Mr. EISENBERG. That is right.
Mr. DULLES. The Rolling Reader has played quite a role in our testimony.
Mr. EISENBERG. Yes; now, this particular box is labeled "top box," and
I believe this particular box was on the top of the three boxes, two of
which were Rolling Reader boxes, which were found near the window and
which may have been used as a rest by the assassin for his rifle.
Mr. DULLES. As I recall, previous testimony indicates that the Rolling
Reader box had been moved from its normal place----
Mr. EISENBERG. Apparently so.
Mr. DULLES. With the other Rolling Reader boxes, and put in a position
near the window from which it was alleged the shot was fired.
Mr. EISENBERG. Apparently so, and, apart from the two boxes--the two
Rolling Reader boxes which were found near the sixth floor window--the
regular storage area for the Rolling Reader boxes was a distance away
from the sixth floor window.
Mr. DULLES. Yes; I recall that testimony.
Mr. EISENBERG. So you found 13 identifiable prints, Mr. Latona. Were
you able to identify any of these prints as belonging to a specific
individual?
Mr. LATONA. We were able to identify one fingerprint and one palmprint.
Mr. EISENBERG. And whose prints were they?
Mr. LATONA. The fingerprint was identified as Harvey Lee Oswald.
Mr. EISENBERG. That is Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. LATONA. That is right.
Mr. EISENBERG. And the palm?
Mr. LATONA. The palmprint was identified also as Harvey Lee Oswald.
Mr. EISENBERG. Again Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. LATONA. That is right.
Mr. EISENBERG. Now, again you used, did you, the known print which was
marked into evidence earlier?
Mr. LATONA. Yes.
Mr. EISENBERG. And you used those in all your identifications, I
believe?
Mr. LATONA. That is right.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Latona, can you tell us what portion of the palm
of Lee Harvey Oswald is reproduced on this box, this carton 641, as a
latent print?
Mr. LATONA. I have here a photograph of the palmprint which has an area
indicated by a rough red circle showing the approximate area, which is
the ulnar area of the left palm.
Mr. EISENBERG. That is the area closest to the little finger?
Mr. LATONA. On that side; yes, sir.
Mr. EISENBERG. This is a true photograph which was prepared by you or
under your supervision?
Mr. LATONA. A true reproduction of the original, which you already have.
Mr. EISENBERG. May I have this admitted as 642, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. DULLES. May I ask a question. Apparently the red mark on this
exhibit on the palm is in a different place, isn't it, a slightly
different place?
Mr. LATONA. It is a different palm. This is the left palm.
Mr. EISENBERG (addressing Mr. Dulles). This is the left palm. The other
two are right palms.
Mr. DULLES. Good, that straightens me out.
Mr. EISENBERG. Actually they were both on the ulnar side of the palm?
Mr. LATONA. That is correct.
Mr. EISENBERG. And they were both taken on what is commonly called the
heel of the palm?
Mr. DULLES. This is a different hand. This is the left hand, and what
we have had so far is the right hand on the palmprints.
Mr. EISENBERG. Yes, sir.
Mr. LATONA. Previously we had two palmprints on the right hand. This
third one is from the left.
Mr. EISENBERG. May this photograph be admitted as 642, Mr. Chairman?
Mr. DULLES. This will be admitted.
(The photograph referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 642, and
received in evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Latona, do you have another photograph in your hand
there?
Mr. LATONA. Here I have another photograph, a slight enlargement time
and a half, which is a latent palmprint found on the cardboard box
marked "A," which is the Commission's Exhibit 641. This is indicated by
a red arrow.
Mr. EISENBERG. Let's hold that just a second and get the photograph
admitted.
Representative BOGGS (addressing Mr. Eisenberg). Where did these boxes
come from?
Mr. EISENBERG. These boxes were located in front of the window from
which the assassin apparently fired. There were three boxes stacked
immediately in front of the window, of which this Exhibit No. 641
was the topmost box, and these were apparently used as a rest by the
assassin for positioning his rifle.
As you can see, there are several other boxes in the room which will be
introduced shortly.
Mr. DULLES. I may say that there was testimony, I don't recall whether
you were here at the time, about some boxes called Rolling Reader,
Hale. Do you recall the testimony on the Rolling Reader?
Representative BOGGS. No.
Mr. DULLES. These boxes were moved from a place on the sixth floor room
where a great many Rolling Reader boxes were placed, and they were put
near the window, and a Rolling Reader--apparently these are cubes, and
they are for small children and they roll them out on the floor and
they learn how to read the letters of the alphabet and other things
from these Rolling Readers.
These boxes, because of their nature--do you know what the blocks are
made of?
Mr. EISENBERG. No; I don't.
Mr. DULLES. They weren't solid wood but they were light cubes and
therefore presumably these boxes were moved because they were a good
deal lighter and easier to handle than other boxes. Is that consistent
with the testimony as you recall it?
Mr. EISENBERG. Yes.
Representative BOGGS. Were they full when you got them?
Mr. EISENBERG. You will have to ask Mr. Latona.
Mr. LATONA. They were empty. They had been opened and the books removed
or the contents, whatever it was.
Mr. DULLES. The contents were apparently these cubes, as we were told,
and small children use them and roll them on the floor and then they
got the A's and the B's and the C's.
Representative BOGGS. In the opening process, this would not have any
effect on the fingerprints or the palmprints?
Mr. LATONA. It could. I mean in the sense that somebody else's prints,
the people opening them if they didn't take the time and effort to
protect themselves, they could have left their prints there. I don't
know how that was done.
Mr. DULLES. Do you recall whether the testimony shows whether the boxes
were presumably filled when they were originally moved from their
normal place in the Book Depository to the window?
Mr. EISENBERG. I think they were, although I haven't read the testimony.
Mr. DULLES. I am not sure there is testimony on that point but I think
that is the general assumption.