These series include:Series XV: Framed objects He talks about the horrible comic books. mistake is mine, I just ask that you don't automatically assume so. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), United States. Investigation These hearings resulted in the formation of Comics Magazines Association of America, Inc. and Hon. Hearings Part 1 (or Part 1) (pp. surprise that the hearings worked in getting the comic book industry to adopt a self censoring code. One of the more significant subseries may be that of the Judiciary Committee, where Kefauver did a lot of his work concerning antitrust, civil rights, and crime issues (it must be noted however that Kefauvers famous crime committee is not one of the special committees represented in this series). By then the C.C.M.A. William Gaines is interviewed quite a bit for them. The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce became known as the Kefauver Committee, with Estes Kefauver serving as chair and championing a crackdown on organized crime. There were also Politicians from Canada, Testimony of Walt Kelly, Milton Caniff and Joseph Musial - The National Cartoonist Society. Alexander Wiley (R-WI), Chapter 1: Origins Kefauver warned Carroll that hed be cited for contempt by the Senate, but Carroll refused to answer any questions, meandering nervously around the courtroom. Kefauver had chaired a Senate committee probe centered on organized crime in interstate commerce - with many of its hearings televised live - from 1950 to 1951. [16], United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, "Records of Senate Select and Special Committees, 1789-1988," In, "Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce (The Kefauver Committee)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Senate_Special_Committee_to_Investigate_Crime_in_Interstate_Commerce&oldid=1116422779, This page was last edited on 16 October 2022, at 13:54. He denied having ever had a business relationship with any of them or knowing any specifics of their business. Senator Estes Kefauver (Democrat-Tennessee), held the seventh of 27 hearings in 14 cities in Las Vegas. He was unable to recall exactly how much he had invested in the Desert Inn, possibly a quarter-million dollars? When the committee returned, Halley asked one final question: Was it good policy to let people whose previous records had been bad to continue in the gambling business simply because theyd started before 1949? He says there ARE tie in sales. He gives them the 1948 Comic Book Code from the A.C.M.P.
Historic Congressional Committee Hearings and Reports He calls them trash and wants a law to Next, Senator Tobey grilled Moore on the moral characteristics of his fellow gambling entrepreneurs. 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.. Senator Kefauver tears this poor guy to shreds because some people working for this organization are also consultants He also gives some ideas on how to censor comic books. He narrowly lost and was the vice presidential candidate alongside Adlai Stevenson. Popularly known as the Kefauver Committee after its telegenic chairman, the committee captivated the nation in 1950-1951 with its televised hearings. Popularly known as the Kefauver Committee after its telegenic chairman, the committee captivated the nation in 1950-1951 with its televised hearings.
How to pronounce Kefauver? (RECOMMENDED) - PronounceNames.com made. Some just sat in stony silence, refusing, as one witness said, to criminate themselves. While running for U.S. Senate in 1948, Estes Kefauvers opponent accused him of being a raccoon-like Communist puppet. Kefauver adopted this cap and embraced it as his signature look. As a result, many people today see comic books as kids stuff despite the industry expanding to mature Other states considering legalized gambling (including California) demurred, and states with some tolerance of various legal gambling schemes closed those loopholes. newspaper strip. Building upon the earlier work of state crime commissions, Kefauver directed committee staff to examine what he called "the life blood of organized crime": interstate gambling. Estes Kefauver Papers, MPA-0144. Television viewers were riveted, in part, by the cast of characters called to testify before the committee. Food for kings, he said. ban them. When the Committee arrived in Detroit two weeks later, two local stations interrupted their regularly scheduled programming to cover two days of hearings featuring, as the Daily Boston Globe put it, a parade of hoodlums of every description the records of their dealings with murderers, dope peddlers, gamblers. It was estimated that 9 out of 10 televisions had been tuned in. During an intense period of questioning by Rudolph Halley, Costello's hands "twisted and clenched," according to one account, "revealing [his] inner fears and confusion." The Front Page of the report, with listing of the committee members and the table of contents. I hope the atom bomb falls on every one of you, she shouted as she left the building. KEFAUVER INVESTIGATION AND KNAPP COMMISSIONThe pervasive reach of organized crime in the United States has made it a target of investigations and legal action since the nineteenth century. The television cameras would not show his face, but focus only on his hands. The Front Page of the report, with listing of the committee members and the table of contents, Mr. Richard Cledenen - Executive Director, US Senate Subcommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency. Courthouse in Foley Square. | Send Feedback or Report a Problem, Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Jones claimed to have never met him, nor had Lansky spent time at the Thunderbird. At the end is a slew of newspaper articles by Irving M. Kravsow, they show you how the media responded to Crime The few pro-comics experts Series XXI: Posthumous material, The Modern Political Archives are housed at the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy. He doesn't like the Crime and Horror Comics, but he also doesn't want a law banning them. and against comic books, Comic Book Ratings, Are you a Red Dupe? He was similarly uninformed about the reasons for Siegels murder. Wearing a mink cape, silk gloves, and a large hat, and with the presence of a movie star, Hauser strutted into the U.S. We have provided links to the hearing volumes and summaries of their contents below: Part 1. Usage Policy | 2581-3219) Part 9 (pp. Source for information on Kefauver Investigation and Knapp Commission: West's . Americans were fascinated by the spectacle of a mob boss under duress. The second subseries is a variety of financial records kept by Kefauver. Greeson had no opinion on the ramifications of Renos wide-open gambling on surrounding states and did not know of any operators currently in Reno with outside interests. Kefauver Hearings 1950-51 Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce was the focus of the U.S. Senate's "Kefauver Committee" in 1950-51. A freshman U.S. senator from Tennessee, Estes Kefauver, seized the opportunity. [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. Sometimes Fantasy is spelled Phantasy. Series I: Subject Matter File (1933 - 1964) contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, reference materials and other documents gathered or created during Kefauver's legislative work. As far as I know, Jones contended, he has never been in the city of Las Vegas. When confronted by Halley with rumors that Lansky was reputed to live at the Thunderbird Hotel a great deal of the time, Jones admitted that a man named Jack Lansky had been a guest at the hotel. There are 47 Campaign subseries. so I could put them online with my webpage, I told him I would and well, better late then never! Besides, it was an eye opening experience for me to Television, Kefauver said calmly with a smile, is a recognized medium of public information along with radio and newspapers. Robert F. Kennedy was chief counsel of the Committee. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journals A.E. 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. Mother or Virginia Hill? Your ad here, right now: $0 Your Privacy Rights Kefauver arranged a compromise. 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.
Robert F. Kennedy's crusade against the Mob: Part 1 He gives a very negative almost panel by panel review of Panic #1. Wiener admitted that Lansky might have owned some stock in the original Nevada Projects Corporation, but that it wasnt a large percentage. Siegel was the largest shareholder. HTML menu inserted here for WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance. 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. 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 Those hearings became known as the Kefauver Hearings after the committee's chairman, Senator C. Estes Kefauver of Tennessee. [3] Debate over the substitute resolution was bitter and partisan, and the voting on the resolution extremely close. Colorful criminals, sweating and tapping their fingers nervously, seemed to step off the set of Hollywood gangster movies, speaking in broken English, under oath, about their activities. Warren accused Kefauver of being an "ambition-crazed Caesar who is trying desperately and futilely" to be a presidential candidate.
Comics Code Authority | Encyclopedia.com Schools dismissed students to watch the hearings. Gallery Rise of the Cartels: International Drug Trafficking in the Americas Historic Courtroom Hearings before a Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, United States Senate, Eighty-first Congress, second session, pursuant to S. Res.
