Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-26

specimens from oak leaves all
over the country and became
known as the worlds top au-
thority on the subject. He had
been a boys camp counselor
while working his way through
Bowdoin College.
DR.. Kinsey joined the Indiana
University faculty in 1920 after
receiving his doctor of science
degree at Harvard. Eighteen
years later, when assigned to
teach a class on marriage, he
was disturbed to find little in
formation on the subject, either
in the minds of students or on
library shelves.
Public protests quickly ended
the marriage course, but not
the new curiosity of the wasp
expert. At A, the short, stocky,
sandy haired professor started
out interviewing the faculty
friends and students who would
cooperate. He worked out a
form which he filled out in code
so the interview would seem as
impersonal as possible.
To protect the secrecy of case
histories. DR.. KinSey said the
key to the code was never writ
ten but remained in the minds
of an inner circle of trusted
workers.
Paid Assistant Himself
He paid a graduate student
$500 a year out of his own pock-
ct during the early years of the
project. BY 1941, the National
Research Council gave him a
ISL 600 grant.
Before the first book was pub
Ilished. DR.. Kinsey incorporated
the institute in 1947, and all
royalties have gone back into its
operation. He dropped his class
room duties and set out to do
eight to nine books on sex re-
search.
DIR. Kinsey avoided sensation
Ializing his reports and even re-
fused fees for speaking about the
subject. A biology textbook he
wrote in 1926 has run to almost
half a million copies through the
years, without any of the stir
that flared over his sex reports.
His wife. Clara Bracken Nc
IMillen Kinsey, one of his early
zoology students, was with him
when he died. On the 21a-acre
grounds of the Kinseys, red brick
home in Bloomington. he once
had a connoisseur's collection of
iris and ITO kinds of trees.
Also surviving are a son. Bruce.
OF Cleveland. Ohio: and two
daughters, Mrs. Robert Reed.
wife of a physician in Columbus,
Ind. and Mrs. Warren Corning
of Winnetka, Ill.
Gave Reasons for Projects
DR.. Kinsey once explained the
reasons for his research projects
in these words: e.
at is extremely important to
learn the why's of human beha-
vior But before we can find
out why humans behave sexually
as they do, we've got to find out
just what it is they do. We have
a lot of conjectures about the
why without understanding
clearly the how and the what
lof sexual behavior"
His two books on sex remain
controversial. Some critics have
said the reports of DR.. Kinsey
will undermine moral standards
Thy making almost my kind of
sex practices accepta bic Just be-
cause they have been carried on.
On the other hand, DR. o.
tSpurgeon English of Temple Uni
IYerSity once said:
1sDr. Kinsey didn't invent sex.
He didn't make our sex problems.
But he showed us what the prob
lens are, and we must do some
thing about them"
The Evangelical United
Brethren general conference in
1850 announced that DIR. Kin
sey's work has served to remind
Jus of the sinfulness of man."
interviewed $1,000
In preparation for the books,
DR.. KinSey and his associates
interviewed some 10000 men and
women over period of Is years.
People of all social strata were
included. according to DR.. Kin
Isey. Because of the complicated
code method to assure secrecy.
DR.. Kinsey and his workers were
said to have been able to extract
highly personal information
from the subjects interviewed.
He was the son of an engineer
ing professor at Stevens In
Istitute of Technology and had
spent his boyhood at South
Orange, N. j.