757-1109) Part 4 (pp. He was unable to recall exactly how much he had invested in the Desert Inn, possibly a quarter-million dollars? Mr. Monroe Froehlich Jr. - Business Manager of Magazine Management Co. (Marvel Comics). We have provided links to the hearing volumes and summaries of their contents below: Part 1. These dramatic hearings also made certain that television would play a large role in future Senate investigations. I refer, of course, to the 1954 Senate Subcommittee hearing on Juvenile Delinquency, where Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN), used the spectacle of televised hearings to lambast the entire industry. A psychiatrist that deals with Juvenile Delinquents that is "in the middle of the road." American News is one of, if not the biggest National Distributor of comic books at this time. Congress. She wasnt about to let some stuffy senators from Washington, D.C. rough her up the way they had Costello. The hearings made Estes Kefauver so popular that he decided to seek the Democratic Partys presidential nomination in 1952. The committee's legislative achievements were modest, at best. The television broadcasts educated a broad audience about the complicated issues of interstate crime. [1] The term capo di tutti capi was introduced to the U.S. public by the Kefauver Commission. <> The Adlai Stevenson-Kefauver ticket lost the election to incumbents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. Lansky was washed out in this transaction. spelled with an H in the middle. The committee had already been conducting hearings for five months, and they were tired. Then Clarks powers of recollection began to falter. 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. [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). Prices of patented antibiotics held constant for nearly a decade prior to the Kefauver hearings. It's taken me 5 years to get this online. Record Kefauver Upload Audio File Helpful. William J. Moore was up first. Usage Policy | [4], The committee's work led to several significant outcomes. WNYC has released the first day of the hearings, April 21, 1954. Called to testify, Wertham continued his attack on comic books, concluding "I think Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic book industry." Inquire with Special Collections about contents and access. Sometimes only the Sedway then talked about his partnerships with Siegel in the Golden Nugget and Frontier Club race books, but, when pressed about Siegels outside interests, objected that Siegel wasnt the talkative type. None of the witnesses made the impact of Frank Costello, who started out by refusing to testify because, he said, the microphones would prohibit him from privately consulting with his attorney, sitting next to him. Senator Estes Kefauvers role in the hearings led to a boost in popularity and national attention, including this Time magazine cover. Testifying before the committee in New York, Costello, with his well-coiffed hair and tailored suits, came to personify the American gangster in public imagination. [4] Among its recommendations were: The creation of a "racket squad" within the United States Department of Justice; the establishment of a permanent Crime Commission at the federal level; the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee to include interstate organized crime; federal studies into the sociology of crime; a ban on betting via radio, television, telegraph, and telephone; the establishment of state and local crime commissions; and a request that the Justice Department investigate and prosecute 33 named individuals as suspected leaders of organized crime in the United States. When she finished, she had to fight her way past the throng of scribes, slapping one female reporter in the face and cursing the photographers. THE KEFAUVER DRUG HEARINGS 63 biotics. Below are links I made to all the testimony, going in order as they appeared. 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. 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. Dr. Fredric Wertham - Author of Seduction of the Innocent. His interest in the Flamingo and a small share of the Frontier Club turf book were his only Nevada assets. endobj [1] The Kefauver Committee was the first to suggest that civil law be expanded and used to combat organized crime. Your ad here, right now: $0. between DC Comics, American Comics Group, Prize Comics and more. President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime (Copyright holder), United States. [2], Organized crime was the subject of a large number of widely read articles in several major newspapers and magazines in 1949. The second subseries is a variety of financial records kept by Kefauver. It is the user's responsibility to obtain permission to publish texts and facsimiles from the owners of the copyright. Americans had seen nothing like it beforenot in their own living rooms. The committee later cited him for contempt and he served jail time. Popularly known as the Kefauver Committee after its telegenic chairman, the committee captivated the nation in 1950-1951 with its televised hearings. 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. Remembering Estes Kefauver, by Theodore Brown, Jr. and Robert B. Allen, The Progressive Populist, 1996, http://www.populist.com/96.10.kefauver.html. Today's Concerns About Drug Prices Echo The Past The two sides went back and forth on this issue. Despite the potential political cost to his party, Kefauver pledged to lead a "no stones unturned, no holds barred, right down the middle of the road, let the chips fall where they may" inquiry. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? This group of politicians really respect Fulton. There were child experts Hearings led by Sen. Estes Kefauver in 1959 and 1960 were the first significant congressional inquiry into rising drug costs and drug-company profits. [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. 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. NexisUni has some of these transcripts. 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. 435-755) Part 3 (pp. The bulk of the materials in this collection may be constituent mail. %PDF-1.5 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. Council on Law Enforcement (Creator), Economic Club of Detroit (Copyright holder), Hudson Guild (New York, N.Y.) (Copyright holder), Kefauver, Estes, 1903-1963 (Copyright holder), Library of Congress. Is this cover in good taste? The table of contents An architect by trade, he came to Las Vegas in 1941 to design the Hotel Last Frontier for his uncle, R.E. 