LITTER-A-TURE'S EDITOR UNDER FIRE

an in the French Women's Army and published by Daigh's firm.

The editorial director insisted it Is "milder than Plato's symposium" in treating with homosexual experiences.

Daigh said the book's handling

of sexy matters was "no franker than the (Homer's) Iliad, and

House Probers Resent His Shakespeare's Hamlet was

Defense of Sexy Books

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1-(P) An editor of luridly sexy books tolds a hostile House investigating group today that the writings "reflect the life and times of the people" and are no racier than some of the works of Shakespeare, Homer and Plato.

The testimony came from Ralph (Daigh, editorial director of Fawcett publications of New York City. It drew sparks from members of the special House committee investigating the need for tougher laws against the distribution of obscene and other undesirable literature, before whom Daigh spoke at a public hearing. He was the first witness called.

Books, he said, “must reflect the world as it is."

Daigh defended a list of books under the committee's fire which tell with varied degrees of frankness about strange sex practices, narcotics addiction, prostitution land lust.

1

So Much for Culture

"We are satisfying a great hunger for reading," Daigh told the committee, "and in so doing are adding materially to the education, literacy and literary appreciation of all walks of life in this country."

Daigh said many of the books the committee wants banned from sale are kept in his own home, and that his 13-year-old daughter "is free to read them if she wishes,' but isn't interested in them,

The investigating Congress members trained special fire on Women's Barracks, book

adapted from the diary of a wom-

based on murder, adultery and incest.

Representative Kearns (R.-Pa.), a former school superintendent, snapped that "it is a terrifically weak defense to compare this book with the classics" and took vigorous exception to Daigh's statement

that he saw nothing wrong with allowing high school students to read it.

"That's going too far for me,” Kearns snapped.

The committee chairman, Repitold the witness sternly that some resentative Gathings (D.-Ark.),

passages of "women's barracks” couldn't even be quoted at a public hearing.

Another witness, Samuel Black, a distributor of periodicals in Springfield, Mass, told the committee that the publishers usually pay the fines of wholesale and retail dealers, convicted of selling obscene matter. And also hire lawyers to defend them in court.