhaps, nof even attractive to many of them.

Nevertheless, they ure availujle al 10 cents for young people to purchase, and are prominently displayed ou newsstands. Some of these are about ax uncouth ind savige pictures and stories as can be found anywhere. Any kind of decent self-censorship on the part of their publishers and handlers would lnive ruled them off the stands long ago, along with their counterparts in sexy eandid- picture periodicals.

This is the end of that particular quote from that survey which deals more pointedly with your interest.

Mr. . You made a statement in 1949 that these are presumably not addressed to children, perhaps not even attractive to many of them.

Mr. . Yes.

Mr. . Is that quite in line with your 1048 findings in which vou seem to indicate that some children who may be emtolionally mial- adjusted may be attracted to these vielent comics?

Mr. . Yes, but I think there is quite a difference between the violence, the aggressiveness which you, :iter all, find in our famous old stories about the Indian wars and so on, and that type of stuif of which have some examples here from. which some children—now, I said some—seem to shy away because certainly we know there are lots of children who buy countes, large numbers of children, and who, although they are available for the sume dime at the same place, very often don't select these comes, but the others.

So this is all we said. We neither said that the publishers might indirectly hope that the children buy them, nor that children will not buy them, but a large number will not buy them.