Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/139

Rh there are certain stores which feature these and that these certain stores arc usnally found in areas which are already depressed and. typical of many other socially inappropriate matters as the third and jourth grade saloons and alt the other establishments which go with vice and crime.

Mr. . And in the high-delinquency area, too?

Mr. . In the high-delingnency area we find these crime comes and they have, cumulatively, a very bad effect.

Now, I come secondly to the effeet of these erime comics on indivie- nalehiktren. There lam ina more difficult position to make specilic statements because as one who has had clinteal contact. 1 wis associated for many years with the psychiatrist. for the New York State Training School for Boys at Warwick. I was clinieal director of the State training schoo] in Michigan, and previously I worked in reformatories where you lave the older adolescent eronp, both in New Jersey and the Site of Indiana and for sometime here in New York State.

T have had contact with Hterally thousands of young delmaquents. Chnically, { cannot offer, sir, a single instance which has come to my attention which, shonld 1 say, happened to come to my attention, in which we were able to link a given offense with the reading of that partielar individnal of a given comic book. I know such statements have been made from time to time. I don't dispute them, I have never seen them clinically documented.

T have only seen wild statements without any kind of elinical evidence.

J would say, however, that Iam well aware that there are certain boys whe have been attracted to these comics along with many, many undesirable habits. They also were addicted to very heavy smek- ing, they were drinking in the very early teens, they had very aggressive sexual impulses which they acted ont, so I wonld say, of course, Jam aware, not from my present activities, but you went back to my professional task, in these years, of the fact that these comics were part and parcel of the life of « child delinquent.

IT wouldnt deny that there might be such a connection, Mr. Counsel. T only say so far I have not seen the clinieal evidence.

I think we should hope that, for instance, a person like Dr. Peek or others in a position to make sneh stuclies would give very serious thoughts to a clinical evaluation of this.

Mr. . Dr. Peck testified yesterday. Lf you were running the training sehool m Miclngan, would you as director permit some of these horror and crime comics to be cirenlated among the boys?

Mr. . No.

Mr. . Why?

Mr. . For this reason, sir, when you deal with other people's children you have particular responsibility to exercise much greater care than if you deal with your own child, When you run a training school you must try to meet a common denominator of most parents, and therefore, regardless of the fact that perhaps same of these parents would not have objected, others would, and therefore, as a matter of public policy when you are dealing in a public institution, this type of comic book was not allowed.

Now, that has nothing to do, sir, with the fact that we had or had not evidence that they were harmful. When you run a training