Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/312

300 News Story, February 16, 1954

Educators, religious leaders, and civie officials, ontraged by certain comic books which glorify crime and feature sex and sadism, called upon parents to put some work inte the bringing up of their children.

Attorney John J. Daly, president of the Hart’ord Roard of Edueation, said he was “appalled” by the contents of same of these comie books. “There are wholesome comics on the market today,” he said, “but it behooves us to be alert to the menace of those which tend to undermine our moral code, customs, and laws.

“The Conrant,” he said, “deserves to he commended far leading this long over- due crusade for clean cones. Noy parents should be reminded as to the poten- tia] danger and maintain constunt vigil to see to it that no depraved literature is allowed to euler theiy homes under the guise of being a cousic book.”

The Reverend James A. Connelly, assistant director of the archdiocesan schools, said “comic books of this nature weaken the standards of inorality of the Na- tion. We lave to build good and strong cifizens. The wealth of our laud is the children, Uailess we guard that wealth, we will be in bad state.”

Father Connelly said that children like stories of imagination, “but the trend in eomictooks reading gacs beyond the lcvel of elementary-school children and reaches into the high school. Secoudary-school teachers haye become alarmed at this trend.”

Father Connelly said that teachers are trying to develop an appreciation in the youngsters of good reading, of culture, and to build good vocabularies,

“Some children,” he said, “don't go beyond the comic-books stage. The danger is obyions. Every parish priest is interested in the problemi of cvil comic books. We are trying to help.”

The parents, he said, don’t realize what is going on. “These comic books are very bad. They give children bad ideas and other perversions. The evil comic books are an insidious agent stunting the clild’s growth.”

lather Connelly said the parents’ duty is to take a constructive hand. “The ehild is the most precious possession of the jiarents and should not be allowed te become contaminated. The parent is the Noa. 1 edueatar of the child. The purents’ responsibilily is great.”

He said the church is aware of the danger of certain comic books and realizes the books “hold great potenlialities of danger.” More than 10 years ago, he said several Catholic periodicals started supplemecuting their pages with comic strips about the lives of saints, great persens tu history, and iuspirational true stories, ‘he purpose was to “try to stem the tide of the evil comics,” he said.

The strips were received very well by the readers, be said, and later they were published in eomic-book form, These conic books, be said, Integrate stories of biography for instrnuetion, and entertainment aud ficliou. Sowe are eveu used in the schools with excellent resuits, le said.

‘If ench parent conscientiously and consistently did his duty and observed his children’s activities and reading habits, we wouldwt have to worry,” he said.

“Of course,” Wather Connelly added, “this means work on the part of the parents, The schools are trying but we only haye the child about 5 honrs each day.”

The public schools here ave also trying to combat the problem by attempting to instill in the children a desire for good literature, Attoyuey Daly said. Books jn the sehogl libraries are carefully selected. he said, and lists of recommended reudings aré prepared to assist students iu selecting works tm various fields.