Mr. SURREY. This was not our only publication. We have done many
publications before that.
Representative BOGGS. Do we have a copy of this publication?
Mr. JENNER. Of this particular one?
Mr. SURREY. Mr. Alger's office came to me and requested two copies for
the Warren Commission, which I furnished to him.
Representative BOGGS. Whose office?
Mr. SURREY. Congressman Bruce Alger's office.
Representative BOGGS. Did we make such a request through Congressman
Alger?
Mr. JENNER. I am not advised as to whether we did or not.
Mr. RANKIN. I am quite sure we did not.
The CHAIRMAN. Did we receive any such copies?
Mr. JENNER. There is none among our exhibits in the exhibit room.
Mr. SURREY. His secretary called, and they came out to the house and
got two copies of it.
Representative BOGGS. How long ago was this?
Mr. SURREY. Oh, I would say 3 weeks.
Representative BOGGS. When did you publish this book?
Mr. SURREY. I believe it was finally ready on January 1, right after
January 1--January 1, 2, or 3, right in that area.
Representative BOGGS. What does the book allege?
Mr. SURREY. We took the 10-day period following the assassination from
both Dallas papers, the Dallas Morning News, and Dallas Times Herald,
and just all the clippings pertaining to it were in chronological
order, and just shot them cold, and published them.
Representative BOGGS. Nothing else--just newspaper clippings?
Mr. SURREY. Just newspaper clippings.
Representative BOGGS. No editorial comment of any kind?
Mr. SURREY. Outside of the letter on the back; no.
Representative BOGGS. And what is the letter on the back?
Mr. SURREY. It said--this is just to the best of my knowledge, I
don't recall exactly--"This is the local report of what happened when
President Kennedy was assassinated. It is difficult to muzzle a local
reporter in his own local paper. And we feel that some of the news that
might not get out would be included in this book. We do not guarantee
the accuracy of the information, but it will pose some questions, a
few perhaps that the Warren Commission will not see fit to answer," I
believe was in there.
Representative BOGGS. Not see fit to what?
Mr. SURREY. To answer.
Representative BOGGS. What was the implication of that?
Mr. SURREY. The implication being, as I see it, in Dallas--a local
reporter--this is, for example. A local reporter from the Times
Herald went down to the Western Union office several days after the
assassination, and was told by the people in the Western Union office
that, yes, they remembered Oswald, he had been in, he had gotten money
orders, either the day before or just recently he had sent a wire to
somebody, and they recalled his Swahili handwriting, and so forth.
Well, I feel that surely Western Union knows who sent Oswald money, and
so forth. Now, I don't know if this will come out of this Commission or
not.
Representative BOGGS. The implication was that this Commission would
not investigate these allegations?
Mr. SURREY. No--perhaps.
Representative BOGGS. Well, what did you mean by the word "muzzle"?
Mr. SURREY. Of the press?
Representative BOGGS. You used "muzzle" in this letter--written. I
don't have the letter before me. I would like to have it.
Mr. SURREY. I don't, either. I would like to know what the exact
wording was on it, sir.
Representative BOGGS. Did you write it?
Mr. SURREY. Yes.
Representative BOGGS. And the implication was that this Commission
would not seek out the entire truth of the incidences arising----
Mr. SURREY. Oh, no, sir; this was not the implication of the muzzling.
This was not the implication.
Representative BOGGS. What was the implication of the statement you
made a moment ago, about questions that would not be asked by this
Commission?
Mr. SURREY. News happens in an area, and after it has been up to the
national news system, and then comes back through, and analyzed and so
forth, I don't put full credit any longer.
Representative BOGGS. Your theory is that in a matter as significant as
the assassination of the President of the United States, that the news
as reported outside of Dallas would be untruthful?
Mr. SURREY. Possibly.
Representative BOGGS. Is that the substance of the book?
Mr. SURREY. No. No; the substance of the book is strictly newspaper
clippings.
Representative BOGGS. Plus a letter.
Mr. SURREY. The letter is on the back cover of the book, just a cover
letter.
Representative BOGGS. Tell me more about what the letter says.
Mr. SURREY. I would much rather have the letter. I don't recall exactly
what it does say, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you write it yourself, or did somebody write it for
you?
Mr. SURREY. I wrote it myself.
The CHAIRMAN. You don't remember what you wrote?
Mr. SURREY. No; not as per specific words, I do not.
Representative BOGGS. Well, not specific words. The sense.
Mr. SURREY. You picked the specific word "muzzling" out of it.
Representative BOGGS. You used that word; I didn't use it. "Muzzle"
when you refer to a bipartisan Commission, established by the President
of the United States, with a mandate to obtain the truth, is a rather
serious word. I didn't use it--you used it.
Mr. SURREY. Based on some past experience that I have had--I was in
Oxford, Miss., with General Walker. Based on past experience of the
newspaper reports I heard coming out of national news media on that
incident, which I saw with my own eyes, I could not believe any longer
things which I read in the newspaper.
Now, the local paper there--and I was not privileged to read the local
papers at the time--may have had some of the truth that went on there.
But there certainly wasn't a good deal of it coming out in the national
news media.
Senator COOPER. Did you select the clippings that were in the book?
Mr. SURREY. Pardon?
Senator COOPER. Did you select the newspaper clippings?
Mr. SURREY. No; I did not.
Senator COOPER. Who selected them?
Mr. SURREY. A couple named Osburn that lived in Dallas.
Senator COOPER. Who are they?
Mr. SURREY. Just some people that live in Dallas.
Senator COOPER. Do you know their names?
Mr. SURREY. Just Osburn.
Senator COOPER. Do you know their address?
Mr. SURREY. No; I do not.
The CHAIRMAN. How did you happen to be associated with them?
Mr SURREY. Mrs. Osburn works at Walker's offce.
The CHAIRMAN. You are speaking of General Walker?
Mr. SURREY. Yes.
Representative BOGGS. Well, now, go ahead. I would request, Mr.
Chairman, that this book and this letter be made a part of the record
of this Commission.
The CHAIRMAN. Will you supply us with a copy of the book?
Mr. SURREY. If I have one, sir. They are out of print. And I don't
know----
The CHAIRMAN. Are they all sold?
Mr. SURREY. Well, we were going into reprint, right at that particular
time the attorney from the Times Herald called and put a cease and
desist on them.
The CHAIRMAN. How many copies did you have printed?
Mr. SURREY. 3,000.
The CHAIRMAN. Were they sold?
Mr. SURREY. Some of them were; yes, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. How many were sold?
Mr. SURREY. I would say about 900 to a thousand.
The CHAIRMAN. What became of the rest of them?
Mr. SURREY. They were sent to our presubscriber list, and given away.
The CHAIRMAN. Is this company that published them a corporation?
Mr. SURREY. No; it is a partnership.
The CHAIRMAN. Who are the partners?
Mr. SURREY. Myself and General Walker.
The CHAIRMAN. And General Walker?
Representative BOGGS. Was this pamphlet that you printed included in
the book?