Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/136

124 Nevertheless, the danger exists that there are many children who will bury thein and oue cannot simply say these are conie books for ehildren and, therefore, no concern to us in children's literature.

Mr. . In your study did you also examine advertisements in these publications to see whether they were addressed to children or adults?

Mr. . At the various points we have talked about this. Again I must remind you that this was a study published in 1949, and T ihink this point Mrs. Gruenberg made in 1948 of the bottom falling down more and more. I think is an observation we all have made.

Ybe crime and herror comics of 1949 were not quite as they are in 1943 and 1954.

Mr. . It is getting worse, you mean?

Mr. . It is getting worse steadily.

Mr. Chairman, in view of your committee's special concern with the effect of the sadistic and obscene evime and horror comic books whieh haye made their appearance in recent. years, I have quoted from pub- lished statements of our association to indicate to you that we lost no time in alerting the community lo the problems created by these publications.

As aanatter of fact, no other organization that I know of gave as nuch thonght, time, and effort, during those early years, Lo a eritical review of the comics as did the Child Study Association of America.

T wonld like to depart here a moment from my prepared statement to point ont tli these two studies to which T have referred are now obviously outdated in many respects. We wonld not have made the study in 1949 had we not thought thai the 1943 sindy should be bronght up to date and neither study has been Isted or sold by ns for several yeurs.

Tn making this statement I am making the statement becanse a xood deal of misinformation has recently been circulated with regard to these stndies. We have not used them lately.

Mr. . In other words, your 1945 studies ave now being quoted in support of your herrer comies m 1954?

Mr. . They also have been quoted by some people as ma- jerial we circulate today and most unforlanaiely in # recent article so described and that is a completely false and unirne statement.

We are not circulating these and have not for several years. They have not even been Hsted on our publications hist.

Mr. . Your association's position is quite different in 1954.

Mr. . With reward to crime comics: yes, sir.

Tam addressing myself to the particular interest of your committee and nat to comics in general.

1 have shown that as early as 1949 we presented our opinion, pub- liely and repeatedly, that the problems of the comics called for both sotological and physicolomieal research and for concerted commiunity action, As T huve pointed out to you, neither oue was our function, and it is regrettable that no effective action has been forthcoming from other quarters. .

In eonchision, may I quote from a book brought out by the Child Sindy Association in 1952, entitled "Our Children Today," and pub- lished by the Viking Press. A chapter on New Arts of Communica- tion meludes the following statement which seems to me yerv perti- nent to your Inquiry here: