Part 54

Mr. BALL. Does it identify the invoice in any way?

Mr. MICHAELIS. No.

Mr. BALL. Except by name, is that right?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Except by name.

Mr. BALL. And does it describe the article shipped?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Only in broad terms.

Mr. BALL. What?

Mr. MICHAELIS. One carton consisting of a pistol.

Mr. BALL. One carton, pistol. I see. I would like to have this marked as Exhibit 4, being the pink copy of a Railway Express receipt.

(Whereupon the document last referred to hereinabove was marked to the Michaelis deposition as Commission Exhibit No. 4 for identification by the notary public.)

Mr. BALL. Now, a document identified as No. DL-30 by the Bureau of Investigation, receipt No. 70638. Will you describe that for me, please?

Mr. MICHAELIS. This document is required in addition by the Railway Express Agency for all c.o.d. shipments, and indicates again the name of the consignee, his address, and lists our invoice number which is, in this case, No. 5371. It directs the Railway Express Agency to remit the amount to be collected to Seaport Traders, Inc. The amount of the c.o.d. is $19.95, and the service charge has to be collected from the consignee.

Mr. BALL. I would like to have that marked as Exhibit 5.

(Whereupon the document last referred to hereinabove was marked to the Michaelis deposition as Commission Exhibit No. 5 for identification by the notary public.)

Mr. BALL. Now, Exhibit 4 has been described as a Railway Express Agency receipt. Exhibit 5, which is an additional document entitled "A brief of information for c.o.d. shipment, Railway Express Agency," those were in your files when you searched for information regarding the sale of this pistol as of November 30, 1963. Is that correct?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Correct.

Mr. BALL. Is there anything in your files which shows that the Railway Express did remit to you the $19.95?

Mr. MICHAELIS. The fact that the exhibit number--may I see this green one?

Mr. BALL. Five.

Mr. MICHAELIS. Was attached to the red copy of the invoice.

Mr. BALL. Red copy of the invoice being----

Mr. MICHAELIS. No; was attached to the red copy of the invoice, exhibit number----

Mr. BALL. Two.

Mr. MICHAELIS. Indicates that the money was received.

Mr. BALL. I see. Now, these documents were delivered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by you, were they not?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Through Mr. Wood; yes.

Mr. BALL. And these documents, Exhibits 2 to 5, inclusive, are original documents, are they not?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Yes.

Mr. BALL. Exhibit 1 being a photostat of the page in your looseleaf notebook?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Correct.

Mr. BALL. Which carries the record of the sale, record of the item?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Correct.

Mr. BALL. And does anybody in your organization that you know of have any personal knowledge of packing this particular gun and shipping it?

Mr. MICHAELIS. I doubt very much that the packer would remember this particular parcel.

Mr. BALL. About how many guns of this type do you sell and ship out of here in a year?

Mr. MICHAELIS. In 1 year?

Mr. BALL. Yes; just a general estimate.

Mr. MICHAELIS. For Seaport Traders?

Mr. ROSE. That type of gun--we sell more .22's.

Mr. BALL. Well, about how many?

Mr. MICHAELIS. Seaport Traders, I would say that--this is a rough guess, Mr. Ball. This particular type, that Seaport Traders might have sold maybe 120 in a year; 120, 150 in a year.

Mr. BALL. Would that be sold through mail order, or both mail order----

Mr. MICHAELIS. I am talking about particularly mail-order business from Seaport Traders.

Mr. BALL. 120 or 125?

Mr. MICHAELIS. 120, 150, of this particular type of gun.

Mr. BALL. Is there anything else that you know about this particular transaction that you would like to tell me?

Mr. MICHAELIS. No, sir; I believe I answered all the questions of this transaction.

AFFIDAVIT OF J. C. CASON

The following affidavit was executed by J. C. Cason on May 22, 1964.

AFFIDAVIT

PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

STATE OF TEXAS, _County of Dallas, ss_:

I, J. C. Cason, President and Treasurer, of the Texas School Book Depository declare the following statements:

The Texas School Book Depository was organized in 1908 as a sole proprietorship and continued in this manner until 1927 when it was incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas.

The Corporation's offices are located at Elm and Houston Streets, Dallas, Texas, and its warehouse and storage plant are located at 1917 North Houston Street, Dallas, Texas. It neither owns nor operated any other buildings in Dallas or in any other city.

