Mr. JENNER. That would be how much of a ride?
Mr. TAYLOR. Uh--round trip it would take probably 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Mr. JENNER. What is the distance from the Elsbeth Street address to
Fort Worth--just approximately?
Mr. TAYLOR. Well, to the place in Fort Worth where the trailer was
rented, I would say, it was about 30 miles. And, in case you're
wondering about the time, it's all a turnpike and expressway trip.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Did you see the Oswalds, or either of them, after that time?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Next, and under what circumstances?
Mr. TAYLOR. Sometime after the move--I am not, again, can't be specific
about dates--my memory isn't that good--I visited them by myself, and
I believe that the purpose of that visit specifically was to return
a manuscript, or at least it's been called that, certainly just a
collection of notes Lee had that he had compiled on his visit to Fort
Worth--I mean, on his visit to Russia.
Mr. JENNER. I show you in a volume which has a sticker on its front
entitled "Affidavits and Statements Taken in Connection with the
Assassination of the President," which has been supplied to me by the
Dallas city police, and I direct your attention to pages 148 to 157.
And I ask you whether those pages are familiar to you as being either
all or a part of what you now describe as notes prepared by Lee Oswald
on his trip or life in Russia?
Mr. TAYLOR. Can we go off the record and let me look at this a minute?
It will be a minute, because I only looked at part of this thing.
(Witness peruses document page by page.)
Mr. JENNER. Have you examined those pages, which are a photostatic copy
of what purports to be a draft by Lee Harvey Oswald of various stages
of his life, including time in Russia, in the Marines, the period in
New Orleans, and what not?
Mr. TAYLOR. Those are not the same pages of which I was speaking.
Mr. JENNER. I should advise you, Mr. Taylor, that they are incomplete.
That is, we are advised that there are other sheets which we don't
happen to have. I could ask you this: Was it on the type of paper which
is indicated in these photostats--that is, lined 8 by 11-1/2 sheets?
Mr. TAYLOR. No.
Mr. JENNER. It was not?
Mr. TAYLOR. No; it was not.
Mr. JENNER. Was it ringed notebook paper?
Mr. TAYLOR. No; it was not.
Mr. JENNER. Are you familiar with Lee Oswald's handwriting?
Mr. TAYLOR. No; I am not.
Mr. JENNER. Was this material you saw in his handwriting or was it
typed?
Mr. TAYLOR. I would not know--this material? I'm sorry. I was thinking
about----
Mr. JENNER. The material that you saw, was that in his handwriting?
Mr. TAYLOR. It was typed.
Mr. JENNER. It was typed?
Mr. TAYLOR. It was typed--on white paper.
Mr. JENNER. Plain white paper?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. I interrupted you because you had mentioned something he
showed you. Now, would you please go on?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes; and the occasion for this visit that I was talking
about was to return what has been discussed as a manuscript. And I had
had this in my possession from the time Marina had been staying with
us. I had asked him for it then and intended to read it. I did not ever
read it fully. I read a page or two of it--of which my recollection is
very dim. I remember almost nothing about it except that it seemed to
be in a narrative style and was about his experiences in Russia.
Mr. JENNER. What impression did you have as to spelling, grammar, or
content? Was it the writing of an educated man, or was it sophomoric in
character, or do you have any impression about it?
Mr. TAYLOR. I don't have any impression--having read so little of it
such a long time ago.
Mr. JENNER. Well, you went to see him to return this manuscript?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Where was he living?
Mr. TAYLOR. He was still living on Elsbeth.
Mr. JENNER. And you reached their apartment, did you?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Was she home?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes, she was.
Mr. JENNER. Did you visit with them on that occasion?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes; I did. I was treated as a very welcome guest. I
assumed, at the time, that the reason for that was I was probably
the only guest they had had--or at least certainly that guests were
unusual, and that I was very welcome. As a matter of fact, almost
immediately after I arrived, Marina left and walked some two and a half
blocks to a doughnut shop and bought some doughnuts and returned.
And we just talked briefly that evening--not about anything in great
detail. I stayed--I didn't go to stay a long time, just to return the
manuscript, but due to the hospitality that was extended, I stayed
perhaps an hour or 2 hours.
Mr. JENNER. How did they appear, in their relations one to the other,
on this occasion?
Mr. TAYLOR. It appeared that--uh--they were getting along well. When I
arrived, the baby was asleep and they were both in the kitchen. He was
sitting at a table, I think, reading and----
Mr. JENNER. A book or a newspaper?
Mr. TAYLOR. Sir?
Mr. JENNER. Reading a book or a newspaper?
Mr. TAYLOR. A book, I believe. I think he checked out a number of books
from the library.
Mr. JENNER. Did you understand him to be an avid reader?
Mr. TAYLOR. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Did you ever observe what character of books he was reading?
Mr. TAYLOR. As I remember, they were primarily political philosophy.
I don't remember any titles specifically. I think he did have a copy
of--uh--at one time, of something by Karl Marx. I don't remember the
title or name of the book.
Mr. JENNER. "Das Kapital"?
Mr. TAYLOR. I'm aware of that title--but I just don't remember what he
had a copy of.