"The Kefauver Hearings"1950-1951 | The Pop History Dig 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. After seeing Hausers appearance at the hearings, the columnist Walter Winchell contemplated the seemingly timeless paradox of reality television when he wrote, When the chic Virginia Hill unfolded her amazing life story, many a young girl must have wondered: who really knows best? [3][4] Several local "crime commissions" in major cities and states had also uncovered extensive corruption of the political process by organized crime. Mr. Alex Segal - President, Stravon Publications. 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. Articles: Frank Costellos Hands: Film, Television and the Kefauver Crime Hearings, by Thomas Doherty, Film History, Volume 10, No. 3591-4011) It also includes a summary of bills Kefauver introduced or co-sponsored during his term in the House (1939-1949), information about proposed changes to the two-thirds rule, and voting records and indexes to bills.The series is arranged chronologically.Series III: Committee Files (1949-1964) contains 25 subseries. 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. They remained qualified, Moore insisted, because of a granddaddy clause that allowed those who were operating before the more stringent regulatory regime was adopted to continue to do so. [citation needed] Kefauver became a nationally recognized figure,[5] and the committee enabled him to run for President of the United States in 1952 and 1956 (his runs failed, but he became his party's vice presidential nominee in 1956). Chapter 2: Process While that showdown led to new. Published: November 10th, 2020 - By David G. Schwartz, Contributing Writer, Senator Estes Kefauver, left, talks with Nevada Lieutenant Governor Cliff Jones, who was interviewed by the committee on November 15, 1950. Sedway had attended but not graduated from high school and, after a few years in the garment industry, had become a full-time gambler, dabbled in trucking, and owned a Chinese restaurant in New York. Region/Country. You'll notice that Fulton's contribution to the hearings is labeled as a Statement and not a Testimony. 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.. Oh, and there are NO tie in sales. Origins It's no Then serving as ambassador to Mexico, O'Dwyer's answers lacked specificity, leading the public to conclude that he was being intentionally evasive. Terry and the Pirates, then Steve Canyon. 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. The anti-comic ones are allowed to have their say and are not scrutinized. . Information provided by the Senate Historical Office. See more. Investigating gambling, according to one scholar, "meant that Kefauver and his colleagues first focused on urban areas, the strongholds of both gangsters and Democrats." Jones was the lieutenant governor of Nevada, a partner in the law firm of Jones, Wiener, Jones, and Zenoff, and a part owner of the Thunderbird Hotel, Golden Nugget and Pioneer Club. 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. William J. Moore was up first. Content Responsibility | 1735-1990) Part 7 (pp. <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>>
That said, there are many mistakes in here - made by the original 1954 transcriber. <>>>
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. Chapter 5: Outcome. Although the titles of the subseries may not indicate it, most of these are arranged in chronological order by campaign, although some materials are arranged by type (e.g., Scrapbooks).Series VI: Contacts (undated) consists of address books and card files, each arranged alphabetically by state, district, or county.Series VII: Published hearings, reports, and Congressional Records (1945-1963) contains hearings from Judiciary Committee, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy,House Committee on Veterans Affairs, amongst other government and Congressional publications.Series VIII: Travel (1948-1963) This series contains correspondence, invitations, itineraries, event programs, and like items relating to Kefauver's travels both nationally and abroad. Hon. Informs public on accelerated schedule for New York-New Jersey area hearings on organized crime. Costello was a tough act to follow, but Kefauver found the star of the show in Virginia Hill Hauseran Alabama-born former waitress and moll to the late Bugsy Siegel. United States Senate. Series XX: Christmas greetings to Nancy Kefauver Sheriffs Ex-Wife Tells Senators How He Accumulated $150,000, New York Times, January 27, 1951. 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. I did try to go into business, he remarked, but there is nobody to do business with. He refused to admit that he accepted lay-off bets from out-of-state bookies. Some National Distributors, regional Wholesalers and Newsstand venders also appeared to be "Stenographic transcript of hearings before the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. With that explanation, Kefauver thanked and excused Jones and Wiener. Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), United States. Superman, Tarzan, Crime and Horror books, etc.. Many, if not most artists of the day wanted to be just like him. Greenspun owned a piece of property that was included in the Desert Inns grounds, and owned 30 percent of a motel adjacent to the hotel. 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.
