THE CRUSADERS
Oddly, most of the backers of the anti-switchblade bills
agreed with Secretary Weeks that prohibiting switchblades
would accomplish little in the way of curtailing crime. They
readily admitted that their measure was largely symbolic.
Being politicians, however, they knew that empty but highly
visible symbolic acts garner far more votes than low-profile
but effective reforms. They also knew that it was politically
safer to criminalize the actions of a couple of small
manufacturers, rather than to punish the juvenile delinquency
of the children of some of their constituents.
The most persistent advocate of a switchblade ban was
Representative James J. Delaney of New York City, author of
the first federal anti-switchblade bill back in 1954. That
first effort never made it out of committee.
In his testimony before the House commerce committee on
April 17, 1958, Delaney stated, "Every day our newspapers
report numerous muggings and attacks, most of them involving
knives. Can we sit by complacently and ignore the bloodshed
in our streets? Doing away with switchblades will not be a
cure-all for the crime wave sweeping the Nation, but it will
remove one of the favorite weapons of our juvenile and
criminal element.
"... it was not until about 1949 or 1950 that these things
came into common usage. In the gathering of juvenile gangs
and clans, nearly every one of them has a switchblade. It is
a ritual with some of them to carry switchblades. It is not
only the boys, but I was surprised to find that a great
number of the girls carry them also."
Congressman Delaney's mind was made up, so it probably
would have been pointless to confuse him with the facts.
Switchblades came into common use in the United States, not
around 1950 as he stated, but around 1850. After the turn of
the century, thanks to the inventive genius of George Schrade
(and the "protection" of the Tariff Acts of 1891 and 1897),
American made switchblades of all sizes became popular and
commonplace.
