STATEMENT OF HON. HUGH J. ADDONIZIO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Mr. ADDONIZIO. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, it is a distinct honor to testify before the committee for a few moments on a subject which demands our very serious attention-the subject of the switchblade knife and its relation to juvenile delinquency.

There is obviously no clear-cut solution that will miraculously cause delinquency or its symptoms to disappear. I firmly believe, however, that those factors which are clearly recognized as agents contributing to the corruption of our youth must be eliminated as soon as they are uncovered. Banning switchblade knives from interstate commerce will not rid us of the unfortunate affliction of juvenile crime. The factors causing delinquency are highly complex and will require considerable effort and concentration before the total problem is reduced to manageable proportions. But the effort to remove the switchblade knife from too easy accessibility is one step we can take. For the switchblade, with its long, handsomely shaped handle and discreetly concealed but fast-opening blade, is a favored weapon of the juvenile gang. It is a symbol of terror.

At the present time, there are no Federal restraints prohibiting the sale, possession, or transportation of this agent of crime. It is available, on a whim, to impressionable adolescents, the mentally unbalanced or to anyone who may wish to purchase one. While some States have specific legislation forbidding the sale, possession, or transportation of this knife within its borders, they have found it impossible to control the situation because switchblades are available across State lines. The recent (March 1958) report on juvenile delinquency of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary states:

The subcommittee's investigation disclosed that many of these knives were manufactured abroad and distributed by firms in this country who handle numerous items in addition to switchblade knives.

It was established that these items were being widely distributed through the mail by distributors to the various States that had local laws prohibiting possession, sale, or distribution of switchblade knives. This fact, the subcommittee feels, points out the need for Federal control of the interstate shipment of these instruments, since local legislation is being systematically circumvented through the mail-order device.

In the United States, 2 manufacturers have a combined production of over 1 million switchblade knives a year. * * It is estimated that the total

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traffic in this country in switchblade knives exceeds 1,200,000 per year. The questionnaires returned by police chiefs throughout the country indicate that many switchblade knives have been confiscated from juveniles. The police chiefs, almost without exception, indicate that these vicious weapons are on many occasions the instrument used by juveniles in the commission of robberies and assaults. Of the robberies committed in 1956, 43.2 percent were by persons under 21 years of age. A switchblade knife is frequently part of the perpetrator's equipment in this type of crime. In New York City alone in 1956, there was an increase of 92.1 percent of those under 16 arrested for the possession of dangerous weapons, one of the most common of which is the switchblade knife.

Out of several hundred questionnaires sent by the subcommittee to purchasers of switchblade knives, whose names were derived from a distributor's mailing list, 133 responses have been received. Seventy-five percent of the purchasers were under 20 years of age, and of this group, 43 percent were between 11 and 15 years of age. Of the persons responding to the questionnaire, only a small portion claimed that the knives were secured for a constructive purpose. My bill, H. R. 11289, is designed to prohibit the manufacture, transportation, or distribution in interstate commerce of the switchblade

knife, or the manufacturing, sale, or processing of any switchblade knife within any territory or possession of the United States.

Across America today, a significant minority of teen-agers is on the rampage. Almost daily Almost daily we read of their escapades, robbery, vandalism, and, on occasion, murder. Crime statistics collected over the past 8 years show that the number of juvenile delinquency cases before juvenile courts more than doubled between 1948 and 1956. Present juvenile crimes are gruesome, wanton, and brutal in many cases. It is hard to imagine the heartless compulsion that led a 19-year-old New York youth to kill a 15-year-old polio victim. It is hard to imagine what kind of temperament led three other youths to dump a derelict old man into a river.

Yet we must bring ourselves to face the truth. Police chiefs and law-enforcement officers all over the country report that in many instances of juvenile crime, switchblade knives are frequently among the weapons used by juveniles. The enactment of my bill, H. R. 11289, will do much to prevent the current widespread distribution of these articles. By imposing criminal sanctions on malefactors, we will be able to save our youth and curb the manufacturers and distributors who thoughtlessly undermine our national integrity.

Every conceivable kind of action that will reduce this problem deserves careful consideration. Our concern for the relationship of the switchblade knife to the total picture of juvenile crime represents only one aspect of the total consideration and, the ultimate solution of the problem. Our problem today is, what are we going to do to prevent the incidence of delinquency in so many of our young people? Various proposals have been discussed but no revolutionary suggestions have been put forward. We all have a responsibility for the healthy development of our youth. If we allow the situation to remain as it is, then we are not doing the best we can. We are, instead, permitting the people of our country to be endangered by an item that, in its misuse, can cause a great deal of harm. Just as any weapon designed to do harm is restricted to privileged use, I feel that restrictions should also be placed on the switchblade knife. If by supporting its illegality we can eliminate its free distribution, prevent its careless use, and reduce its widespread popularity, we will be making a tremendous gain.

For, as Dr. Northbert Grunbaum, a departmental psychiatrist attached to the Brooklyn prison, has said:

Juvenile delinquency is a disease, an infectious disease. It has its own spread factor and epidemiology. We must learn to treat and control it in the same way we treat the deadly fevers-first we invented the microscope, then we found the bugs.

Mr. Chairman, by isolating switchblade knives so that they no longer act as one of the infecting agents which help produce juvenile delinquency, we shall have made an important step toward wiping out this disease.

I earnestly appeal to all of you to support this bill. Regard for our youth and concern for our own well-being should sufficiently motivate us to support this legislation. As soon as we permit our young people to acquire, in an easy manner, the destructive devices they desire, we too are as guilty as the youngster who uses the switchblade to perform his act of violence.

Authorities tell us that the juvenile delinquent is a trouble apathetic youngster, suffering from many things. He has no sense of personal identity developed through healthy relationships and communication with others. He has no sense of value or worth. Thus, he affiliates with gangs and identifies himself with cults, adopting their distorted values. It is because of his apparent weaknesses that society must make decisions for him that he is incapable of making for himself.

It is because of these considerations that I sincerely and strongly urge your support of this bill. Thank you for scheduling these hearings on by bill, H. R. 11289, and similar measures.

Mr. MACK. Thank you, Mr. Addonizio.

Mr. ADDONIZIO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. MACK. Are there any other witnesses present this morning who desire to be heard?

Evidently there is no one appearing in opposition to the legislation. The committee will stand adjourned subject to the call of the Chair. (Whereupon, at 11: 10 a. m., Thursday, April 17, 1958, the hearing was adjourned, subject to the call of the Chair.)