Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/294

282 Our conmittee is solely interested in the effort to ban the salacious, the lascivious, pocket-book comic books thal come into the hands of juveniles,

We don't want to encroach upon the forbidden avea of censorship.

With that in mind « seemeut of our Union County Bar Association drew up, drafted, a praposed Jaw which I shall offer in evidence here and, fortunately, becanse of the new streamlining of oar courts and the new setup that has resnited in New Jersey since the inception of the new constitution in 1948, we weve able to find a spot where we could put some kind of prohibitive fovce that would in trme, we feel, dry up the very, very source of this trouble, which I feel aud still feel hes in ihe hands of the actual publishers themselves.

J refer, therefore, to assembly bill 401, introduced April 12, 1954, in its exact farm that it was turned over to Mr. Thompson of Mercer County. Itisa very shovt bill. T would like to read it.

The. You have that privilege.

Mv. Kapton (reading):

AN ACT concerning the sale and distribution of primted publications or other articles in certain cases to minors, eupplemeiting chapter 170 of tide 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of New Jersey:

1. Any persou. Who directly, or indltreetty, acting as agent or otherwise, sells, giyes or furnishes to a ininor wider the age of sixteen years, any book, pamphlet, maguzine, or other printed mudiler, he cover of which or the content of which is devoted principally, or in pearl, (o the exploitation or portrayal of Iust In a manner which reasonably tends to excite or excites luslfid or lecherous desires gMOUg Niners, and which book, pamphiet, magazine. or other printed miatter, for a minor, is abscene, lewd, or liseiyvious, is a disorderly persou and shall be punished by fine of uot more than Uweuts-five dollars.

The second sectiou is to hit the publisher who ts sending this stuff in as they clanm they are net supposed te keep it, they don’t have to keep it, bnt they don’t tell us at the same time, they make it very dilieult for any retailer to return this unwanted literature and many of them todiy are putting it asice and are returping it because

The. Mr. Kaplon, do we have any publishers of this type of literature in New Jersey?

Mr. Karrox, [think we cdo not have any of these types of publishers in New Jersey, They may print itin New Jersey.

Thad oeeasion to speak to the president of one of the typographical unions living in Hillside. $1e told me that he hlnshes when he has te set into type some of the material that js etver to bin by the higher ups.

Now, the second portion of this act 401 assembly bill:

2. Any person, iirm, or corporation, or any agent. officer, or enmployee thereof, engaged in the business of printing or diswibulme for the purpose of resale through retatl outlets, any book. pamphlet, magazine, or other prinfed matter, the eorer of which is deyoted principally, or in part, to the exploitation or por- trayal of lust in a manner which reasonably tentis to excite or excites lustful or lecherous desires anioug minors, aud whieh book, painphtet, magazine, or other printed matter, fer a minor, is obscene, lewd, or lascivious, is a disurderly person dud shall be punished by a fine of nol more than twu hundred dollars.

Then Lhe final conclusion is this:

3. Any Look, pamphlet, magazine, or other printed matter, the sale of which to A minor under the age of sixteen years, was the basis for conviction under paragraph 1