Explains why the first Comic Book Code didn't stick. In December 1951 Americans selected Chairman Kefauver as one of 10 most admired men, joining a list of notables including Pope Pius XII, Albert Einstein, and Douglas MacArthur. Committee on the Judiciary.
Estes Kefauver - The Mob Museum And even though Kefauver ran as Stevensons vice presidential candidate in the Democrats losing 1956 bid, it was the crime hearings that would cement the Tennessee senators legacy. Inquire with Special Collections about contents and access. Your ad here, right now: $0. 3 0 obj
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. Dr. Harris Peck - Director of the Bureau of Mental Health Services, Children's Court, New York, N. Y. | READ MORE. 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. We present the text of the three interim reports, the fourth and final committee report and the Virgil Peterson testimony - dealing with organized crime history - to the committee. Prices of patented antibiotics held constant for nearly a decade prior to the Kefauver hearings. This is a public hearing and anyone has a right to be here, Kefauver told him. This series also appears to hold at least some of Kefauver's weekly television and radio messages to Tennesseans. Hearings led by Sen. Estes Kefauver, D-Tenn., in 1959 and 1960 were the first significant congressional inquiry into rising drug costs and drug-company profits. He professed not to know the hotels final construction cost, or the current book value of the property. His book Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013. The Kefauver hearings were televised, bringing organized crime into the living rooms of many Americans for the first time. While examining this issue they ban crime and horror comics and they treat them with the highest amount of respect possible. It retains its relevance today, particularly in Las Vegas, where The Mob Museum occupies the building in which the committee met during its sole trip to Las Vegas. Our policy prohibits reproduction of an entire collection. Blowing the whistle on Mob-connected sports betting. [3] Kefauver relinquished the committee chair on April 30, 1951, and Senator O'Conor assumed the chairmanship until the committee folded on September 1, 1951.[3]. Hearings led by Sen. Estes Kefauver in 1959 and 1960 were the first significant congressional inquiry into rising drug costs and drug-company profits. He also gets the Gaines treatment with Marvel horror covers. Staff Interface When asked by the Committee to name one thing hed done for his country, Costello snapped, Paid my tax! The Los Angeles Times said it was the greatest TV show television has ever aired, and Variety estimated that ratings were among the highest ever achieved to that time. He hates Horror/Crime Comics, Bill Gaines and the comic Panic in particular. This was called tie tn sales. He did this Other accumulations of mail have been sorted by function (e.g., condolences) or by location of correspondent (eg., Tennessee county, international, et cetera.
The American Mafia - Kefauver Report #2 - Feb. 28, 1951 | Today's Concerns About Drug Prices Echo The Past She defends her own reputation and DC Comics. They also talk about comics being distributed internationally and any censorship involved. The hearings made it clear to a lot of people that there was a national Mob, and that it had a lot of power. Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dell, EC Comics and others all
Historic Congressional Committee Hearings and Reports Executive session." After a dispute with Rosen, Adler sold his 49 percent share of Flamingo Hotel (in a transaction brokered by Wiener and Jones) and departed for Northern Nevada. Kaltenborn testified that an Internal Revenue Board employee had attempted to shake him down, but couldnt offer proof. Remembering Estes Kefauver, by Theodore Brown, Jr. and Robert B. Allen, The Progressive Populist, 1996, http://www.populist.com/96.10.kefauver.html. Morning Session: For eight straight days, mobsters were dragged before the committee. 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. The articles also cover the hearings. And there are NO tie in sales. 