(The document referred to was marked Cadigan Exhibit No. 21.)
Mr.Eisenberg. Cadigan Exhibit No. 21 includes the selective service registration certificate we have been discussing, is that correct?
Mr.Cadigan. No; it includes an enlargement of the original Selective Service System registration certificate issued in the name of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. And that is the Selective Service System certificate on which the forgery in the name of Hidell was based?
Mr.Cadigan. From which the reverse side of the forged or the fraudulent and counterfeit notice of classification was prepared.
Mr.Eisenberg. Focusing our attention on the certificate of service, could you illustrate by use of this photograph and any others you have already introduced some of the points which led you to yourconclusion——
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. As to Commission Exhibit No. 806?
Mr.Cadigan. The two negatives in Commission Exhibit No. 812, which appear on Cadigan Exhibit No. 20, show the areas of retouching. Examination of the negatives themselves in Commission Exhibit No. 812 shows that the original entries on the face and reverse side can be seen. It appears in red. The face reads "Lee Harvey Oswald, 1653230." And the reverse side bears his signature.
From a study of the negatives and from the enlarged photographs, Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 15, 16, 17, and 18, I wish to point out some of the evidence that links these three items together. On Cadigan Exhibit No. 16, on the reverse side in the printed word "signature," the "u" is misshapen, due to some of the retouched substance crossing the letter, and this is exactly in the area where the upper portion of the name "Lee" appears on the original card. This is seen on Cadigan Exhibit No. 21.
Also on the line below, in which appears the printed wording "signature of certifying officer," in the letter "n" in "certifying" can be seen a long line which at first glance might appear to be a part of the signature "A. G. Ayers, Jr.," but which corresponds exactly to the ending stroke of the letter "y" in "Harvey."
Also, in the printed word "officer" on the same line can be seen the effects of the retouch in that the upper part of the first "f" has been cut off by the retouch substance. So that by a study and a comparison of the Commission Exhibit No. 806 with the negatives, with particular reference to where the retouching fluid has cut into lines or printing, and further comparing the same negative with the original card, as shown in Cadigan Exhibit No. 21, I determined and it can be seen that the Commission Exhibit No. 806 was produced from the negatives in Exhibit No. 812, which, in turn, were produced from the original card of which Cadigan Exhibit No. 21 is a photograph.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, in either the fraudulent selective service notice of classification or certificate of service, have attempts been made to reinstate portions of printed lines which were blocked out by the opaque substance?
Mr.Cadigan. No; I didn't notice that, particularly. I noticed from a technical standpoint that the opaquing was rather crudely done, in that the opaquing of negatives is a common photographic technique, and with reasonable care you can avoid cutting into lines. I didn't particularly observe any areas where the lines had been put back in.
This does not eliminate the possibility, because it is a very simple matter of scratching through the opaque emulsion to produce such a line.
Mr.Eisenberg. Where the line is thickened, as is visible in Cadigan Exhibit No. 15, how would you account for that, Mr. Cadigan? I am looking now at Cadigan Exhibit No. 15 in the block, that portion of the rectangular block surrounding the number "224," and particularly the bottom of the block.
Mr.Cadigan. A study and examination of Cadigan Exhibit No. 19 shows that these areas correspond to the figures "114" which appear in the second block of the Selective Service number, and which were not retouched off.
Mr.Eisenberg. So you feel that, rather than the bottom of that block being thickened in the retouching, what you have is a residue from the typed-inportion——
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Which appeared on the original card?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; and this can be further seen. The right-hand side of the block for the first two letters of the selective service number shows a thickened area which corresponds to the numeral "1" on the original card of Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, returning now for a moment to Commission Exhibit No. 795, were you able to identify either of the two signatures written in ink on that card, the one being "Alek J. Hidell," and the other a signature written over the caption "Member or clerk of local board"?
