Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/317

Rh In it is the story of a 10-year-old girl, Lucy, who shoots her father, frames her mother and her mother's lover for the crime, sends both ta the electric chair, and gets away with it.

Associate counsel for the committee, HW. W. Beaser, asked Gaines if he agreed with a psychiatrist who had testified earlier that the story of Lucy was harmful because it hred fears in the minds of foster children aud because the child gets away with a borvible crime,

Gaines replied, “In this story the child leads a miserable life for six pages then emerges trinimphant.”

Senator Thomas ©. Hennings, Jr. (Democrat, Missouri). declared, “She emerges triumphant hy murdering her father and sending her mother aud another to the electric chair.”

Guines replied, “But she emerges triumphant in the end.”

“Do you haye children of your own?” asked Senator Hennings.


 * No,” Gaines replied.

Senator Nefuaver showed Gaines a carver from a recent Gaines publication. It showed a head severed from the body. “Is this in good taste?” be asked.

“Ves.” Gaines replied. “It would have been in bad taste if the head had heen held bigher to show the jagged neck dripping blood.”

Senator Wefauver declared, “blood is running from the mouth and the bleody ax is shown still dripping. Is that good taste?”

Gaines replicd, “I think so.”

In answer to questions from Senator Kefauryer, Guines testified his total circu- lation is 1,500,060 comic books a month with an estimated gross income of $80,000 a month,

Asked why his comie books were published under fhe naimes of five different companies, Gaines replied he didn’t know. “Thats the way I inherited the business from my father,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Dr, Wertham told of case histories in which he found comic books a contributing factor in juvenile delinqnency, He showed colored slides of pictures and texts from many crime and horror books and called for rigid Tederal laws outlawing the sale of crime and horror books to anyone under 16 years of age,

He also said the comic-book publishers have applied a lot af pressure in an effort to block distribution of his latest book, Seduction of the Innocent, an exposé on comic books.

Other witnesses today were Michard Clendenen, director und chief investigator for the United States Senate Subcommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency ; Dr. Harris Peck, a child psychiatrist ; Walt Kelly, president of the National Car- toonist Society and creator of Pogo; Milton Canift, creator of Steve Canyon, und Joseph Musial, King Fentnres education director, The cartoonists explained the role of comics in yisnal education and said members of the National Car- ioonist Society are barred from drawing for comie magazines such as those suiumitted in evidence at the hearing.

The hearing wili wind up here Thnirsduy. l¢xpected to testify are distributors, publishers, and business managers of comic-bovk firms.

News Story, April 29, 1954

By Irving M. Kravsow

, April 22.Senator Estes Kefauver (Democrat, Tennessee} charged here today that the Child Study Association of America has deceived the public hy presenting reports on comic books without identifying the authors as being in the pay of camic-hoaok publishers,

He made the accusation during the final day of the 2-day hearings of the United States Senate subcommittee investigating the camic-hook industry.

The committee, headed by Senator Robert Hendrickson (Republican, New Jorsey), heard a promivent psychiatrist testify she receives $150 a month from