By the way, I am not in anyway connected with the Child Study Association. Vhat was implied and it was a mistake. It is merely that Josette Frank interviewed me for one ot her articles,
Mr. Beaser. You were one of ibe resource persons
Dr. Bender. I was one of the resource persons from which she got expert Lestimony, let us say, anc wrote the article.
Jé is true now, I um an editorial adviser of the Child Study Asso- Gation. That is another one of my jobs that I do not even get a dollar a year for.
Mr. Beaser. What I cannot understand is that with al] the listings of the associations you belong to you must be pretty busy. Haw do you get time to read the comic books of the National Superman ?
Dr. Bender. I don't read them all.
Mr. Beaser. You read what?
Dr. Bender. I read the ones which look to me to be of some interest. I give the rest to the children at Bellevue and Jet them read them and tell me what they think about them. I give them to the teachers, psychiatrists. I take them home to ny children.
And if there is any question about one, and frequently there is—for instance, about 2 years ago one of the psychiatrists wrote me in dismay saying that he had picked up a comi¢ his daughter brought in in which a psychiatrist had been abused in his opinion and found my name on the advisory board and wondered how I could justify such a thing.
In this particular comic the storywriter had thought up a new form. of what might be called shock treatment, in which a wife, who was jealous of her husband, had been exposed by the busband, at the advice of his psychiatrist, to actual situations which could be interpreted as indicating that the husband was wanting to do her harm.
But then it ended up with the husband explaining everything and the psychiatrist coming in and explaining everything and the wiie and the husband reunited in their mutual understanding and love, and the psychiatrist going home. He lived next door.
The husband played chess with him, or something,
Well, this didn't look very bad to me. I said I was not even sure it was not a good idea, it has some good ideas init. Maybe if we actu- ally did try to portray some of the delusions of patients and showed we could explain, that might be a way of exposing disillusionary ideas.
T showed them to the children in the ward because they do have dis- illusonary ideas. The children in the ward thought that was a good story and they thought it was a good idea, it was like the kind of ireatment we were giving them, which I had not thought of in that fashion.
They certainly thought it was a good way to cure the sick woman.
Mr. Beaser. But you saw this after the comic book had been on the stands?
Dr. Bender. That is right. I am not responsible in any way whatsoever with what is published.
Mr. Beaser. And your duties as a member of the editorial advisory board consist of what?
Dr. Bender. My duties on the editorial advisory board are to be consulted by them whenever they choose to consult me and to give them advice about matters which many think are problems in just the terms