Mr.Cadigan. No; I did examine the "Alek J. Hidell" signature appearing as the signature of registrant, but the known writings available of Lee Harvey Oswald were not sufficiently comparable with the signature to reach a definite opinion. I did note, however, some similarities in the letter "A" and in the last name, the letter "H" and the ending "l." But these were not of sufficient weight nor of sufficient number nor of sufficient combination to warrant a definite opinion.
Mr.Eisenberg. You say you compared this item, this signature with the known standards. Did you compare the signature with questioned documents which you already identified?
Mr.Cadigan. No.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, I wonder whether after this deposition would you compare this signature with those questioned signatures of "Alek J. Hidell" which you have now identified?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; certainly.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, I now hand you Commission Exhibit No. 817, consisting of a portion of an application for a post office box 30061 in New Orleans, POD Form 1093, and ask you whether you have examined that item?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And have you attempted to determine whether that item, Commission Exhibit No. 817, was prepared by Lee Harvey Oswald, whose known writings we have introduced previously?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; I have.
Mr.Eisenberg. And what was your conclusion?
Mr.Cadigan. On Commission Exhibit No. 817 the hand printed names, "A. J. Hidell," and "Marina Oswald," and the signature "L. H. Oswald," were written by Lee Harvey Oswald, based on a comparison with his known standards of writing.
Mr.Eisenberg. Have you prepared a photograph of Commission Exhibit No. 817?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And does that also include a photograph of another item, apparently another part of the application?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did your identification of the Commission Exhibit No. 817 depend in any way upon your identification of the other part of the item which is shown in your photograph?
Mr.Cadigan. It did not.
Mr.Eisenberg. I will mark the photograph Cadigan. Exhibit No. 22. (The document referred to was marked Cadigan Exhibit No. 22.)
Mr.Eisenberg. Was this prepared by you or under your supervision?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And it is an accurate photograph?
Mr.Cadigan. It is.
Mr.Eisenberg. We haven't been going over that with all the other photographs, but is that true of all the photographs we have introduced so far?
Mr.Cadigan. That is correct.
Mr.Eisenberg. And any other photographs you may introduce during the balance of this deposition?
Mr.Cadigan. That is true.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, by use of that photograph and by use of the photographs of the standards, could you explain some of the points which led you to your conclusion concerning Commission Exhibit No. 817?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; here again, it is the presence of the same combination of characteristics in the hand printing and signature on Cadigan Exhibit No. 22 and on Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10. For example, the word "Marina" on Cadigan Exhibit No. 22 can be compared with the same word or the same name on Cadigan Exhibit No. 10, the "M" being characterized by a rather long beginning stroke, the center of the letter is high, giving the letter somewhat the appearance of the numeral "3" tipped on its side. The "A" is similar to or made in the same way as previous "A's," with a pointed top, with the beginningstroke about two-thirds of the way up the staff. The "i", again, is very small in relation to the letters coming before and after it. In the "N" there is a curve at the base of the letter. It is more pronounced on Cadigan Exhibit No. 22 than in the name "Marina" in Cadigan Exhibit No. 10, but in the name "Lillian," on the same exhibit, the same kind of curve is observed.
In "Oswald," again in the signature "L. H. Oswald," I find the same characteristics and combinations of characteristics. In the questioned signature in Cadigan Exhibit No. 22 as in the various known signatures in Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10, here I think the ending "ld," the narrow pointed loops used for the "l" and "d" are very small, and with a rather misshapen body or upper stroke.
Again, it is the presence of the same combination of handwriting and hand printing characteristics which led me to the opinion that this exhibit had been prepared by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, I now hand you Commission Exhibit No. 813, a vaccination certificate, a purported vaccination certificate, signed by "A. J. Hidell," and I ask you whether you have examined that item?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; I have.
Mr.Eisenberg. Now, this bears writing on the outside and the inside. Have you attempted to determine whether that writing is the writing of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. What is your conclusion?
