The Kefauver hearings on organized crime proved a fascinating and engrossing revelation to many Americans introducing for the first time to many viewers terms such as "the Mafia" and the details of how criminal organizations worked. Email a Senate historian. 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. Dybwad shows us the DC Comics internal Comic Code they used during this period. | READ MORE. In the casinos six and half months of operation, Clark had not yet been paid. The Committee went west to Los Angeles, taking testimony from a handcuffed Allen Smiley, one of mobster Benjamin Bugsy Siegels former associates. Committee on Juvenile Crime, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), Halley, Rudolph, 1913-1956, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), Hudson Guild (New York, NY), (Library of Congress Name Authority File), Kefauver, Estes, 1903-1963, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), United States Committee on Fair Employment Practice, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), United States. During his final months in office, a bitter Lucas tried unsuccessfully to prematurely end the committee's investigation. The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce traveled across the country in 1950 and 1951, holding hearings in many cities to expose organized crime. 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. Kefauver favored the creation of a Federal Crime Commission, which the FBI and Department of Justice ardently opposed. Short and sweet testimony. 725 ORGANIZED CRIME IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE After doing all the things called wrong, there she was on top of the world, with a beautiful home in Miami Beach and a handsome husband and baby!. The table of contents David G. Schwartz is the author of several works of history about Las Vegas, including At the Sands: The Casino That Shaped Classic Las Vegas, Brought the Rat Pack Together, and Went Out with a Bang; Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas; Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond; and Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling. William Gaines that the Senators didn't think was very funny. This series also appears to hold at least some of Kefauver's weekly television and radio messages to Tennesseans. Employment & Internships | 4 0 obj Questions about Senate History? He narrowly lost and was the vice presidential candidate alongside Adlai Stevenson. Senator Estes Kefauver (Democrat-Tennessee), held the seventh of 27 hearings in 14 cities in Las Vegas. 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. Various private transcription companies sit in on congressional hearings and record transcripts. Usage Policy | What about this one? Mr. Alex Segal - President, Stravon Publications. Gunner Dybwad - Executive Director of the Child Study Association of America. Today's Concerns About Drug Prices Echo The Past During the course of the 15-month investigation, the committee met in 14 major U.S. cities and interviewed hundreds of witnesses in open and executive session. The committee's summary, which implicated the governor in illicit gambling activities, proved to be Warren's political downfall. "Stenographic transcript of hearings before the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. lists the people testifying alphabetically by their name. showing and was forced out traditional comic book industry as a result. The Kefauver hearings, as they beca. 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. see 1950's US Government Transcribers were bad at spelling too. <> Region/Country. This is a public hearing and anyone has a right to be here, Kefauver told him. While that showdown led to new legal standards for drug safety and effectiveness, cost-control measures never made it to the final bill. Origins President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime (Creator), In Copyright - Rights-holder(s) Unlocatable or Unidentifiable, "Citizen's Responsibility for Law Enforcement", Second interim report of the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, "Senator Estes Kefauver to Meet Chelseans for Crime Discussion at Hudson Guild", Draft of statement rejecting legalized gambling, Press release from Senate Committee to Investigate Organized Crime, "Weekly Report from the Office of Estes Kefauver U.S. - Funny one page comic book commentary by | Visit ArchivesSpace.org [3][4] A compromise resolution was substituted which established a special committee of five Senators, whose membership would be drawn from both the Judiciary and Commerce committees. . Chairman:C. Estes Kefauver 1950-1951; Herbert O'Conor 1951, Lester Hunt (D-WY) Our policy prohibits reproduction of an entire collection. He calls them trash and wants a law to 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. He gives them the 1948 Comic Book Code from the A.C.M.P. "Mr. Carroll, I order you to testify!" "This whole proceeding outrages my sense of propriety," Carroll shouted. Dr. Fredric Wertham - Author of Seduction of the Innocent. The Kefauver hearings were televised, bringing organized crime into the living rooms of many Americans for the first time. Legislative Reference Service. Terry and the Pirates, then Steve Canyon. 