Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/140

128 school, you take certain precautionary measures regardless as to whether you have proof that anything is definitely harmful. This was a policy of our educational group and I assure you in both institutions this type of comics was not allowed.

However, comic books were allowed.

The. When you found them they were removed promptly.

Mr. . They were removed promptly which, of course, was difficult, Mr. Chairman, because I think we might now well say here that this was not just the literary fare of our children, but also of those who took care of the children. Therefore, to what extent there was an exchange of comics between the people in charge of the children and the children themselves, you can speculate yourself.

Therefore, also, it was difficult to effect a distinct policy. In general, our staff had the mandate to remove undesirable comics. The cottage father in cottage A might employ quite different standards from the cottage father in cottage C.

We had no list of comics. As you know, from the problem your committee faces, you can't list them, every month there are some new ones. But there was definitely the policy, since there was serious question about these comics, and I think nobody has raised the question that there is a question about these comics, that they should be kept from children.

Mr. . The question is the extent of the effect upon delinquency of these crime and horror comics.

Mr. . That is right.

Mr. . And also the emotional upsetting of children.

Mr. . That is right.

Mr. . We had, yesterday, exhibited a crime comic in which a child was placed in a foster home. To make it brief, the foster parents turned out to be werewolves and the child turned out to be a werewolf and everybody eats everybody.

As a child-welfare worker, what effect does that have on a child about to be placed in a foster home?

Mr. . Of course, this kind of comic book which, by the way, relates very closely to a very famous comic strip in the newspapers which for a long time was exceedingly harmful, just as harmful as crime comics, by its sadistic distortion of the social-work professionand you know what I am referring tothis kind of thing is exceedingly damaging because you are dealing there with a specific type of child, a child who typically has been deprived of the most essential care in the early years, a child who is particularly insecure and sensitive in terms of the one thing he doesn't have, a home.

And, therefore, any kind of phantasy which suggests that a home he might go into might have such factors is patently terrible, and I must say that a person who prints such a thing must have sadistic tendencies themselves, which are quite unusual, because that is not stupidity.

This is purposeful sadism.

Senator. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question?

The. Yes, indeed, Senator Kefauver.

Senator. Mr. Dybwad, what is your salary as director?

Mr. . $10,000, sir.