The present officers are: J. C. Cason, President and Treasurer; and O. V. Campbell, Vice President and Secretary. The Directors are: J. C. Cason, O. V. Campbell and R. S. Truly. The Shareholders of all outstanding Capital Stock are J. C. Cason and O. V. Campbell.

The Corporation acts as an independent agency for a group of thirty-three publishers to warehouse and distribute textbooks to the various schools in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. It has no other business activity other than that afore mentioned. It is not connected in any way with any state or municipal government and operates solely as a private Corporation with a Charter from the State of Texas.

Signed the 22d day of May 1964.

(S) J. C. Cason, J. C. CASON.

AFFIDAVIT OF C. N. DHORITY

The following affidavit was executed by C. N. Dhority on May 12, 1964.

AFFIDAVIT

PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

STATE OF TEXAS, _County of Dallas, ss:_

Before me, Mary Rattan, a Notary Public in and for said County, State of Texas, on this day personally appeared Detective C. N. Dhority, Dallas Police Department, who after being by me duly sworn, on oath deposes and says:

The night of November 22, 1963 Captain J. W. Fritz gave me three 6.5 rifle hulls and told me to give them to Lt. J. C. Day in the Crime Lab. Captain J. W. Fritz told me to have Lt. Day to dust them for prints and return one of the 6.5 hulls to him. I took these three 6.5 rifle hulls to Lt. Day and gave them to him in an envelope which had been previously marked by Det. R. M. Sims. Lt. Day dusted the shells for prints and gave me one back. I returned this 6.5 shell back to Captain J. W. Fritz.

Signed this 12th day of May 1964.

(S) C. N. Dhority, C. N. DHORITY.

TESTIMONY OF ROY S. TRULY

The testimony of Roy S. Truly was taken at 2:30 p.m., on May 14, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building, Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Joseph A. Ball, assistant counsel of the President's Commission.

Mr. BALL. Now, Mr. Truly, this is a continuation of your deposition. I took the last one and you have been sworn and I don't know that it is exactly necessary for you to take the oath again, since this is a continuation of the deposition. I took the last one, didn't I?

Mr. TRULY. Oh, no; I gave a statement that was under oath.

Mr. BALL. Oh, no; this is a deposition. You appeared before the Commission--that's right.

Mr. TRULY. Mr. Belin took my sworn deposition also about a week before I went up there when you both were in Dallas and he also took a recorded deposition.

Mr. BALL. Yes; that was just an investigation, an inquiry. We didn't record that. You weren't under oath then. Will you stand up and be sworn? Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before this Commission will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Mr. TRULY. I do.

Mr. BALL. Now, will you state your name, please?

Mr. TRULY. Roy S. Truly.

Mr. BALL. And you are superintendent of the Texas School Book Depository?

Mr. TRULY. That's correct.

Mr. BALL. Is that your title?

Mr. TRULY. And a director of the Depository.

Mr. BALL. You have been employed by the Depository for a number of years?

Mr. TRULY. Since 1934; since 1934.

Mr. BALL. You testified before the Commission in Washington, you say, on the 24th of March 1964; did you not?

Mr. TRULY. That's right.

Mr. BALL. Your testimony is filed in volume 28, I believe, of the Commission here. There are certain matters which have come to the attention of the Commission since then that I would like to inquire about, and that's the reason we are taking your deposition, which will be in addition to the testimony you have already given.

Do you recall anytime that you saw any guns in the Texas School Book Depository Building?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; I did.

Mr. BALL. Prior to November 22, 1963?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; I saw two guns on November 20.

Mr. BALL. Whose guns were they?

Mr. TRULY. They belonged to Mr. Warren Caster.

Mr. BALL. Now, before inquiring into the circumstances of seeing two guns that belonged to Mr. Warren Caster on November 20, 1963, I'll ask you whether or not you ever at anytime before that time or after that time saw guns in the Texas School Book Depository Building?

Mr. TRULY. Never before.

Mr. BALL. Never before, and between that date Wednesday, November 20, and Friday, November 22, did you ever see any guns in the Texas School Book Depository Building?

Mr. TRULY. I did see guns in there after the assassination.

Mr. BALL. That is, you saw guns of police officers?

Mr. TRULY. Of the police officers.

Mr. BALL. Carried by police officers?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; and I saw a rifle being carried from the building.

Mr. BALL. In other words, a rifle was found on the sixth floor?

Mr. TRULY. Yes.

Mr. BALL. You saw that in place on the sixth floor?

