Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1963-12-19
Manufacturers Offering
Weapons That Annihilate


out the county and country serenade customers with angelic
chors singing of peace earth goodwill to men, Mr. and
Mrs j. D. Public carefully selecting Christmas gifts
for their youngsters such things gueillatype scat
ter gun guaranteed "mow em down you set
EN- up"
And that doesn't meet with their satisfaction they
buy him 50shot machine that he can
be "combatready guerrilla fighter"
And they are afraid that Janey will be left out
of the play they always buy her combat outfit
complete with candy pills play hypodermc
needle, so she can treat her "combatready friends
True it's all in play but it hardly echoes the sentiments
of that Christmas carol or those of the
The that warke toys and the demand for them have
increased greatly this Christmas has caused many parents
concerned with possible psychological damage they may
create, to be up in
For example, group of 10 families in the Morristown,
Nd. conducting telephone and eerwritng
pagn against toys that represent instruments of and
destruction
And you think they exaggerang, go down to your
nearest toy store and take look
You'll find missile firing cannon in all sizes, which is
advertised having push button and electric controls that
puts everything under your ngerps and all types of long
range bazookas with exploding pllbox and hree harm
less rockets"
Also readymade kits with hand grenades and if
you've got who has everything in this line there is
always the exploding road set which adverises 1.-THE road
really blows up and to the front shows eep
plus several soldiers being blown to bits.
Times have changed have methods of warfare and
so it seems toys have reflected these changes.
Is this teaching youngsters about the desabiy of the
world remaining at peace?
Dr. Lois Barclay Murphy child psychologist at the
famous Menninger Foundation in Topeka Kan reports in
magazine article there better ways such games
for boy develop mascuinty without encouraging
like attitudes time when the world faces destruction
Dr. Michael B. Rohenburg clinical professor of child
psychology the Albert Ensten College of Medicine and
director of Chrens Psycarc Services at Beth Ell Hospital
in Brooklyn N.Y. reports in another magazine What the
wartoy manufacturers doing is exploiting the worlds
agony in the coldblooded fashion
They concerned with what they doing to the
chlds psyche he continues for that matter to the
world children must release aggressive emotions they
should do against bowling pins dart boards not against
human effigies the symbols of civilization"
Other psychologists differ noting that there is nothing
wrong with developing aggressveness
One noted that playing is preparation for adult life.
When boys play with toy they preparing to use real
guns when they go into military service"
The psychologist added, after all, this is not
gentle Tahan world It's rough tough, competitive soci
ety."
Toy manufacturing is big business Twentyeight manu-
facurers currently competing with half dozen import
and of the largest crossed nearly $14 million last
year.
Whether not there need for federal controls the
industry will until defintive study done
the subject
Meanwhile toy manufacturers com ing out with
and realistic that guaranteed to do
and destructive things