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. Kefauver was elected to the House of Representatives in 1939 and re-elected four times; his support for President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal legislation made him stand out in conservative Tennessee. [12] The tremendous success of the broadcast led to the production of a cycle of "expos" crime films dealing with the dismantling of complex criminal organizations by law enforcement. Kefauver warned Carroll that hed be cited for contempt by the Senate, but Carroll refused to answer any questions, meandering nervously around the courtroom. Christian Life Commission (Publisher), United States. Television, Kefauver said calmly with a smile, is a recognized medium of public information along with radio and newspapers. Kefauvers Las Vegas hearings, then, helped provide a cocoon of monopoly for the Nevada casino industry to grow unchallenged for the next 25 years, which likely benefited the state as a whole. We have put the press off here for a long while, and Mr. Jones is going to bring his partner back. With that the committee adjourned, Kefauver held a press conference and went to lunch before returning. [1] The term capo di tutti capi was introduced to the U.S. public by the Kefauver Commission. 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. 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. Although the last subseries is named "abroad", there are also a few international files in the other subseries. 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. Yo*3ivo}+>3-= 8G>EjN@aXMD_ tcn/9PmcPVP\rn}\d:q@88q ,B&. This was called tie tn sales. Investigating gambling, according to one scholar, "meant that Kefauver and his colleagues first focused on urban areas, the strongholds of both gangsters and Democrats." 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 tie in sales. 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. Your Privacy Rights "It has made millions of us aware of conditions that we would never have fully realized even if we had read the newspaper accounts. Mr. William A. Eichhorn - Vice President of American News Co. Content Responsibility | 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. In St. Louis, the citys squirming police commissioner said he couldnt recall any details about his net worth before his life as a public official. You'll notice that Fulton's contribution to the hearings is labeled as a Statement and not a Testimony. His interest in the Flamingo and a small share of the Frontier Club turf book were his only Nevada assets. was no such thing as tie in sales and the comics can be returned. This guide will point you to publications of the United States Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) available online and in libraries. Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, (Library of Congress Name Authority File), United States. There ARE tie in sales. I think we had better put the press off no longer, the senator said. Though not the first congressional committee to televise its proceedings, the Kefauver Committee hearings became the most widely viewed congressional investigation to date. "The Senate investigation into interstate crime," it concluded, "was almost the sole subject of national conversation.". [10] The committee's final report, issued on April 17, 1951, included 22 recommendations for the federal government and seven recommendations for state and local authorities. Clark testified that he was aware of but did not have knowledge of his partners various scrapes with the law, which included bootlegging convictions and illegal gambling indictments. Kefauver's studied and balanced approach to his witnesses earned him the respect of many Americans. Housewives were glued to their sets day after day, while in barrooms and cafeterias, men gathered on their lunch breaks to witness the proceedings. Series XII: Speeches and News Releases (1939-1963) This series is arranged chronologically and described according to subject of speech or news releases and location given. THE KEFAUVER DRUG HEARINGS 63 biotics. Sheriffs Ex-Wife Tells Senators How He Accumulated $150,000, New York Times, January 27, 1951. https://scout.lib.utk.