Mr. SENATOR. In other words, I got to be careful when I’m driving
because if you get nabbed by the Dallas cops, you are in trouble, but
good trouble, and I don’t want to get in that condition.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What I am wondering, from what you are saying here, if it
isn’t a fair impression to draw——
Mr. SENATOR. If it isn’t what?
Mr. GRIFFIN. If I couldn’t fairly infer that you had been drinking
most of the time after you heard that the President was shot, although
you don’t feel that you had been drinking so much that you weren’t in
control of yourself.
Mr. SENATOR. Oh, I was in control of myself.
Mr. GRIFFIN. But you had been drinking fairly steadily from the time
you heard the President was shot until you went home that night?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Would this have anything to do with your failure to
recollect what you had done that day?
Mr. SENATOR. I don’t think I was that tight; no. I just don’t remember
where I navigated that day.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Can you suggest again—and I keep throwing the same
question back to you—can you think or suggest someone that you saw that
day?
Mr. SENATOR. I don’t know if I saw—I keep on bringing up this attorney
all the while, Jim Martin. I don’t know if I saw him, called him, or
went to his office that day or not. I used to meet him before all this
here was going on, you know, for cocktail hour before I went home,
between 5 to 6, and went home, but I don’t know if I met him that day
or not.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Where did you have dinner that night?
Mr. SENATOR. I don’t even think I had dinner that night.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did you attempt to get in touch with Jack Ruby that night?
Mr. SENATOR. No.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Why was that?
Mr. SENATOR. No particular reason why. I just didn’t; that is all. I
didn’t even look for him. There was no special reason. You see, I have
never, if I am out, gotten on the telephone to see if he was home or
what he was going to do or things of that nature. In other words, when
I am out I am free.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Jack wasn’t somebody that you did things with; is that
fair to say?
Mr. SENATOR. No; I didn’t do much with him; no.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And part of the reason was Jack didn’t drink? Wasn’t that
probably part of it?
Mr. SENATOR. Jack don’t like me drinking and Jack don’t like to see me
go into joints. All right. Now the Burgundy Room; I don’t know if you
have ever been there while you were down there.
Mr. GRIFFIN. No; I haven’t.
Mr. SENATOR. It is a nice place. It gets fine transient trade and local
people, and it is one of the nicest places, I feel as an open bar that
you can go to.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Does Jack somehow have the idea that you drink too much?
Mr. SENATOR. Not exactly drink too much. You know I can drink one beer
and he will say, “You are drunk, aren’t you?” He will pull this on me.
He has pulled it many a time on me.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Does he feel that way about other people?
Mr. SENATOR. I don’t know. I don’t know about other people. But he
didn’t like me drinking. He said it to me many a time.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Why did you put up with a guy who criticized your personal
habits as much as Jack appears to have done?
Mr. SENATOR. In all reality, it didn’t bother me. I didn’t care what he
said.
Mr. GRIFFIN. He sort of treated you like you were his son?
Mr. SENATOR. Oh, no; no. He just didn’t like to have me drink; that
is all. He felt I was wasting—believe it or not, here is a man with a
club who felt I was throwing my money away, and he felt that I couldn’t
afford to be throwing my money away.
Mr. GRIFFIN. He took some sort of a brotherly or fatherly interest in
you, or was this just Jack’s desire to dominate people?
Mr. SENATOR. Dominate? I don’t know if “dominate” would be the word.
But as a friend he liked me; I will put it that way. He liked me as a
friend.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is that because of anything you had done for him?
Mr. SENATOR. Well, you know, I did a lot of things for him, and, of
course, he has done things for me, you know. When I was down and out he
helped me out.
Mr. GRIFFIN. You showed him a certain amount of loyalty and confidence.
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; you see, I don’t argue back with him. I don’t know if
he likes this or not, you know. I don’t want to argue with him. So I
“Yes” him to get the argument over with, because when he hollers at me
he hollers from the rooftops. But when you hear enough of it, it didn’t
bother me. It may have bothered a lot of people, but it didn’t bother
me because with me I knew there was no harm that would be done. But
the shrill of his voice, you know he was around. You could hear it.
Mr. GRIFFIN. OK; let’s go on there on page 298 from where we were.
Mr. SENATOR. It says, “Ruby and Senator arose on November 24, and
Senator noticed Ruby had brought one of four dogs which he ordinarily
keeps at the Carousel home with him.” He brings this same dog home
every night. And when it says, “Ruby and Senator arose,” it is like we
woke up at the same time. That is not so.
Mr. GRIFFIN. This refers to Sunday morning, November 24; is that right?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.