explanation as to why the majority of those concerned in the trade should be found on the one side, that is, on the side which says that these are not harmful.
LT also have to confess that many experts and impartial experts in the field of psychiatry were found on the side of those who held that erime comics and similar publications were not harmful to children, but merely provided a useful outlet for what they called their natural violent instincts and tendencies.
Those generally were on the one side and as against them there were by and large all the community organizations, the parent-teacher associations, the federations of home and school, and similar organi- zations of a genernl community nature and those more particularly dealing with welfare work.
1 would like to take this opportunity of paying here my tribute to the work that many of those organizations in Canada in arousing our people to an awareness of the problem, even if they didn’t suggest in producing, as I say, a unanimous opinion as to how it should be dealt with. I say that because 1 believe that similar organizations here are assisting in that work.
Also on the side of those who came to fhe conclusion that these things were a harmful influence were the mjorilv of our law-enforce- ment organizations. T think particularly of our own Federal Depart- ment of Justice where back in 1947 and 1948 when the matter was first diseussed in Parliament in a concrete form, the Minister himself, speaking for the Government, expressed the view that these crime camics, of which he had been provided with samples, could have no other effect. than a harmful one on the minds of young boys and girls.
That was even before we had taken any positive action to deal with the problem.
I also would like te pay my tribute to a noted expert m your own country, and, indeed, in your own city of New York, Dr. Frederic Wertham, I have read extensively from Dr. Wertham’s articles and. of course, I read with great interest his latest hook, Seduction of the Innocent. I have had considerable correspondence with Dr. Wertham and T think it is fair and accurate to say that insofar as I, myself, made any contribution to this matter and to the enactment. of our legislation that I used and found Dr. Wertham’s opinions, his quotations, of great assistance and I found they were generally ac- cepted as authoritative in our country in a discussion of this matter.
Tam not again saying that opinion was unanimous, but T thunk it is fair to say that Dr. Wertham’s views were given great weight in our country.
The Chairman. Mr. Fulton, I might interrupt you at this point and, for the record, state that I received this morning apon my arrival here a communication from Dr. Wertham that was hand-delivered and that Lhat commnnieation will be made a part of the subcommittee files.
If at the conclusion of your testimony you would like to examine that letter, you may have that privilege.
Mr, Foro. I shall be very much obliged, sir. I am looking forward, I might say, to meeting Dr. Wertham later on today.