Mr.Cadigan. That the hand printing and the Oswald signature were written by Lee Harvey Oswald, again based on the presence of the same combination of individual handwriting and hand printing characteristics.
Mr.Eisenberg. Have you taken photographs of this exhibit?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Those will be Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 23 and 24.
(The documents referred to were marked Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 23 and 24.)
Mr.Cadigan. I would point out that these represent only a portion of the original document, since for demonstration purposes the lower printed blank is not included in these exhibits.
Mr.Eisenberg. Now, the document as we see it now exhibits extremely faint writing. Can you explain the reason for that?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; this is due to treatment of the card for latent fingerprints by chemical process which bleaches and makes inks run.
Mr.Eisenberg. Was the document treated to restore the original color after it had been treated for fingerprints?
Mr.Cadigan. No; from looking at this, it has been desilvered, but it has not been completely desilvered since parts of the stains of the chemical treatment remain.
Mr.Eisenberg. When you first saw the document and made your examination, was the document in its original condition, that is, had it been treated yet for fingerprints?
Mr.Cadigan. I never saw the original.
Mr.Eisenberg. You never saw the original?
Mr.Cadigan. No; I had a Xerox copy of the original exhibit. I did not see this original exhibit.
Mr.Eisenberg. You said before you had examined this exhibit?
Mr.Cadigan. To be more exact, I examined a Xerox copy of this exhibit.
Mr.Eisenberg. Do you know who prepared the Xerox copy?
Mr.Cadigan. It was submitted by our Dallas office.
Mr.Eisenberg. Was this a copy of the front and the back?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And are your photographs of the Xerox or of the original?
Mr.Cadigan. They are made from the Xerox.
Mr.Eisenberg. Is this the first time you saw the original?
Mr.Cadigan. I believe it is.
Mr.Eisenberg. Based upon your examination of the original at this point, and a comparison of the photograph of the Xerox copies, would you concludethat the Xerox copies had been made before the document had been treated for fingerprints?
Mr.Cadigan. Very definitely.
Mr.Eisenberg. Could you note a few of the points which led you to your conclusion concerning the handwriting appearing on the documents you photographed as Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 23 and 24?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; the handwritten signature "Lee H. Oswald" is written in a very distinctive manner. The "L" with its rather long beginning stroke, and its narrow upper, and the lower loop, is almost in the shape of a triangle. The large loop formation at the top of the "O" leading into the letter "s" and the loop at the base of the "s" is almost a carbon copy of the same characteristic appearing on Cadigan Exhibit No. 10, page 2. And again, the narrow "l" and relatively large "d" with a very pronounced ending stroke on the "d" is typical of the manner in which this man writes his signature.
So also in the hand printing, on Cadigan Exhibit No. 10, we see the "LEE" and the "OSWALD," the little hook at the start of the "L" and the reverse curves at the base of both the "L" and the following "EE's." Again, we see the use of the lowercase "l" and the lowercase "d" in the formation of "Oswald," whereas the rest of the letters are capital letters.
Here, again, the presence of the same combination of characteristics led me to the opinion that this writing had been prepared by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. Does that include the signature "A. J. Hidell"?
Mr.Cadigan. No; it does not. This signature is distorted, and the standards, the known standards of Lee Harvey Oswald I had available for comparison would not justify any opinion concerning this particular signature.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did you attempt to compare it with the questioned items which you had, theretofore, identified?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; without reaching any opinion one way or the other.
Mr.Eisenberg. Would you conclude that it was not written by Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr.Cadigan. No; I would not.
Mr.Eisenberg. Does it bear any similarities to Oswald's handwriting at any point?
Mr.Cadigan. I didn't observe any that I thought were sufficiently significant in characteristics to warrant pointing out. It is a question of judgment as to how you evaluate a given characteristic. I don't see, and do not see now, any characteristic worthy of mention to either say Oswald did or didn't do it.
