Mr. BALL. What part of the sixth floor were you working that morning?
Mr. WILLIAMS. On the west side.
Mr. BALL. Were you moving stock or laying floor that morning?
Mr. WILLIAMS. We were doing both.
Mr. BALL. You were doing both?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. The west side of the sixth floor--you mean the whole west
side, or was there a certain part--northwest or southwest or middle?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I believe it was the whole west side, because we had to
go from window to window--from the elevator to the front window facing
Elm Street--we were laying the floor parallel.
Mr. BALL. Did you see Oswald on the sixth floor that morning?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I am not sure. I think I saw him once messing around with
some cartons or something, back over the east side of the building. But
he wasn't in the window that they said he shot the President from. He
was more on the east side of the elevator, I think, messing around with
cartons, because he always just messed around, kicking cartons around.
Mr. BALL. What was his job?
Mr. WILLIAMS. His job was an order filler.
Mr. BALL. What do you mean by that?
Mr. WILLIAMS. I mean by that an order filler--when orders come in for
the State schools mostly, from Austin, he would take the orders and
fill the orders.
If the orders called for a certain amount of books, he would fill that
order, and turn it in to be checked, to be shipped out.
Mr. BALL. You say he would fill the order. He would go and get books?
Mr. WILLIAMS. He would get books. As an order filler you had access to
all the floors, all seven floors.
Mr. BALL. And were the cartons that you are talking about containers of
books?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, they were.
Mr. BALL. Would a checker--would an order filler go to the different
floors and take books out of cartons?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes, sir. The order filler would have to, in order to
fill the order--he would have to move around to each floor, and take
the books that he needs.
Mr. BALL. Then where would he take the books?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Down to the first floor.
Mr. BALL. And what was on the first floor?
Mr. WILLIAMS. The first floor is where the checkers, the freight, and
all--they are checking the books to go out, and also where they wrap
the books.
Mr. BALL. And were there certain men down there wrapping books?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Certain men wrapping, checking, weighing, et cetera.
Mr. DULLES. Did you have a schedule somewhere posted up so that you
knew which books were on which floor when an order came in? You would
know whether to go to the sixth floor or what floor to go to get the
particular books that were wanted?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, as I remember, I don't know too much about the
building.
Mr. DULLES. You were not in the order filling business?
Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir; not in that department.
At the other building. I was just transferred to that building.
I don't think you really had any schedule to go by, or anything to show
you where the books were. You just asked the older fellows that had
been there were certain books--if you are looking for a certain book,
they would tell you where to find it.
Mr. BALL. This morning, when you think you saw Oswald on the sixth
floor, can you tell us about where he was?
Mr. WILLIAMS. Well, as I said before, I am not sure that he was really
on the sixth floor. But he was always around that way. In the place I
think I saw him was as the east elevator come up to the sixth floor, he
was on that side of the elevator.
Mr. BALL. I have here a diagram of the sixth floor which I will have
marked as Exhibit 483.
(The document referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 483 for
identification.)
Mr. BALL. First of all, this is Houston Street, and the top is
north--east and west. Here is Elm Street.
Mr. WILLIAMS. This would be the east elevator.
Mr. BALL. This is the east elevator, west elevator and the stairway.
Now, can you take this and show us about where your men were working
laying floor on that sixth floor?