The Hellfire Club(89)

“I see,” said Kefauver.

“Mr. Chairman,” said Charlie, “may I ask a question or two of the witness?”

“If the senator from Tennessee is willing to yield,” said Hendrickson.

“With delight,” said Kefauver.

“Mr. Gaines, I’m Charlie Marder, the congressman from this district.”

“I recognize the name. You were recently appointed to the seat. Your dad helped get it for you.”

Charlie could hear some quiet gasps from the audience and some rude guffaws, but he smiled indulgently.

“That’s me!” Charlie said, prompting some appreciative laughter. “Perhaps you can help me understand something.”

“Perhaps,” said Gaines.

“You say that children who read your comics won’t be swayed by the demonstrations of evil and gore since they know it’s just a story.”

“Correct.”

“No impact on them at all, these lessons of how to kill your father and frame your mother because they won’t buy you the doll you want.”

“None whatsoever.”

“And yet you say definitively that the lessons you preach against prejudice in those very same comics are absorbed by children.”

“We believe so, yes. These are basic lessons of morality.”

“So help me understand: Why would the good lessons be heeded and the bad lessons ignored?” Charlie asked.

More murmurs erupted from the audience. The television cameraman pushed his lens closer to Gaines’s face to catch the dramatic moment as he realized that he had just acknowledged that his comics had an influence on the behavior of children.

“Very clever, Mr. Marder,” he finally said. “But none of this hides the fact that this whole hearing is a sham.”

“It is?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, it is!” Gaines said, growing agitated. “It’s a sham because children are being raised in poverty and squalor, and instead of focusing on the very real issues of prejudice and the historical legacy of slavery, you’re looking at comic books.”

“We are looking at comic books, you’re right about that,” Charlie said. “And while I don’t disagree that juvenile delinquency is a multifaceted problem, some of it, maybe even most of it, rooted in the conditions you just named, let us focus on the issue at hand. If one of the court clerks can please deliver this to Mr. Gaines.”

Gaines briefly examined the paper a clerk handed him, then raised an eyebrow.

“And?” Gaines said, irritated.

“This is a page from your True Tales comic book from January 1953, issue number two hundred and thirty-seven, correct?”

“I don’t have the title page in front of me,” Gaines said.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” said Charlie. “Here’s a copy of the comic book itself. Let’s pass this over to Mr. Gaines. I have an extra.”

“Thank you,” Gaines said, in a tone that was anything but grateful.

“The first story in the comic is a nine-page tale of a boy using common household products to hurt an intruder.”

“You don’t begrudge a child in a work of fiction defending himself, do you, Congressman Marder? Surely you wouldn’t prefer a comic where the intruder savages an innocent child?”

Charlie chuckled. “I wasn’t aware those were the only two options, Mr. Gaines.” The audience laughed. Charlie stole a quick peek at Kefauver, who was grinning like a proud papa.

“For those of you in the pews here,” Charlie continued, prompting more chuckles, “or those of you at home,” he added, pointing with his pen to the camera lens, “let me share some details about this comic—but unlike Mr. Gaines, I shall be judicious about what I share, since children might be watching. In one panel the child combines two drain cleaners to burn the eyes of the intruder. With another common cleaning item, a polish that’s very flammable, he sets the intruder on fire. These are barely disguised household products you likely have in your closets or underneath your kitchen sinks. I believe my wife and I have these in our home. In light of the irresponsibility of publishers such as Mr. Gaines and IC Comics, I would recommend that all the moms and dads out there either lock up household cleansers or put them on high shelves where children cannot reach them.”

The crowd was hanging on Charlie’s every word. Gaines appeared confused, as if he were trying to figure out how to respond.

“My wife is pregnant, Mr. Gaines, and God willing, we will have more children after this one, and God willing we will be able to figure out ways to prevent them from falling victim to your recklessness.”

There was silence, followed by a smattering of applause, but Gaines interrupted it.

“High and mighty,” Gaines said. “High. And. Mighty. You want to talk about chemicals that are dangerous to children, Congressman Marder?” Gaines shifted in his seat and paused dramatically. “Let’s talk about chemicals dangerous to children. What about the General Kinetics plant being built in Harlem? Are those chemicals harmful to children?”

Hendrickson banged the gavel. “Mr. Gaines, Congressman Marder is not a witness here!”

“Am I the only one under oath?” Gaines shouted back. “Why are our elected officials not required to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but?”