was already established and toned down comics were coming out with the CCA stamp on them. Nye Committee (Munitions Industry, 1934-1936), Tolan Committee ("Dust Bowl" hearings, 1940-1942), Post War Economic Policy and Planning (1943-1945), Pearl Harbor Attack Investigation Committee, Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (1948-1976), Kefauver Committee (Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce), 1950-1951, John F. Kennedy Assassination (Warren Commission), 1963-1964, Church Committee (Intelligence Activities, 1975), House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC, 1938-1975), McClellan Committee (Labor Unions, 1957-1959), Military Situation in the Far East (MacArthur Hearings), Historic Congressional Committee Hearings and Reports. Watch Dell create a new slogan for themselves. [3], On January 5, 1950, Senator Estes Kefauver (D-Tennessee) introduced a resolution that would allow the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to investigate organized crime's role in interstate commerce. They lost to Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. He approached them again in Reno three months later, and they accepted. The committee initiated perjury action against him. Gallery Rise of the Cartels: International Drug Trafficking in the Americas Historic Courtroom Costello mumbled incoherent answers, became belligerent, refused to answer questions, and twice left the witness table without being dismissed. The committee members held, as an article of faith proven through witness testimony (and artfully interpreted silences), that there existed a national syndicate of criminal organizations, and that this syndicate was forcing its way into legitimate businesses. A psychiatrist that deals with Juvenile Delinquents that is "in the middle of the road." and Horror Comic books. In 1950, freshman U.S. Congress. It's no He talks about the horrible comic books. %PDF-1.5
New York and New Jersey, various doctors and educators, Comic Strip artists and Fredric Wertham himself This organization toned down comic books and made them all very kid friendly for several decades. Other accumulations of mail have been sorted by function (e.g., condolences) or by location of correspondent (eg., Tennessee county, international, et cetera. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), United States. There were also Politicians from Canada, The Committees recommendations on how to clean up organized crime were largely ignored, and the crime syndicates went back to business as usual, often with the same shadowy characters from the hearings still in control. HTML menu inserted here for WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance. Oh, and there are NO tie in sales. The anti-comic ones are allowed to have their say and are not scrutinized. Send us corrections Comments 0. Investigation Then Kefauver headed north to San Francisco, uncovering a vast pattern of illegal payouts from lobbyists to state legislators. Draft of Senator Kefauver's personal statement on moving on from Crime committee. Mr. William A. Eichhorn - Vice President of American News Co. Mr. J. Jerome Kaplon - Chairman Juvenile Delinquency Committee, Union County Bar Association, Ads by Project Wonderful! [6][10] Rather, the committee uncovered extensive evidence that people of all nationalities, ethnicities, and religions operated locally controlled, loosely organized crime syndicates at the local level. [3] On May 3, 1950, Vice President Alben W. Barkley, sitting in his role as President of the United States Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote, and the Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was established. He was afraid of retaliation for testifying, but Kefauver cut him off with a bland reassurance that they probably wouldnt leave him twisting in the wind (we will do our best anyway) before adjourning the committee and convening the final press conference of the day. Born in 1903, Estes Kefauver studied at the University of Tennessee and at Yale University where he received his law degree in 1927. Some of the more substantially covered subjects include the TVA (see Power as well as Tennessee Valley Authority), Civil Rights, Labor and Monopoly.Series II: Estes Kefauver Bills (1939-1963) consists of information about, and drafts and copies of, bills introduced or co-sponsored Senator Kefauver or of interest to him. Firemen's Head Claims Ex-Mayor Got $10,000, Committee Hears Hoover and McGrath in Capital, Contact | [2], Organized crime was the subject of a large number of widely read articles in several major newspapers and magazines in 1949. Morning Session: Chairing the Senate Committee to Investigate Crime and Interstate Commerce, the Tennessee Democrat organized a barnstorming tour across the country, handing down subpoenas from New York to New Orleans to Detroit to Los Angeles and sweeping into local courtrooms to expose thugs, politicians and corrupt law enforcement agents. After Crump accused Kefauver of being a raccoon-like communist sympathizer, Kefauver calmly donned a coonskin cap for his next speech and said, I may be a pet coon, but Im not Boss Crumps pet coon.. LAS VEGAS (Nov. 2011) On Nov. 15, 1950, the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, led by U.S. Two of the most noteworthy attacks were the Kefauver investigation in the 1950s and the Knapp Commission hearings in the 1970s. https://scout.lib.utk.