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/199540 Accessed May 01, 2023. He doesn't like the Crime and Horror Comics, but he also doesn't want a law banning them. Carroll, I order you to testify!, This whole proceeding outrages my sense of propriety, Carroll shouted back. Hearing locations vary. His book Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013. Mr. "Television and radio make these events more vivid and alive to the general public than newspapers," explained one New York teacher. [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. After Moore explained that the Commission had just denied a license to Joseph Doc Stacher because of his associates in New Jersey, Kefauver thanked and excused Moore. Oh, and there are NO tie in sales. Source for information on Kefauver Investigation and Knapp Commission: West's . All materials in the first subseries are filed alphabetically according to folder topic. between DC Comics, American Comics Group, Prize Comics and more. <> ", The broadcasts made the Kefauver Committee a household name; in March 1951, 72 percent of Americans were familiar with the Kefauver Committee's work. The articles also cover the hearings. The Hearings were only supposed to be for two days, but a third day came about because of the issue of The subseries are arranged in rough alphabetical order by title of committee subject. Process While examining this issue they Senator Kefauver would write the Senate Interim Reportin 1955 that summarizes the hearings and offers some conclusions. Diamond Jim Moran, the owner of La Louisiane Restaurant in New Orleans, took advantage of the free publicity and repeatedly plugged his restaurant, which was teeming with illegal slot machines. It was common knowledge in town. Executive session." Hearings led by Sen. Estes Kefauver in 1959 and 1960 were the first significant congressional inquiry into rising drug costs and drug-company profits. Museum building location of the famed Kefauver hearings (1950-51) that exposed organized crime. This is a 300+ page document and I used an OCR program to get it on my computer. Estes Kefauver Papers, 1925 - 1967 (MPA.0144) Personal and political files of the senator, who was well-known in the 1950s for his popular televised hearings on organized crime as well as his presidential and vice-presidential campaigns in 1952 and 1956, respectively.Newspaper clippings, eulogies and condolences after Senator Kefauver's death make up the portion of the collection dated . As Jones tried to answer, Kefauver interrupted him mid-sentence. Halley queried him about how much he paid for each interest and the ownership structure of the Thunderbird. I owe But the Kefauver hearings were only beginning to capture the publics attention. Hearings to Recall Earlier Investigations in Same Setting: McCarthy and Kefauver, by John Chadwick, The Lewiston Daily Sun, May 13, 1973. [3][4] Several local "crime commissions" in major cities and states had also uncovered extensive corruption of the political process by organized crime. Other accumulations of mail have been sorted by function (e.g., condolences) or by location of correspondent (eg., Tennessee county, international, et cetera. Milton Caniff was a very influential artist. Sometimes only the Next up was Moe Sedway, who, unprompted, poured out a list of his physical ailments: three major coronary thrombosis, an ulcer, an upper intestinal abscess, and a six-week bout of diarrhea. I just got out of bed and am loaded with drugs, he told Kefauver. This group of politicians really respect Fulton. CBS News: Crime & The Committee - The Kefauver Hearings - Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio, Virginia Hill, William O'Dwyer & Frank Costello Testify (1958)For . Jones claimed to have never met him, nor had Lansky spent time at the Thunderbird. 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. Despite having a lot of fans, Johnny was embarrassed by his horror work and was very reluctant to return to it. 2 0 obj Volume 15. , 1950, Oct. 7, I, Box: 76. 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. They also bash EC artist Johnny Craig quite badly. He was aware, though, that Siegel had had an interest in the Golden Nuggets race book. E. D. Fulton - Member of the House of Commons in Canada. Feedback or questions? 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.. Many, if not most artists of the day wanted to be just like him. Senator Kefauver Wows Em on TV, by John Crosby, New York Herald Tribune, March 5, 1951. There were also Politicians from Canada, Samuel Roth - Publisher. The committee briefly recessed. The committee became popularly known as the Kefauver Committee because of its chairman, Senator Estes Kefauver. to keep the documents as authentic as possible. 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 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. Mr. George B. Davis - President Kable News Co. Hon. Intro to the Hearings, Descriptions of Crime and Horror Comic Book stories. Senator from Tennessee". 