Mr.Eisenberg. I hand you Commission Exhibit No. 115, consisting of a rubber stamping kit, and ask you whether you have examined that stamping kit.
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did you attempt to determine whether the stamping on the document which you have photographed as Cadigan Exhibit No. 23, was produced by the rubber stamp kit, Exhibit No. 115?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. What conclusion did you reach?
Mr.Cadigan. I couldn't reach any conclusion because the exhibit that I had, and from which Cadigan Exhibit No. 23 was made, is a Xerox copy, and is not adequate for the rubber stamp examination of this kind.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did you see anything which led you to believe that the stamp on on the document you examined could not have been made by Exhibit No. 115?
Rather than answer that question, could you undertake to perform an examination based upon the original?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. At a subsequent time?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And you will supply us with the results of that by letter?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. I now hand you Commission Exhibit No. 819, consisting of a photograph of a card, "Fair Play for Cuba Committee, New Orleans Chapter,L. H. Oswald," with Oswald's signature, or a signature purporting to be Lee H. Oswald's, and the signature "A. J. Hidell"; and Commission Exhibit No. 820, which appears to be similar to the photograph Exhibit No. 819, except that there is no signature apparent in the space where the signature A. J. Hidell appears in Exhibit No 819, and I ask you whether you have examined these two items.
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Is Exhibit No. 819 a photograph of Exhibit No. 820?
Mr.Cadigan. It is.
Mr.Eisenberg. Exhibit No. 820 is seriously discolored now and does not have the words "A. J. Hidell" apparent. Can you explain how that came about?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; the original Commission Exhibit No. 820 had been treated for latent fingerprints, and this is a chemical process which has removed the ink of the signature. However, on examination under strong side lighting and using low-power magnification, portions of the letters "A," "J," and "H," of the signature of the chapter president can be discerned, and are in the same place on the photograph, Commission Exhibit No. 819, as on the original, Commission Exhibit No. 820.
Furthermore, a comparison of the writing and the rubber stamp, especially with reference to the position of these with respect to lines and printing and other fixed points on the card, definitely shows that Commission Exhibit No. 819 is a photograph of Exhibit No. 820, and made before it was treated for latent fingerprints.
Mr.Eisenberg. Now, apart from this, did you take the photograph, Exhibit No. 819?
Mr.Cadigan. No; the photograph was made in our photographic laboratory.
Mr.Eisenberg. But you did see Exhibit No. 820, before it had been discolored, did you not?
Mr.Cadigan. I don't recall at this time. It may well be that I did, but I have no independent recollection of it now.
Mr.Eisenberg. So that your testimony that Exhibit No. 819 is a photograph of Exhibit No. 820 is based upon your evaluation of the two items as they exist now rather than upon recollection of Exhibit No. 820 before it was discolored?
Mr.Cadigan. That is true.
Mr.Eisenberg. Do you know why Exhibit No. 820 was not reprocessed or desilvered?
Mr.Cadigan. No, this is a latent fingerprint matter.
Mr.Eisenberg. Can you explain why the signature, "Lee H. Oswald" or rather L. H. Oswald is apparent, while the signature "A. J. Hidell" is not?
Mr.Cadigan. Different inks.
Mr.Eisenberg. Some inks are more soluble in the solution used for fingerprint tests than others?
Mr.Cadigan. Definitely.
Mr.Eisenberg. Other Commission Exhibits, specifically Nos. 788, 801, and 802 also appear to have been treated for fingerprints?
Mr.Cadigan. That is correct.
Mr.Eisenberg. Exhibit No. 788 has been desilvered?
Mr.Cadigan. Desilvered, and Exhibits Nos. 801 and 802 are still in their original silvered condition.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did you see these items before they were treated for fingerprints?
Mr.Cadigan. I know I saw Exhibit No. 788 before it was treated for fingerprints. As to Exhibits Nos. 801 and 802, I don't know at this time.