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/199540 Accessed May 01, 2023. Three years before the Army-McCarthy hearings and 22 years before Watergate, the Kefauver Committee hearings in the winter of 1951 brought a parade of gamblers, hoodlums, crooked sheriffs and organized-crime figures out from the shadows to sit and testify before the white-hot lights and television cameras. It's taken me 5 years to get this online. Chapter 5: Outcome. Email blog@themobmuseum.org. Phillips, likely sensitive to the difficulties that accepting bets across state lines might bring him, said he hadnt been doing much of anything since taking over the commission room. Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce (Creator), United States. The subseries are arranged in rough alphabetical order by title of committee subject. The hearings clearly demonstrated that some elected officials had facilitated and profited from criminal activities. Wearing a mink cape, silk gloves, and a large hat, and with the presence of a movie star, Hauser strutted into the U.S. Afternoon Session: stream
Many times during these televised hearings they showed or described comic book covers or specific story panels, I managed to find the pictures in question in some of these instances and put them up within the testimony. Mr. Richard Cledenen - Executive Director, US Senate Subcommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency. Americans had seen nothing like it beforenot in their own living rooms. The Kefauver collection is currently divided into fourteen series available for research. One of them that provides access to selected transcripts is Federal News Service. Chapter 4: Investigation Many of the Kefauver Committee's hearings were aimed at proving that a Sicilian-Italian organization based on strong family ties centrally controlled a vast organized crime conspiracy in the United States, but the committee never came close to justifying such a claim. was no such thing as tie in sales and the comics can be returned. He denied having ever had a business relationship with any of them or knowing any specifics of their business. Up next was Reno Police chief Lawrence Russell Greeson, who had investigated New Jersey gambling figure Joseph Doc Stacher. To arrive at a thorough, accurate, and over-all picture of the problem of organized crime in interstate commerce, the committee, consisting of Senator Estes Kefauver as chairman; two other Democratic members, Senators Herbert R. O'Conor and Lester C. Hunt: and two Republican members, Senators Charles W. Tobey and Alexander Wiley, has visited and Carroll, I order you to testify!, This whole proceeding outrages my sense of propriety, Carroll shouted back. Kefauver Committee Hearing: Committee Hears Hoover and McGrath in Capital. [3] In particular, many cities and states were concerned with the way organized crime had infiltrated interstate commerce, and how it threatened to hold the American economy hostage through labor racketeering. That led to the days final witness, builder and automobile parts store owner Robert J. Kaltenborn, who had pled no contest to tax evasion and served four months in federal prison. Since then I've In the end, Kefauver was unable to rouse Congress to action against Nevadas regime of legal commercial gambling, but in the aftermath of his committees investigations public opinion turned against illegal gambling, inspiring crackdowns against illegal gambling operations around the country. Some just sat in stony silence, refusing, as one witness said, to criminate themselves. Mr. Monroe Froehlich Jr. - Business Manager of Magazine Management Co. (Marvel Comics). The Kefauver Committee held hearings in 14 cities across the country, including one in the courtroom of this building. Dr. Harris Peck - Director of the Bureau of Mental Health Services, Children's Court, New York, N. Y. Henry Edward Schultz - General Counsel, Association of Comic Magazine Publishers, Inc., New York, N. Y. Dr. Fredric Wertham - Author of Seduction of the Innocent, Mr. William Gaines - Publisher of EC Comics, Testimony of Walt Kelly, Milton Caniff and Joseph Musial - The National Cartoonist Society, Gunner Dybwad - Executive Director of the Child Study Association of America, Mr. William Friedman - Small comic book publisher with some horror books, Dr. Laura Bender - Psychiatrist working for DC Comics, Mr. Monroe Froehlich Jr. - Business Manager of Magazine Management Co. (Marvel Comics), Mr. William Richter - News Dealers Association of Greater New York, Mr. Alex Segal - President, Stravon Publications, Testimony of Mrs. Helen Meyer and Mr. Matthew Murphy - Vice President and Editor of Dell Publications, Hon. Terms of Use The series is arranged chronologically