Mr. TRULY. No; I did not.

Mr. BALL. You didn't?

Mr. TRULY. I only saw the rifle as they were going out the front door.

Mr. BALL. Before the assassination, was there any other occasion besides the one we are inquiring about, when you saw guns in the Texas School Book Depository Building?

Mr. TRULY. Never.

Mr. BALL. On November 20, 1963, you saw two guns owned by Mr. Warren Caster, can you tell me where and when and the circumstances under which you saw these guns?

Mr. TRULY. It was during the lunch period or right at the end of the lunch period on November 20. Mr. Caster came in the door from the first floor and spoke to me and showed me two rifles that he had just purchased. I looked at these and picked up the larger one of the two and examined it and handed it back to Mr. Caster, with the remark that it was really a handsome rifle or words to that effect, at which time Mr. Caster explained to me that he had bought himself a rifle to go deer hunting with, and he hadn't had one and he had been intending to buy one for a long time, and that he had also bought a .22 rifle for his boy.

Mr. BALL. Did you handle the .22 rifle?

Mr. TRULY. Not that I recall.

Mr. BALL. You did see it, though?

Mr. TRULY. I did see it.

Mr. BALL. Was it out of the carton?

Mr. TRULY. The carton was open, I believe, and I saw it. I don't recall picking it up or taking it out of the carton, but I could see it lying in the bottom part of the carton.

Mr. BALL. And you did take the large rifle out?

Mr. TRULY. And raised it to my shoulder and go through the motion of sighting it, but not cocking it--just looking at it.

Mr. BALL. Who else was there besides you and Mr. Caster?

Mr. TRULY. Well, the only person I can recall being there was Mr. Shelley.

Mr. BALL. And what is his position with the Texas School Book Depository?

Mr. TRULY. He is manager of the miscellaneous department.

Mr. BALL. Was this in the open warehouse?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; right at the front. Mr. Caster had placed the cartons on the counter near the front door and that's where the rifles were when I saw them, and I picked one up out of the cartons.

Mr. BALL. And were they employees of the Texas School Book Depository company on the first floor at that time?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; they were--as I recall the time--that the boys had probably gone back to work and could have been walking around before they went in the shipping department.

Mr. BALL. That would have been about what time of the day?

Mr. TRULY. I'd say around 1 o'clock--very close to it. It could have been a little after or a little before. The boys go back to lunch at 12:45, so there I'm not too clear.

Mr. BALL. What happened to these two rifles, Mr. Truly, that Mr. Caster got during the noon hour?

Mr. TRULY. They were placed back in the carton and Mr. Caster carried them out of the lobby door with him. That's the last I saw them.

Mr. BALL. Did you ever see them again?

Mr. TRULY. Never--never.

Mr. BALL. Did you ever see from that day until Friday, November 22, did you ever see those guns in the School Book Depository Building?

Mr. TRULY. No, sir; I never did.

Mr. BALL. Now, you recall that in your testimony before the Commission you told them that at some time after the shooting, you advised Captain Fritz of the name of Lee Oswald and his address in Irving?

Mr. TRULY. Yes, I did.

Mr. BALL. And in order to place the time of it, was it before or after the rifle had been found on the sixth floor?

Mr. TRULY. I wouldn't know. I think it must have been around the time the rifle was found, because I was not on the sixth floor at that time, but when I told--let's go back a few minutes--pardon me--I told Chief Lumpkin a good many minutes after we came down from the roof and he went ahead and gave some orders to two or three policemen surrounding him and then said, "Let's go up and tell Captain Fritz."

Mr. BALL. Now, what did you tell Chief Lumpkin when you came down from the roof of the building?

Mr. TRULY. When I noticed this boy was missing, I told Chief Lumpkin that, "We have a man here that's missing." I said, "It may not mean anything, but he isn't here." I first called down to the other warehouse and had Mr. Akin pull the application of the boy so I could get--quickly get his address in Irving and his general description, so I could be more accurate than I would be.

Mr. BALL. Was he the only man missing?

Mr. TRULY. The only one I noticed at that time. Now, I think there was one or two more, possibly Charles Givens, but I had seen him out in front walking up the street just before the firing of the gun.

Mr. BALL. But walking which way?

Mr. TRULY. The last time I saw him, he was walking across Houston Street, east on Elm.

Mr. BALL. Did you make a check of your employees afterwards?