1955 hearings transcripts: U.S. Congress, Senate, Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Delinquency (Obscene and Pornographic Materials): hearings before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency Pursuant to Senate Resolution 62, Investigation of Juvenile Delinquency in the Series XVI: Audiovisual called up were ones that are easily discredited as being "paid apologists." Associated Press, Wilbur Clark poses in front of a sign on the Desert Inn construction site. Samuel Roth - Publisher. This is a 300+ page document and I used an OCR program to get it on my computer. This starts with some letters from a couple of organizations that did not testify but were asked for their opinions. Stacher had applied for a license to become a partner in Bill Graham and Jim McKays Bank Club. The Kefauver collection is currently divided into fourteen series available for research. Charles Tobey (R-NH) They lost to Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Kefauver excused Greeson and moved on to the next witness, Wilbur Clark. Mr. William Gaines - Publisher of EC Comics. Viewers watched incredulously as a cadre of individuals representing the underworld of interstate bookmaking and gambling interests offered details of their sordid business arrangements. 3, 1998. C,+VU) for DC and Fawcett. An estimated 30 million Americans tuned in to watch the live proceedings in March 1951. Public Relations 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. United States. Send us corrections Comments 0. Lawyers for the Committee arrived ahead of the chairman, terrifying local law enforcement as the committee drew up subpoenas and prepared for hearings to be broadcast on both television and radio. She wasnt about to let some stuffy senators from Washington, D.C. rough her up the way they had Costello. Carroll, I order you to testify!, This whole proceeding outrages my sense of propriety, Carroll shouted back. Nor was Clark certain exactly who was overseeing the department heads; he thought that Kleinman and Dalitz might be in charge. Afternoon Session: In 1949 the American Municipal Association, representing more than 10,000 cities nationwide, petitioned the federal government to combat the growing influence of organized crime.
1954 Senate Subcommittee Hearings into Juvenile Delinquency (Comic Books) The last two subseries contain executive calendars and digests of public general bills, respectively.Series IV: Correspondence (1939-1963) consists of correspondence to and from Kefauver, his staff and his colleagues. This group of politicians really respect Fulton. This is Estes Kefauvers briefcase from his days as a congressman and senator representing Tennessee. You will see how certain crime and horror titles got cancelled via the distributor due to these hearings. 2370 SENATE INTERIM REPORT ON INVESTIGATIONS IN FLORIDA AND PRELIMINARY GENERAL CONCLUSIONS Senate. The committee launched its investigation in Miami on May 28, 1950, and found evidence of gambling everywhere, from restaurants to cigar stands. NexisUni has some of these transcripts. Similarly, he denied that Frank Costello had any interest in the Thunderbird, again claiming that to his knowledge Costello had never set foot in Las Vegas. But the Kefauver hearings were only beginning to capture the publics attention. This guide will point you to publications of the United States Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) available online and in libraries. It was common knowledge in town. Antagonized by the press, Hill kicked and slapped aggressive journalists on her way out of the hearing room, actions caught on live television. It retains its relevance today, particularly in Las Vegas, where The Mob Museum occupies the building in which the committee met during its sole trip to Las Vegas. 1 0 obj
The committee briefly recessed. The bulk of the materials in this collection may be constituent mail.
It wasnt surprising, then, that on November 9 the committee announced it would visit Las Vegas as part of a West Coast tour to learn about legalized gambling and its impact on neighboring states. Intro to the Hearings, Descriptions of Crime and Horror Comic Book stories. 1509-1734) Part 6 (pp. showing and was forced out traditional comic book industry as a result. is just different ways of spelling stuff. https://scout.lib.utk.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/199540 Accessed May 01, 2023. Draft of Senator Kefauver's personal statement on moving on from Crime committee. Mr. Harold Chamberlain - Circulation Director of Independent News Co. He passed a law banning Crime Comics in Canada, but it didn't work. He knew Hank Greenspun, but not under his birth name of Herman. Senator from Tennessee".
Crime commissions across the nation had identified Costello as a key figure in the nation's largest gambling syndicates. Senator Estes Kefauver took the stage against organized crime, at the head of a special committee.
United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency