The Child Buyer (24 page)

Senator SKYPACK. This woman's a Frankenstein!

THE CHILD BUYER

Dr. GOZAR. My maternal instincts, which haven't had much exercise in my lifetime, were turning out to be pretty formidable. It's the closest I've ever come, I guess, to imitating a mother tigress protecting her cub. I ran back to Lincoln, to the playground alongside the auditorium. I had to guess the interior distance from the window to the lectern, and, as it happens, I underestimated the distance by about eight to ten feet. I paced off the required distance outdoors, set my engin volant and timer, and shot back to my seat in the hall, and when I sat down I said in a loud whisper to my neighbor, 'What's she saying? Did I miss anything?' Pretending to be fascinated. 'I had to make a phone call/1 whispered. Cover-up.

Senator MANSFIELD. What did you set the timer at?

Dr. GOZAR. My entire errand had taken not more than thirteen or fourteen minutes. It was a gamble just how long Henley would shoot off her mouth, but, not wanting the bomb to go off too soon after my return to the auditorium, I had set it for eight minutes. Eight minutes! They were like eight months. One nice ironic note. At about the seven-minute point, as I estimated, Henley took a crack at me—my harming Barry by singling him out for special help in the lab. 'Just you wait a minute, Henley/ I said to myself, 'you'll have my answer to that stinking statement/ And after one minute—beautiful! I saw the little sphere glisten as it arched through the window. It didn't quite make the stage, but fell on the floor in front. A delightfully pretty yellow-green smoke curled up over the heads of the audience in the front rows. It began to spread. People jumped up. I said in a loud innocent voice to my neighbor, 'What's happened? Did you see what happened? What's going on?' Then I saw Owing and Cleary running around with their arms over their heads and Mil-licent Parmelee Henley, B.S., M.A., heading for the wings with her hands to her face.

Senator SKYPACK. Are you completely finished, miss?

Monday, October 28

Dr. GOZAR. I'll never admit I'm completely finished, Senator.

Senator SKYPACK. All I can say is, this has been one of the most disgusting, shameful, degrading exhibitions it has ever been my privilege as a State Senator to have to sit through and witness. I mean, here's an educationist, sitting here without once saying she's sorry, and she—

Senator MANSFIELD. I found it instructive, Jack. Didn't you, Peter?

Senator VOYOLKO. Who, me? What I want to know—what she want with that rat trap? I didn't dig that part. She trying to catch a rat or something?

Senator MANSFIELD. Never mind, Peter. In any case, Mr. Broadbent, we'd better keep things rolling. And thank you, Dr. Gozar. Most instructive.

Senator SKYPACK. Most disgusting! I mean, a person, we entrust our young people to a person . . .

Mr. BROADBENT. I'll call Mr. Sean Cleary. Mr. Cleary.

Senator MANSFIELD. You're sworn, Mr. Cleary. Take your seat. Good. Now, Mr. Broadbent.

TESTIMONY OF MR. SEAN CLEARY, DIRECTOR OF GUIDANCE, TOWN OF PEQUOT

Mr. BROADBENT. This afternoon, sir, we're discussing the Rudd-Renzulli incident. We understand you came in on the tag end of it.

Mr. CLEARY. Yes, I did.

Mr. BROADBENT. Would you give us your estimate—

Senator SKYPACK. We're beyond 'estimates' now, Broadbent. We need some rock-bottom facts here. Wouldn't you say, Cleary, that this was one of the smuttiest, cheapest incidents in the history of education in this State? The younger generation, the deadbeats we're breeding in this State.

THE CHILD BUYER

Mr. CLEARY. Frankly, it was the adult, Dr. Gozar, who surprised me most when I first came on the scene. It was almost as if she was working toward some vicarious reward or climax.

Senator SKYPACK. We're not interested in her, we're interested in that criminal little boy. I want to know what you did about this crying shame.

Mr. CLEARY. First of all, Senator, I always try, when we have an incident involving a disturbed child, to get things out, get them talked about—not try to smother and hide them, because if you sweep oily rags off in a corner and cover them over you're just going to have spontaneous combustion and maybe a wicked fire. I therefore promptly called Mr. Owing, Mr. Wairy, Mrs. Sloat, Miss Henley, and Mr. Jones, and gave each of them a complete rundown on the facts.

Senator MANSFIELD. Sounds more like stirring up a hornets' nest than ventilating rags.

Senator SKYPACK. You wouldn't expect him to shush a scandal like that up, would you, Aaron?

Senator MANSFIELD. From what we've seen here, I'm not sure that calling Bill Sloat is exactly the way to clear the air of inflammable fumes. I suppose this led to that P.-T. A. meeting.

Senator SKYPACK. What else did you do, Cleary?

Mr. CLEARY. I summoned the boy and gave him a Standardized Testing Institute Mirror-Image Personality Inventory.

Senator SKYPACK. You wanted to see whether he was dangerous?

Mr. CLEARY. This test is a remarkable instrument. I would estimate that it gives the equivalent of a three-year psychoanalysis in about twenty minutes. It makes use of carefully framed psyche-symbol questions, all answerable by yes or no, such as, 'Are you sometimes cranky before ten in the morning?' and, 'When a person catches a nose cold, is it his fault?' The choices are significant, the results strikingly revealing.

Monday, October 28

Senator SKYPACK. And what did you find out about this cheap incident?

Mr. CLEARY. It appeared to be a manifestation of transmuted Puritan libido-thrusts. The rubber gloves . . .

Senator SKYPACK. Let's not get high-flown, Cleary. Just a common garden-variety question. Was it good or bad?

Mr. CLEARY. It was good (from my point of view) in that the boy's bad behavior tends to give Jones a good chance to bring a bad (from the boy's point of view) outcome of this United Lymphomilloid proposition. On the other hand, it was bad (for the child buyer) because the episode was really a good (in the boy, psychiatrically speaking) sign that he could do something bad to such good effect.

Senator MANSFIELD. Mr. Cleary, that goes quite some ways beyond double talk. That's quadruple talk.

Senator SKYPACK. What I would like to know is, how are you going to punish him?

Mr. CLEARY. United Lymphomilloid—

Senator MANSFIELD. Don't I remember your telling us, Mr. Cleary, the first time you appeared before this committee, that there hadn't been time as yet for you to undertake psychological training? Do you think you're fully qualified—

Senator SKYPACK. That's a dirty, unfair question, Aaron. I seem to remember you said we weren't to manhandle our witnesses here.

Mr. CLEARY. No, Senator, I'd like to answer the Chairman's question. I think it stems from ignorance rather than malice. The psychological tests we use in the schools today, Mr. Chairman, are so foolproof, the norms are so stable, the scoring is so automatic, the interpretation is so ineluctible, that you need have no concern over one man's array of graduate degrees. In short, sir, we fenow about these children. Please calm your nerves about my training.

THE CHILD BUYER

Senator MANSFIELD. Another thing I seem to remember from your first appearance, Mr. Cleary, was your denial that the child buyer had done anything to influence you to help him. But we have heard testimony today that he is in fact finding you a new job.

Mr. CLEARY. There's nothing to deny in that! He's lining me up a job down in Fairfield County. Assistant Super. Big jump salary-wise, but of course I don't care about that part of it. It's just that a tadpole feels great when he sheds his tail and gets out of the slimy little pond he's been trapped in—know what I mean?

Senator MANSFIELD. You don't feel that there's anything irregular about this offer of his?

Mr. CLEARY. The significance of this kindness on his part, it seems to me, is in the way it shows his extraordinary perspicacity —his almost frightening powers of devination, clairvoyance. He must have some extrasensory ability, otherwise how could he have known that I had my restless shoes on?

Senator VOYOLKO. Mr. Leery.

Mr. CLEARY. Cleary.

Senator VOYOLKO. Mr. Whatever-It-Is. Where you go to school?

Mr. CLEARY. Perkins State Teachers.

Senator VOYOLKO. You play basketball?

Mr. CLEARY. As a matter of fact, I did.

Senator VOYOLKO. I thought so. See? I thought he did. Good and tall.

Mr. BROADBENT. If you gentlemen are finished with your questions—

Senator MANSFIELD. Jack?

Senator SKYPACK. I'm finished. I mean, you've got to crack down on these deadbeat kids, there's no other way in the world.

Senator MANSFIELD. All right, Mr. Cleary; thank you. O.K., Mr. Broadbent.

Monday, October 28

Mr. BROADBENT. Mr. Chairman, a few minutes ago Senator Skypack passed me a note that he wants to question the child buyer again.

Senator MANSFIELD. Do you still have him here?

Mr. BROADBENT. I think so. Yes, the committee usher indicates he's still out there.

Senator MANSFIELD. I would certainly want to honor the wishes of my eminent colleague from Sudbury County. Have Mr. Jones brought in. Thank you, Mr. Jones, for bearing with us again. Help yourself to the witness chair.

TESTIMONY OF MR. WISSEY JONES, OF UNITED LYMPHOMILLOID CORPORATION

Senator SKYPACK. There's really only one question I want to ask Mr. Jones, and that is: Do you still want this boy, I mean after this business of stripping and pawing that little girl, the mortician's daughter, and all? Do you still want to buy him?

Mr. JONES. More than ever, sir.

