Nov. 2, 1964 - Besides being judged delinquent, two runaway girls from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, had the following restriction imposed today:
They can’t attend any concerts of groups such as the Beatles while under jurisdiction of Juvenile Court.
For Martha Schendel and Janice Hawkins, both 16, the decision stops them from attending a concert in Cleveland tomorrow night by the Rolling Stones, another shaggy-haired English singing group. Promoters for the group had given the girls free tickets.
The restriction was imposed by Juvenile Court Judge Angelo Gagliardo.
The girls flew to London Sept. 17 following a Beatles concert in Cleveland. Martha withdrew $1,980 from a college fund account to finance the trip.
Their disappearance touched off a search by London police, who found the girls Oct. 7 and sent them home.
Judge Gagliardo gave reasons for the restriction:
“The parents of Cleveland should hang their heads in shame that they allow their children to attend such a performance unsupervised.” He said he had gone to the Beatles’ concert as “an interested observer.”
“It’s like feeding narcotics to teenagers,” said Gagliardo. “It is very dangerous. It could very well lead to riots.
“The promoters are morally, if not legally, responsible for the behavior that results from these shows. It is a matter of wanting to make a dollar at the expense of teenagers.”
In addition, Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher announced today that Public Hall and all other city facilities will no longer be available to the Beatles or similar singing groups.
“Such groups do not add to the community’s culture or entertainment,” Mayor Locher said in announcing the ban. “These groups still will be able to appear here at private halls, but we do not feel we should invite this problem by making public facilities available.”
No private halls in Cleveland match the public auditorium’s 13,000 seating capacity. The ban goes into effect after tomorrow night’s appearance by the Rolling Stones. A contract for that show had been signed before city officials made their decision, Locher said.
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