Mr. TRULY. No, no; not complete. No, I just saw the group of the employees over there on the floor and I noticed this boy wasn't with them. With no thought in my mind except that I had seen him a short time before in the building, I noticed he wasn't there.

Mr. BALL. What do you mean "a short time before"?

Mr. TRULY. I would say 10 or 12 minutes.

Mr. BALL. You mean that's when you saw him in the lunchroom?

Mr. TRULY. In the lunchroom.

Mr. BALL. And you noticed he wasn't over there?

Mr. TRULY. Well, I asked Bill Shelley if he had seen him around and he said No.

Mr. BALL. Now, you told Chief Lumpkin that there was a man missing?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; and he said, "Let's go tell Captain Fritz." Well, I didn't know where Captain Fritz was.

Mr. BALL. Now, did you tell Chief Lumpkin the man was missing before or after you called to the warehouse and got the name?

Mr. TRULY. No, I called the warehouse beforehand.

Mr. BALL. You didn't talk to any police officer before you called the warehouse and got the address?

Mr. TRULY. Not that I remember.

Mr. BALL. You did that on your own without instructions?

Mr. TRULY. That's right.

Mr. BALL. So, when you talked to Chief Lumpkin, you at that time had in your possession there the address of Lee Oswald in Irving?

Mr. TRULY. That's right, I had scribbled it down on a piece of map or something so I would remember it.

Mr. BALL. That is the address that he had put on his application form for employment?

Mr. TRULY. That's right.

Mr. BALL. And did you know of any other address?

Mr. TRULY. I didn't know of any other address at all.

Mr. BALL. Of Lee Oswald?

Mr. TRULY. I supposed that's where he was living.

Mr. BALL. Where was Captain Fritz when you saw him?

Mr. TRULY. He was on the sixth floor in the area where they found the rifle.

Mr. BALL. And was the rifle there at the time?

Mr. TRULY. No, I never saw the rifle.

Mr. BALL. Was this after or before the rifle had been taken from the building?

Mr. TRULY. It was before the rifle had been taken from the building.

Mr. BALL. And do you know whether it was before or after the rifle was found?

Mr. TRULY. Apparently the rifle had been found before I got to the sixth floor, but just how early, I don't know.

Mr. BALL. But you had heard that the rifle was found, had you, by your talk with Fritz?

Mr. TRULY. That's--I don't know--I learned it was found while I was on the sixth floor.

Mr. BALL. While you were on the sixth floor?

Mr. TRULY. While I was on the sixth floor.

Mr. BALL. In other words, you went with Chief Lumpkin to the sixth floor, didn't you?

Mr. TRULY. Yes.

Mr. BALL. And what was your purpose of going there?

Mr. TRULY. My purpose in going there was to inform Captain Fritz that this boy was missing and give him his telephone number, and his Irving address, at the suggestion of Chief Lumpkin, who accompanied me.

Mr. BALL. Did you give Captain Fritz this name and address?

Mr. TRULY. Yes, I did.

Mr. BALL. Was it while you were there that you learned the rifle had been found?

Mr. TRULY. I don't remember who I learned this from----

Mr. BALL. I didn't ask you that, I'm talking about time only.

Mr. TRULY. That was while I was on the sixth floor is when I learned the rifle was found, but I did not see it.

Mr. BALL. All right. Now, was it before or after you told Captain Fritz the name and address of Lee Oswald, that you learned that the rifle was found?

Mr. TRULY. I can't remember, I believe it was afterwards.

Mr. BALL. You are sure it was after you told Captain Fritz--after what, you tell me?

Mr. TRULY. I told--well, when Chief Lumpkin and I went to the sixth floor, Captain Fritz was standing in the area where I later learned they had found the gun, and Chief Lumpkin told Captain Fritz that Mr. Truly had something to tell him, which I would like to tell him, so he stepped over 4 or 5 feet to where I was, away from the other men--officers and reporters, I would say, that were on the floor, and I repeated the words to Captain Fritz.

Mr. BALL. What did you tell him?

Mr. TRULY. I told him that we had a man missing--I told him what his name was and his Irving address and he said, "All right, thank you, Mr. Truly. We will get right on it," or words to that effect, and so I left the sixth floor shortly.

While I was up there, just as I left Captain Fritz, a reporter walked over and said, "What about this fellow Oswald?" And I said, "Where did you learn the name 'Oswald'?" Because I had talked rather low to Captain Fritz and I said, "He's just an employee here," and I left, and sometime--someone informed me that they had found the gun. I don't know who it was.

