Mr. SENATOR. Return to work?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes; before Moore called you.
Mr. SENATOR. I hadn’t worked at all from this thing here up until I
told you I went to work the other day. If you want to classify me, I
was just existing here and there, that is all.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Your employment up until the time that the President was
killed was with the Texas Postcard & Novelty Co.?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Was that your own company?
Mr. SENATOR. I was classified as sales manager and partner, but with no
say. In other words, I had no money.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Who were the people, the backers?
Mr. SENATOR. The backers?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes.
Mr. SENATOR. The people? A fellow by the name of Mort Seder and Ernest
St. Charles.
Mr. GRIFFIN. How did you happen to get involved in that?
Mr. SENATOR. In the postcard business?
Mr. GRIFFIN. Yes; with them?
Mr. SENATOR. Well, Ernest St. Charles found out—see, he had a card rack
like a lot of drug stores do or gift shops or things of that nature. He
had found out that this fellow wanted to sell his business because this
was a minute business with him because, he had another one, you know,
which was much larger or whatever, the household goods or something of
that nature.
Mr. GRIFFIN. As I understand it, the Texas Postcard & Novelty Co. was a
going business.
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Before Seder and St. Charles got involved in it?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; it was going. It was a going business. And he
wanted to get rid of this business, because I just don’t remember if
he couldn’t handle it or he couldn’t handle both of them, I think
it was. And this business here, he had to get rid of because it was
deteriorating a bit because it wasn’t getting the service. It wasn’t
being handled for the service. In other words, his business had slipped
a certain amount.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did Seder and St. Charles put up some money to acquire
this business?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes, they put up the money; yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. About how much money did they put up?
Mr. SENATOR. I think they put up somewheres around $1,500 apiece, and
I think they took a note for $1,500. I think the business went for
$3,000, if I can remember right.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What assets, what kind of assets did they acquire?
Mr. SENATOR. The cards.
Mr. GRIFFIN. No office space?
Mr. SENATOR. No, no. See, he is in business in a little sort of a
garage like in the back of his house. In the back of his house he has
got this sort of garage-like thing.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Who are you talking about?
Mr. SENATOR. The fellow that had it.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Do you remember what his name was?
Mr. SENATOR. I should remember his name. I can’t even think of his name
right now.
Mr. GRIFFIN. All right, maybe you will think of it later. Did Seder and
St. Charles have another business which they operated while they——
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; this business was a small little thing.
Mr. GRIFFIN. This was a sideline with them?
Mr. SENATOR. Just a little thing. It wasn’t even, you know—it was a
small little business.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What was Seder’s main business?
Mr. SENATOR. Seder was a traveling man who sold men’s apparel.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What was St. Charles’ main business?
Mr. SENATOR. St. Charles, a drugstore.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Where did you acquire the postcards and novelties from?
Mr. SENATOR. The novelties, you see, there was a few novelties that he
had left over in this thing here, in this business here, which weren’t
that good, and I got rid of them at a loss, you know.