The testimony of W. W. Semingsen was taken at 11 a.m., on March 31,
1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building,
Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Wesley J. Liebeler,
assistant counsel of the President's Commission.
Mr. LIEBELER. Please rise and raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. I do.
Mr. LIEBELER. Please be seated. Mr. Semingsen my name is Wesley
J. Liebeler. I am a member of the legal staff of the President's
Commission which has been appointed to investigate the assassination
of President Kennedy. The staff counsel have been authorized by the
Commission to take testimony pursuant to authority granted to the
Commission by Executive Order 11130, dated November 29, 1963, and joint
resolution of Congress No. 137.
I believe that Mr. Rankin wrote you a letter last week telling you we
would be in touch with you to take your testimony, and he sent that
letter along with copies of the Executive order and joint resolution
of Congress, as well as a copy of the Commission's rules of procedure
relating to the taking of testimony is that not correct?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes; I received Mr. Rankin's letter.
Mr. LIEBELER. We want to inquire of you today concerning the
possibility that Lee Harvey Oswald received money order telegrams
through the offices of Western Union here in Dallas, or possibly in
Fort Worth or Irving, and also briefly as to a money order telegram
sent by Jack Ruby to an associate of his on November 24, 1963.
Mr. LIEBELER. Before we get into the details of that, would you state
your full name for the record?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. My name is W. W. Semingsen.
Mr. LIEBELER. By whom are you employed, sir?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. The Western Union Telegraph Co.
Mr. LIEBELER. In what capacity are you employed?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. As vice president, Gulf Division, headquarters, Dallas,
Tex.
Mr. LIEBELER. What is the nature of your duties with the Western Union
Co. in that position?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. They are administrative and executive in capacity. I
have jurisdiction over the operations in eight of the Gulf Division
states.
Mr. LIEBELER. What are those States?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas,
Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
Mr. LIEBELER. In your capacity as vice president of the Gulf Division,
are you generally familiar with the recordkeeping procedures, the
manner in which records of telegrams sent or received are kept by the
company?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes; I am.
Mr. LIEBELER. You are not in direct supervision of the recordkeeping
procedure?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. No; I am not. That is delegated to various supervisory
employees.
Mr. LIEBELER. But in your capacity as vice president, you are
thoroughly familiar with the way records are kept by the company?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes. I do have knowledge of recordkeeping, general
knowledge of recordkeeping.
Mr. LIEBELER. In anticipation of the fact that your testimony would be
taken by the Commission, you have prepared a statement which is dated
March 30, 1964, which consists of five pages relating to the efforts
made by Western Union in investigating the possibility that money
orders payable to Oswald or his alias, O. H. Lee and Alek James Hidell,
may have been received in the Dallas or Fort Worth or Irving office of
Western Union? And also relating to telegrams sent or received by Jack
Ruby during certain indicated periods; is that not correct?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. That is correct.
Mr. LIEBELER. I would like to mark that document as Exhibit 3001.
I have marked the memorandum received as Exhibit 3001 on the deposition
of W. W. Semingsen, March 31, 1964, Dallas, Tex., and have initialed
it, and I will ask you also to initial it, if you would, Mr. Semingsen.
(Witness initials and signs on page 5.)
Mr. LIEBELER. Am I correct in understanding that you did prepare this
report in anticipation of giving testimony to the Commission?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes; I did, in the interest of expediting the testimony.
Mr. LIEBELER. And you are thoroughly familiar with the matters set
forth in Exhibit 3001, are you not?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes; I am.
Mr. LIEBELER. The material set forth in that memorandum is true and
correct, to the best of your knowledge, is it not?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes; it is.
Mr. LIEBELER. We should note for the record that Exhibit 3001 has in
the left-hand margin certain numerals which I have placed there running
from 1 through 7, which refers to attachments to the exhibit, which, in
effect, form a part of the memorandum. And, you have marked, have you
not, the exhibits running 1 through 7 which you intend should be a part
of the memorandum; is that correct?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. Yes; that is correct.
Mr. LIEBELER. The attachments to the exhibit, which are numbered
1 through 7, are photostatic copies of the originals of certain
documents, or of copies of certain documents which you retain in your
possession, as are described in Exhibit 3001; is that correct?
Mr. SEMINGSEN. That is correct.
Mr. LIEBELER. I refer specifically to the item marked "Attachment 1 to
Exhibit 3001," which consists of photostatic copies of four separate
documents. Please identify for the record the first one of those
documents.
Mr. SEMINGSEN. The first one of the documents on page 1 of the
attachment is the original money order application prepared and filed
by Jack Ruby in Dallas, Tex., on November 24, 1963, at 11:17 a.m., as
noted by the automatic time stamp shown on the application.
Mr. LIEBELER. We will mark that as Exhibit No. 5118, and note for the
record that we are marking these at the request of Mr. Hubert, who has
the responsibility for area 5 of the investigation, relating to Mr.
Ruby.
I have marked the document referred to as Exhibit 5118 on the
deposition of Mr. W. W. Semingsen, March 31, 1964, in Dallas, Tex., and
have initialed it, and ask you to initial it also, if you would, Mr.
Semingsen.