Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/232

220 The. Do you have meetings regularly?

Mr. . Yes. sir.

The. What are the stated periods of your meetings?

Mr. . Sometimes once a month or if it 1s. a special meeting we call it within the month.

The. According to the needs?

Mr. . That is right. Our board meets every week. We meet at our attorney's office, or at our own office.

The. I presume you discuss at these meetings this problem that brings this committee here this morning?

Mr. . Yes, sir; we did, and we instructed everyone of our board membersand every board member comes from a key spot in the five boroughs, and acts as sort of chairman of his vicinityto tell all the dealers there to do away with the horror books.

We have had some very good reports, but we are in trouble with the tie-ins, we are in fear, That is one of the reasons we started at our counsel's suggestion to organize this distributing company which we are about ready lo start now, I think that may be the answer.

The. You see your association or its members taking new heart as a result of this inquiry?

Mr. . Yes, sir; they feel very good about it. Not onl the members, but we get customers that come over to the stand an remark about the wonderful job you people have been doing with their children; that they don't ask for those hooks. ‘They are a Itttle scared, but it is still going on.

The. Do you find that the parents have known about these publications?

Mr. . Yes; some of the parents would go out and buy for the children. They are just as bad as the children, some of them, just bring them right over and ask forthem. ‘They both read them.

1 would think, that this investigating committee has done a wonder- ful job with us dealers, too. Some, of the distributors are a little bit careful how to handle us.

Of course, ihis may be a temporary condition, ‘They may feel dur- ing the investigation while the lights are on, why, they will just take it casy. Assoon as it is over, they will start all over again.

The. Even members of the bar that are sworn to uphold the law need investigation once in a while.

Mr. . I know it. I know one thing, Mr. Chairman, that our ussocialion has always been ready to cooperale with any law agency or any department and help as much as we could. We have the loyalty oath in our association. If we find anything wrong with any member we are the first ones to go to the front. We are the first ones to call to the attention of our license commissioner, who has done a wonderful job, the violating of any of the rules or the laws of the associaLion.

We weleome this not only because of the comics, but because of the tie-ins and the abuse that we dealers have been getting for the last 50: years.

Mr. Kay, I believe, has been a dealer for 30 years. I have been one for 35 years. Some of them for 35 and 40. We have had nothing but abuse and there is nothing we can de abont it.

But in ihe last few months it took a little bit of a change with the help of your committee, and our counsel are always on top of them.