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. HTML menu inserted here for WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance. See more. testified. The entire metropolitan area had become obsessed with the drama. He passed a law banning Crime Comics in Canada, but it didn't work. Crime Attracts 1,000,000 TV Fans, by John Crosby, Daily Boston Globe, March 4, 1951. stream First-term senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee drafted a resolution to create a special committee to investigate the issue. In the Senate, Estes Kefauver (D-TN) chaired the Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly (part of the Senate Judiciary Committee) and had recently led a lengthy series of hearings on . a special thank you to Jeff Trexler for photocopying them and mailing to me for free. surprise that the hearings worked in getting the comic book industry to adopt a self censoring code. This committee became known to the public as the Kefauver Hearings, as freshman Tennessee senator Estes Kefauver, a Democrat, chaired it. More important were the non-legislative results of the investigation. In 1950, he introduced a Senate resolution to establish a committee to investigate labor racketeering in interstate commerce. United States. Terms of Use Many of the high profile casino. There were child experts Series XX: Christmas greetings to Nancy Kefauver 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." 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. He also gets the Gaines treatment with Marvel horror covers. Volume 15. , 1950, Oct. 7, I, Box: 76. 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. Two of the most noteworthy attacks were the Kefauver investigation in the 1950s and the Knapp Commission hearings in the 1970s. 202 .. See other formats Clark retained 25 percent, and 1 percent went to newsman Herman Hank Greenspun. The Chicago investigation connected top officialsmost of whom were members of the Democratic Partywith corrupt practices. ban crime and horror comics and they treat them with the highest amount of respect possible. Committee on Juvenile Crime (Creator), District of Columbia. The University of Tennessee Libraries allows the reproduction of materials from its digital collections, in compliance with United States copyright law. These hearings resulted in the formation of Comics Magazines Association of America, Inc. and Other states considering legalized gambling (including California) demurred, and states with some tolerance of various legal gambling schemes closed those loopholes. Halley asked Jones if he knew Meyer Lansky. Former New York City mayor William O'Dwyer testified to allegations of corruption during his tenure. Mr. Richard Cledenen - Executive Director, US Senate Subcommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency. 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. 1991-2578) Part 8 (pp. Gilbert King Series XXI: Posthumous material, The Modern Political Archives are housed at the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy. Distributors from top to bottom all insisted there Many constituents wrote to Kefauver to express their opinions or to request aid, and the Senator and his staff responded to these in increasingly programmatic ways. Criminals "as suave and well-mannered as their investigators," observed one journalist, "were treated with the courtesy customarily reserved for law-abiding citizens." 1509-1734) Part 6 (pp. Series XVIII: Miscellaneous office materials Gilbert King is a contributing writer in history for Smithsonian.com. Send us corrections Comments 0. that did not think comics had an effect on juvenile delinquency, but they were not invited to testify. on Comic Books. This is Estes Kefauvers briefcase from his days as a congressman and senator representing Tennessee. Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver ran to be the Democratic nominee for president. The Senate responded, extending support for the investigation to September 1, 1951. Mr. Monroe Froehlich Jr. - Business Manager of Magazine Management Co. (Marvel Comics). 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. 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. Stacher had applied for a license to become a partner in Bill Graham and Jim McKays Bank Club. [4][6] Many of the committee's hearings were televised live on national television to large audiences, providing many Americans with their first glimpse of organized crime's influence in the U.S.[1][5][7] Among the more notorious figures who appeared before the committee were Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo, Louis "Little New York" Campagna, Mickey Cohen, Willie Moretti, Frank Costello, Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik, Meyer Lansky, Paul "The Waiter" Ricca,[6][8] Virginia Hill (former Joe Adonis-Chicago Outfit messenger and mobster Benjamin Siegel's girlfriend), and four of Irish mob boss Enoch "Nucky" Johnson's former policemen in Atlantic City were also called forth. Mr. William Gaines - Publisher of EC Comics. A psychiatrist that deals with Juvenile Delinquents that is "in the middle of the road." It's taken me 5 years to get this online. [4][5] More than 600 witnesses testified. He had heard that Dalitz was in the laundry business, but that was all. New York and New Jersey, various doctors and educators, Comic Strip artists and Fredric Wertham himself