Mr. JENNER. What did you say?
Mr. OSWALD. It was my opinion--and I am not anti-union or pro-union. I
believe it should be taken on the basis of the individual companies.
It was my opinion that I expressed to him at that time that in this
country, the employees did have a right to vote yes or no whether or
not they wanted a union, and in this particular instance, the union was
voted out.
Mr. DULLES. Could we just have a moment's pause?
(Brief recess.)
Mr. DULLES. Will you proceed?
Is it all right to proceed?
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; please.
Mr. JENNER. You were reciting what you said in your letter of response
to the letter of November 26.
Mr. OSWALD. All right, sir, if I may pause a moment to locate the
second question or some statement that perhaps I recall referring to
directly in my reply--I recall replying to the statement that was,
that is contained, on the second page of the letter of November 26,
to the latter part of this statement that I will quote from: "See the
segregation, see the unemployment and what automation is. Remember how
you were laid off at Convair?"
I am referring now to the last question of "Remember how you were laid
off at Convair?"
Mr. JENNER. Yes.
Mr. OSWALD. I believe I pointed out to him at that time that this
was something I was aware of when I accepted the job at Convair in
Fort Worth, Texas. It was a condition, perhaps an unspoken condition,
because it was a government job in that when I was laid off, I did not
have to go only to the government to look for employment but I was able
to secure the type of employment that I was most interested in at that
time or that he had a variety to choose from and that no one would say
to me that, "You work here or there."
Mr. JENNER. Did you experience any bitterness in being laid off at
Convair?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Resentful?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; I do not.
Mr. JENNER. What was your reaction?
Mr. OSWALD. My reaction since I have been laid off at Convair and when
I was laid off at Convair I felt like it was the best thing that ever
happened to me.
Mr. JENNER. When did that event take place?
Mr. OSWALD. In August, 1957, sir.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Proceed with your recollection of your reply to this letter.
Mr. OSWALD. If I may, sir, continue to answer something along the
question of how I felt or reacted to my layoff at Convair; the reason
why I recall the date is because my daughter was born two or three days
after I was laid off, and I knew I was going to be laid off before she
was born and I did not tell my wife and I recall that quite vividly.
Thank you.
Mr. JENNER. I think I will ask you an additional question about that,
if I may, please.
Mr. OSWALD. All right, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Was there any discussion, at least in Lee's presence,
regarding your being laid off at Convair and your attitude with respect
thereto.
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir; none that I recall.
Mr. JENNER. And where was he--let's see, 1957, he was in the Marines
then.
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; that is correct.
Mr. JENNER. I take it then sometime along the line you had advised him
that you were no longer with Convair.
Mr. OSWALD. Yes, sir; I feel certain like I did.
Mr. JENNER. Perhaps you wrote him to that effect or you told him about
it when he was on leave in 1958.
Mr. OSWALD. I would feel like perhaps I wrote him about it.
Mr. JENNER. And to the best of your recollection did you indicate any
resentment or bitterness in that regard?
Mr. OSWALD. No, sir. As I have never been resentful to that or bitter
about it.
Mr. JENNER. So that at least, as far as you can recall, any statement
you made or any attitude you have with respect to your layoff which
might have come to his attention, did not form a basis for his
predicating the Convair comment, on which he might have predicated the
Convair comment, in his letter of November 26?
Mr. OSWALD. That is correct, sir.
Mr. JENNER. All right. Proceed.