Mr. BALL. About that time?

Mr. TRULY. It was along about that time, as near as I can remember, and I went back down to the first floor and I don't think I was up on the sixth floor any other time that day. I possibly could have been, but I don't recall it, because I was besieged by reporters and everybody else on the first floor, and talking to officers and so forth and I had no occasion to go back up there.

Mr. BALL. Now, about what time of day would you say is your best estimate that you told Captain Fritz of the name "Lee Oswald" and his address?

Mr. TRULY. My best estimate would be a little before 1 o'clock--10 minutes.

Mr. BALL. The gun wasn't found until after 1 o'clock?

Mr. TRULY. It wasn't found until after 1 o'clock?

Mr. BALL. No, it wasn't found until after 1 o'clock. I won't tell you exactly the time the gun was found, but I will say that the gun was not found until after 1 o'clock.

Mr. TRULY. Well, I may be mistaken about where I learned they had found the gun. I thought it was on the sixth floor--it could have been some other place.

Mr. BALL. Captain Fritz said you didn't tell him that until after the gun was found and that seems to correspond with your memory too, is that correct?

Mr. TRULY. It sure does, because I remember clearly that Captain Fritz was over at where the gun was found and I'm sure they must have found it or he wouldn't have been standing in that area when we came up there.

Mr. BALL. Now, if the gun was found after 1 o'clock, when was it that you discovered that Lee Oswald wasn't there?

Mr. TRULY. I thought it was about 20 minutes after the shooting--the assassination, but it could have been longer.

Mr. BALL. In other words, you thought originally it might have been 10 minutes of 2 or so that you learned that?

Mr. TRULY. Ten minutes to 1.

Mr. BALL. Ten minutes to 1?

Mr. TRULY. It was around 1 o'clock--that period of time after I came down from the sixth floor to the first floor was rather hazy in my memory.

Mr. BALL. You think it might have been after 1 when you first noticed he wasn't there?

Mr. TRULY. I don't think so--I don't feel like at was. It could have possibly been so.

Mr. BALL. Well, if the gun was not found before 1:10, if it wasn't found before that, can you give me any estimate?

Mr. TRULY. That seems to be a longer time after the assassination.

Mr. BALL. You didn't wait 20 minutes from the time you learned Lee Oswald's address until the time you told Captain Fritz, did you?

Mr. TRULY. No, sir; I did stand there on the first floor waiting until Chief Lumpkin got through talking for a few minutes.

Mr. BALL. Tell me about how many minutes you think it was from the time you obtained the address of Lee Oswald until you told Captain Fritz the name and address?

Mr. TRULY. I think it was immediately.

Mr. BALL. Immediately?

Mr. TRULY. Immediately, after I called to the warehouse and got his name and address in Irving, I turned around and walked over and told Captain Fritz at that time.

Mr. BALL. Chief Lumpkin?

Mr. TRULY. Yes; Chief Lumpkin.

Mr. BALL. Yes; Chief Lumpkin.

Mr. TRULY. And I remember Chief Lumpkin talking to two or three officers and I stepped back and he went ahead and told them a few things--it could have been 2 or 3 or 4 minutes.

Mr. BALL. Not over that?

Mr. TRULY. I don't believe so, and then he came to me and said, "All right, Mr. Truly, let's go up and see Captain Fritz and tell him this."

Mr. BALL. Then, if the gun wasn't found until after 1:10, you think it might have been as late as 1:05 or so before you discovered that Oswald wasn't there?

Mr. TRULY. It could be--it could have been.

Mr. BALL. You have no exact memory as to the time you discovered he was not there?

Mr. TRULY. No, sir; I didn't believe after thinking things over--it was over in 15 or 20 minutes after the shots were fired, but after retracing my trip to the roof and the time delay and back, I would have to say that it was farther along in the day than I had believed, so it could have been 1 or 1:05 or something like that.

Mr. BALL. Before you discovered Oswald wasn't there?

Mr. TRULY. That's right, and at such time that you have information of the officers taking the names of the workers in the warehouse over in and around the wrapping tables, it was at such time that I noticed that this boy wasn't among the other workers.

Mr. BALL. You remember you had seen him on the second floor, didn't you?

Mr. TRULY. That's right.

Mr. BALL. That's when you were with Officer Baker?

Mr. TRULY. That's right.

Mr. BALL. Now, you heard that Tippit had been shot, didn't you?