Senator SKYPACK. That surprises me. That definitely surprises me. How could you want a cheap actor like that?

Mr. JONES. This proves he's alive. lie's juicy. lie's not one of your cobwcb-and-lint intellectuals. Oh, this was encouraging, Senator!

Senator SKYPACK. Well, it beats me. That's all I wanted to ask, Mr. Chairman. But you got me with my mouth open, Mr. Jones, if the national defense requires a sneaky actor like that. I mean I'm not surprised about those moon shots fizzling out, the lag in rocketry.

Mr. JONES. You'll just have to take my word for it, Senator. The boy's value is enhanced.

Senator SKYPACK. Oh, I'll go along with you, sir. If that's the way you say things are. I'm going to stand by my promise to do

THE CHILD BUYER

everything I can to help you get him. Fact is, I'll be happier than ever to have him shipped out of this State.

Mr. JONES. I'm grateful for your expressions of support, Senator. I think I should tell you that they have just become rather urgently important to me. It would help me if these hearings could be brought to some fruitful conclusion as soon as possible. I had a telegram delivered to me a few minutes ago outside this chamber, and I believe it's pertinent to these hearings; I'll take the liberty of turning the wire over to your committee. Mr. Counsel, may I—?

Mr. BROADBENT. Thank you, sir. Shall I read it out, Mr. Chairman?

Senator MANSFIELD. I wish you would.

Mr. BROADBENT. It's signed HACK SAWYER. You might tell us, Mr. Jones—

Mr. JONES. Of course. Excuse me. Hack's the prex of U. Lym-pho.

Mr. BROADBENT. The wire seems to be a kind of purchase order, at least the first part of it. It reads here: DESIRE SOONEST DELIVERY TWENTY ADDITIONAL SPECIMENS STOP SHIP BY AIR STOP WE AUTHORIZE YOU TWO HUNDRED PER CENT INCREASE PURCHASE FUND STOP URGENT URGENT STOP REASON FOR HASTE SECURITY BROKEN RESULT THAT AMERICAN PANTOCYANDUM AND CBLIO MILLS HAVE BEGUN PROGRAMS OF SPECIMEN PURCHASE AND EXPERIMENTATION EXACTLY LIKE OURS STOP ENTIRE STORY SPILLED TO MOMENTOUS THE WEEKLY NEWSMAG BY CILIO APPEARING NEXT WEEKS ISSUE WITH STORY EMPHATICALLY FAVORABLE TO U LYMPHOS INITIATIVE BUT ANTICIPATE OTHER COMPETITORS WILL INSTITUTE LIKE PROGRAMS AND CONSEQUENT PROMPT DRASTIC DRYING UP OF SUPPLY OF FIRST RATE SPECIMENS STOP CANNOT OVERSTATE PRESSURE BESTEST HACK SAWYER

Mr. JONES. So you see, Mr. Chairman. Senator Skypack. Senator Voyolko.

Monday, October 28

Senator VOYOLKO. Huh? Me? . . . Specimens, specimens. What they talking about specimens?

Senator MANSFIELD. It means children, Peter.

Senator VOYOLKO. Children! Why don't they say so? Nobody ever says what they mean any more these days.

Mr. BROADBENT. Could this wire be admitted into the record, Mr. Chairman?

Senator MANSFIELD. It will be part of the record. I so rule.

(The document referred to was marked 'Jones Exhibit No. 2/ and filed.)

Mr. JONES. You'll appreciate, gentlemen, these hearings have already detained me three days.

Senator MANSFIELD. What time is it? ... It's already late in the day today, Mr. Jones, but I'd hope that with any kind of luck we can finish up here in one more day. Tomorrow. Two at the most.

Mr. JONES. Anything you could do to expedite—

Senator SKYPACK. Look, Jones, you say this whole scheme's coming out in the press. It states there in the telegram that the security is broken on the matter. I therefore want to renew my request to you to admit the off-the-record material you gave us the other day. This record doesn't mean much without that background.

Mr. JONES. Since this article in Momentous has apparently been drafted in a way so favorable to U. Lympho, I hesitate to chance spoiling it; I'm loath to jump the gun without checking.

Senator MANSFIELD. I might point out, Mr. Jones, on Senator Skypack's behalf, that our record won't be published by the State Printing Office for at least two weeks. There's no reason why the off-the-record material couldn't be held in confidence in our files until well after the dateline of the Momentous article and then be released to the State Printer.

THE CHILD BUYER

Mr. JONES. I'd have no objection to that.

Senator MANSFIELD. I then order that the off-the-record matter presented by Mr. Jones to this committee in Room 41 yA of this building on last Thursday morning, October 25, be admitted to the record, on the basis just agreed.