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. I've included the pictures too! Virginia Hill appears before Kefauver Committee / Committee Counsel Rudolph Halley questions Hill about money spent during Sun Valley vacation; photographer takes pictures during hearing / WS men and women taking notes / Hill explains she only uses cash / Sen. Estes Kefauver looks on as Halley asks question / VO Kefauver finishes question about gambling on horses; laughter from gallery as SOT . Kefauver excused Greeson and moved on to the next witness, Wilbur Clark. This man is trying to ban Crime and Horror Comics in New Jersey. Moore revealed that since the Tax Commission had begun issuing licenses, it had refused hundreds of applications and revoked as many as 100 for reasons of character. Halley asked why William Graham and James McKay, notorious Reno racketeers, had been granted licenses despite their convictions for altering government bonds in the southern district of New York. 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. 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. He passed a law banning Crime Comics in Canada, but it didn't work. After estimating that the Flamingo produced $400,000 after taxes per year, Sedway was excused. First-term senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee drafted a resolution to create a special committee to investigate the issue. various people in the comic book industry. United States. All materials in the first subseries are filed alphabetically according to folder topic. Terms of Use Mr. William A. Eichhorn - Vice President of American News Co. "It has made millions of us aware of conditions that we would never have fully realized even if we had read the newspaper accounts. 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. They said they wouldn't be selling them, but the distribution companies wouldn't give them the better selling magazines like TV Guide unless they took and sold the crime and horror comics. horror comics were being sold. Some of it Senate. In addition to his duties at the Last Frontier, Moore served as a member of the Nevada Tax Commission, the administrative body that oversaw the collection of taxes from Nevada businesses, including casinos. "Stenographic transcript of hearings before the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. The committee became popularly known as the Kefauver Committee because of its chairman, Senator Estes Kefauver. 1735-1990) Part 7 (pp. You will notice that a few child experts are called up to testify. The Kefauver Hearings NCS The Kefauver Committee was named after Estes Kefauver who was the first chairman to sit in on the hearings. With that explanation, Kefauver thanked and excused Jones and Wiener. He really hates anything "indecent." The Hearings were only supposed to be for two days, but a third day came about because of the issue of 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. Public interest in the Kefauver inquiry peaked in March 1951 when the committee convened hearings in New York City and millions of Americans watched the live broadcast. Museum building location of the famed Kefauver hearings (1950-51) that exposed organized crime. Questions about Senate History? The Kefauver collection is currently divided into fourteen series available for research. Jones denied any detailed knowledge, deferring to Wiener, though he volunteered that Morris Rosen had assumed a position of authority of some of Siegels interests. These are the 1954 Senate Subcommittee Hearings into Juvenile Delinquency, with the special focus Outcome [3] Many cities and states called for federal help in dealing with organized crime, yet federal law provided few tools for the U.S. government to do so. Process Courtesy of Robert Stoldal. 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. 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. He admitted to knowing George Sadlo, an El Paso gambler who frequently visited the Thunderbird and was an intimate of Jack Lanskys but insisted that both men just liked to gamble at the casino. www.senate.gov. Though he was unsuccessful in his bid for the presidency, in 1956 Democrats selected Kefauver as their vice presidential candidate. As Jones tried to answer, Kefauver interrupted him mid-sentence. Firemen's Head Claims Ex-Mayor Got $10,000, Committee Hears Hoover and McGrath in Capital, Contact | Kefauver Committee Hearing: Committee Hears Hoover and McGrath in Capital. E. D. Fulton - Member of the House of Commons in Canada, Mr. Samuel Black - Vice President Atlantic Coast Independent Distributors Association. Mr. George B. Davis - President Kable News Co. Hon. Business and political leaders demanded action. He shared his story: born in Poland, naturalized as a citizen in 1914, a resident of New York City until 1938, Los Angeles from 1938 to 1940, and Las Vegas from 1941 onward. Press releases, speeches, article drafts, and government publications penned by politician Estes Kefauver and colleagues on the organized crime and juvenile delinquency commissions are included in this collection. Halley queried him about how much he paid for each interest and the ownership structure of the Thunderbird. surprise that the hearings worked in getting the comic book industry to adopt a self censoring code. The few pro-comics experts Chairman:C. Estes Kefauver 1950-1951; Herbert O'Conor 1951, Lester Hunt (D-WY) If I wasnt interested in a business, he didnt discuss that business with me. After Tobey went on an extended diatribe that culminated with him calling Sedway and his partners a cancer spot on the body politic, the senator returned the floor to Halley, who continued questioning Sedway in less judgmental terms about his current businesses and his knowledge of the business of Lansky, Sadlo, Costello, Dragna and Hymie Levin, about which he claimed to know nothing. Afternoon Session: Legislative Reference Service. Wearing a mink cape, silk gloves, and a large hat, and with the presence of a movie star, Hauser strutted into the U.S. This guy is already in prison for publishing and mailing obscene stuff.