and, when possible, the event or location, city, and state are listed along with the date. Kefauver would then arrive, as he did in the Committees first stop in New Orleans, and begin his questioning of, say, corrupt sheriffs, who would admit they did not exactly enforce the law when it came to gambling and prostitution in the parishes of Louisiana. By the time the Kefauver Committee arrived in New York, in March of 1951, five of the citys seven television stations were carrying live proceedings, broadcast to dozens of stations across the country. Superman, Tarzan, Crime and Horror books, etc.. While that showdown led to new. Although Kefauver won the majority of Democratic primaries, he lost the nomination to Adlai Stevenson, who then lost the general election to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Kefauver then made a bid for a Senate seat in 1948, running against E. H. Crump, the mayor of Memphis and boss of Tennessees Democratic Party. www.senate.gov. Senator Estes Kefauver took the stage against organized crime, at the head of a special committee. James A. Fitzpatrick, Chairman, New York State Joint Legislative Committee To Study The Publication Of Comics, Mr. Benjamin Freedman - Chairman of the Board, Newsdealers Association of Greater New York and America. . You will notice that a few child experts are called up to testify. Remarkably, Kefauver beat the incumbent, Harry S. Truman, in the New Hampshire primary, leading Truman to abandon his campaign for renomination. Gilbert King Clark said he did not know the total cost to build the Desert Inn, but was 100 percent certain he had never approached any of a list of alleged underworld kingpins whom Halley mentioned: Frank Costello, Phil Kastel, Meyer Lansky, Jack Lansky, Jack Dragna, Mike Accone and Ben Siegel. Unlike other witnesses, Sedway admitted to having known Ben Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Jack Lansky, Little Augie Casanno, Frank Costello, Joe Adonis, Nate Rutkin, Frank Erickson, Longie Zwillman, Charles Lucky Luciano, Charlie Fischetti, Rocco Fischetti, Jack Dragna, Gene Normile, Jake Guzik, and the principals in the Cleveland group. Our policy prohibits reproduction of an entire collection. | Send Feedback or Report a Problem, Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Many, if not most artists of the day wanted to be just like him. Yo*3ivo}+>3-=
8G>EjN@aXMD_ tcn/9PmcPVP\rn}\d:q@88q ,B&. The U.S. Senates Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, chaired by Tennessee Democrat Estes Kefauver, focused attention as never before on gambling-related crime as a national problem. Clark was not, he told the committee, in charge of the hotels construction or finances; that was a boy by the name of Allard Roen.. In the aftermath of World War II, the public started hearing more about organized crime and its corrosive influence in communities across America. [9], Many of the Kefauver Committee's hearings were aimed at proving that a Sicilian-Italian organization based on strong family ties centrally controlled a vast organized crime conspiracy in the United States, but the committee never came close to justifying such a claim. Clark first put the proposition to the group in Las Vegas; they rebuffed him. There were child experts Phillips was excused and Jones returned with details about the Thunderbirds race wire service. These dramatic hearings also made certain that television would play a large role in future Senate investigations. He was aware, though, that Siegel had had an interest in the Golden Nuggets race book. Called to testify, Wertham continued his attack on comic books, concluding "I think Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic book industry." Halley queried him about how much he paid for each interest and the ownership structure of the Thunderbird. Lansky was washed out in this transaction. One reporter, Clark Mollenhoff, reminded RFK that probing organized crime made a name for Senator Kefauver, who had just defeated Jack in the vice presidential race. and against comic books, Comic Book Ratings, Are you a Red Dupe? United States Senate. The release of the book was followed by hearingscommonly referred to as the Kefauver Hearings after presiding senator Estes Kefauverbefore the Senate subcommittee on delinquency. But as to how those men came into their money, Hauser said, she didnt know anything about anybody. She and Bugsy had had a fight in a Las Vegas hotel, she said, after I hit a girl at the Flamingo and he told me I wasnt a lady., Gangster moll Virginia Hill Hauser's combative testimony made her the star of the Kefauver Hearings. The American Mafia - Kefauver Report #1 - Aug. 18, 1950 First Interim Report U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce Kefauver Menu Interim Report #2 81ST CONGRESS 2d Session REPORT No. All materials in the first subseries are filed alphabetically according to folder topic. is just different ways of spelling stuff. gone through it four times with a fine tooth comb to try and weed out all the mistakes the OCR program The committee's summary, which implicated the governor in illicit gambling activities, proved to be Warren's political downfall. 1 0 obj
He professed not to know the hotels final construction cost, or the current book value of the property. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? That is no sign he shouldnt have a license in a state where it is legal. This was a basic policy of the Tax Commission. Virginia Hill, former girlfriend of criminal mastermind Bugsy Siegel, testified to having had no knowledge of criminal activities while in the company of notorious mobsters. Courtesy of Robert Stoldal. The television cameras would not show his face, but focus only on his hands. To be perfectly frank, he said, you are all running around the country investigating the race horse book and the wire and closed down all those offices.. Besides, it was an eye opening experience for me to Moore admitted there were a few more shady characters than in other lines of business, and that, while it would be a desirable thing to purge some individuals from the industry, he had never given any thought to how it could be done, despite his license-issuing role on the Tax Commission. The committee's second chairman, Herbert O'Conor (who took over after an exhausted Kefauver stepped down as chairman), sponsored legislation aimed at controlling illegal drugs by expanding appropriations for the Narcotics Bureau, the committees sole legislative accomplishment. I just got out of bed and am loaded with drugs, he told Kefauver. About two weeks after Siegels June 20, 1947, death, Sanford Adler and his associates formed Flamingo Hotel Inc., and bought the property from Nevada Projects. He really hates anything "indecent." As Jones tried to answer, Kefauver interrupted him mid-sentence. Despite having a lot of fans, Johnny was embarrassed by his horror work and was very reluctant to return to it. A series of hearings held by a special U.S. Senate committee in 1950 and 1951 changed that perception. I owe The senators and a small staff, including chief counsel Rudolph Halley, flew to Las Vegas the following morning, arriving at 9:30. Then serving as ambassador to Mexico, O'Dwyer's answers lacked specificity, leading the public to conclude that he was being intentionally evasive. [13][14] The first one of these was The Captive City (1952), which had the blessing of senator Kefauver himself: Director Robert Wise took a print of the film to D.C. to show the senator, who not only endorsed it but even appears in the prologue and epilogue, cautioning audiences about the evils of organized crime. Wiener confirmed that he was attorney for the Siegel estates executor, and that Siegels interest in the Golden Nugget race book had a value of zero. Those hearings became known as the Kefauver Hearings after the committee's chairman, Senator C. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee. Very short. Henry Edward Schultz - General Counsel, Association of Comic Magazine Publishers, Inc., New York, N. Y. lists the people testifying alphabetically by their name. Slain Bugsy Siegels Girl Friend Steals Senate Crime Inquiry Show, by Emanuel Perlmutter, New York Times, March 16, 1951. Senate Resolution 202 provided the Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, commonly known as the Kefauver Committee, with $150,000 to study interstate crime. had representatives here. Series XXI: Posthumous material, The Modern Political Archives are housed at the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy. Intro to the Hearings, Descriptions of Crime and Horror Comic Book stories. 3, 1998. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. Popularly known as the Kefauver Committee after its telegenic chairman, the committee captivated the nation in 1950-1951 with its televised hearings. Clifford Jones took the stand next. Mr. Benjamin Freedman - Chairman of the Board, Newsdealers Association of Greater New York and America. Public Relations President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime (Copyright holder), United States. ban them. Distributors from top to bottom all insisted there Series XVIII: Miscellaneous office materials to keep the documents as authentic as possible. Independent News is owned the same people that own DC Comics. This group of politicians really respect Fulton. Informs public on accelerated schedule for New York-New Jersey area hearings on organized crime. In Kansas City, the committee confronted, in Kefauver's words, a "place that was struggling out from under the rule of the law of the jungle." Your ad here, right now: $0 But in fact, the Kefauver hearings had little impact in the cities the Committee visited: He and his men swept in and then just as quickly swept out, leaving behind titillating news coverage and an unforgettable television experience. He first did He was unable to recall exactly how much he had invested in the Desert Inn, possibly a quarter-million dollars? Mert Wertheimer of Detroit was licensed after a testimonial from the former head of the FBI from Detroit. Moore knew of Wertheimers gambling activities in other states, but insisted that shouldnt disqualify him. E. D. Fulton - Member of the House of Commons in Canada. Mr. J. Jerome Kaplon - Chairman Juvenile Delinquency Committee, Union County Bar Association. In a defiant tone and her nasal voice, Hauser regaled the Committee with remarkable stories of friendships with fellas who gave her gifts and money. Greeson admitted he had passed on to investigator Robinson when they met at a police chiefs convention in Colorado Springs the rumor that Stacher was willing to spend $250,000 to elect a group in Reno that would permit him to buy a one-third share in the Bank Club. See more. Jones claimed to have never met him, nor had Lansky spent time at the Thunderbird. Mr. William A. Eichhorn - Vice President of American News Co. He knew that Sam Tucker, Allard Roen and Cornelius Jones were overseeing the Cleveland groups interest at the Desert Inn but was unsure about his own role in the operation, despite the fact that his name was on the marquee out front. Juvenile delinquency, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Organized crime, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Legislative hearings, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Gambling, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Television, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Children--Institutional care, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Motion pictures, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Pornography, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Adoption, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Comic books, strips, etc., (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Drug abuse, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), International organization, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Juvenile courts, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Political corruption, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Sports betting, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Witnesses, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), College sports, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Comic books, strips, etc, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Correctional institutions, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Criminals--Rehabilitation, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Deportation, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Gangster films, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Housing, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Interstate commerce, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Korean War, 1950-1953, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Mental health, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Narcotic laws, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Organized crime--Prevention, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Police, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Prostitution, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Schools, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Slot machines, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Swindlers and swindling, (Library of Congress Subject Headings), Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), District of Columbia. By bringing public opinion to bear on the problems of interstate crime, the investigation helped local and state law enforcement and elected officials to aggressively pursue criminal syndicates. Kefauver's studied and balanced approach to his witnesses earned him the respect of many Americans. He calls them trash and wants a law to Senators reveal, without going into too much detail, that there is a relationship between DC Owners and owners of a In 1950, he introduced a Senate resolution to establish a committee to investigate labor racketeering in interstate commerce. William J. Moore was up first. The television broadcast of the committee's hearings attracted huge public interest and educated a broad audience about the issues of municipal corruption and organized crime. 2 0 obj
Articles & columns that are both pro Series XI: Personal Effects (1925-1964) This series contains a variety of information that appears to have been kept in a personal file by Kefauver, but was expanded upon after his death to include correspondence and clippings related to his death and his estate. Television viewers were riveted, in part, by the cast of characters called to testify before the committee. Congress. Nor had he ever heard the name of Costello associate Phil Kastel. Charles Tobey (R-NH) testified. Dr. Laura Bender - Psychiatrist working for DC Comics Senate. Weve had several witnesses who seemed much less timid and experienced I refuse to permit the arrangements for this hearing to be dictated by a witness.. Never mind that newsreel cameras captured Costellos entire face and body as he spokethe highlights of which were shown on newscasts later that evening.
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