Mr.Eisenberg. Are the photographs which you produced photographs of the items before they were treated for fingerprints or after?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; before they were treated for fingerprints. In other words, it is regular customary practice to photograph an exhibit before it is treated for latents for exactly this reason, that in the course of the treatment there may be some loss of detail, either total or partial.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did you take the photographs?
Mr.Cadigan. No.
Mr.Eisenberg. Are you referring to the photographs which you produced at an earlier point?
Mr.Cadigan. The photographs that I have produced here today, the various enlargements, were made from negatives. These negatives, in turn, were made at the time the original exhibits were photographed, and this would be before latent fingerprint treatment.
Mr.Eisenberg. I asked you when I introduced those exhibits whether they had been prepared by you or under your supervision?
Mr.Cadigan. That is true.
Mr.Eisenberg. You meant, then, that they were prepared under your supervision, or did you mean that they were prepared by you in the sense that you made the enlargement from the negative?
Mr.Cadigan. No; they were prepared under my supervision. In other words, I maintain all of the negatives in connection with the document aspects of this file in my room, under lock and key, at all times. I pull the negatives that I want enlarged, and I prepare a photograph requisition, take it down to our photographers, tell them what I want, and then later go back and pick up the enlargements, and check them to be sure they are just what I want.
Mr.Eisenberg. What about the negative itself? Can you state of your own knowledge whether the negative itself is of the original?
Mr.Cadigan. Only, insofar, that I know that on November 23, when the vast bulk of this material came in, that it was photographed. Some of these items I saw before they were photographed, and some afterward. But the exact sequence to select one item out of four or five hundred, I cannot, in all honesty, say I definitely recall seeing this before it was photographed.
Mr.Eisenberg. Can you explain what the procedure is when a document came in involving the assassination?
Mr.Cadigan. Initially, the first big batch of evidence was brought into the laboratory on November 23 of 1963 and this consisted of many, many items.
Mr.Eisenberg. 1963?
Mr.Cadigan. November 23, 1963. It was a very large quantity of evidence that was brought in. There were several agent examiners available to evaluate this material. There were supervisory officials, there were representatives from our Internal Security Division, all of whom had an interest in this matter, and it was decided they wanted certain items treated for latent fingerprints. The basic rule is always that before an exhibit is treated for latent fingerprints it is photographed, and that is what was done in this case.
Mr.Eisenberg. What happens to the negative after it is photographed? Were they all given to you?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; the negatives that pertain to the document aspects I took over and maintained under my control. Negatives pertaining to firearms evidence or hairs or fibers, they were turned over to Mr. Frazier.
Mr.Eisenberg. So under the regular procedure, as soon as the document came in it would be photographed, before it was treated for latents and the negative would be turned over to you?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. So at least if the procedure had been followed, any negative you had would be a negative of a document before it had been treated for fingerprints, is that correct?
Mr.Cadigan. That is correct.
Mr.Eisenberg. Now, returning to Commission Exhibits Nos. 820 and 819, did you prepare a photograph which would show the remnants of the signature A. J. Hidell on the Commission Exhibit No. 820?
Mr.Cadigan. No.
Mr.Eisenberg. Is the preparation of such a photograph possible?
Mr.Cadigan. I doubt it very much, because the indentations are so faint that the enlargement would serve no useful purpose. Actually, the best examination is by low-power magnification under the proper lighting.
Mr.Eisenberg. Did you attempt to determine whether the signature of Lee H. Oswald on this card was written by Lee H. Oswald?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. What was your conclusion?
Mr.Cadigan. That the Lee H. Oswald signature on Commission Exhibit No. 820 was written by Lee H. Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. What about the signature "A. J. Hidell"?
Mr.Cadigan. I was unable to reach a conclusion. First of all, at the time I compared this signature the known standards of Lee Harvey Oswald were inadequate for this particular comparison.
I did, however, note that there were certain differences in this signature that indicate the possibility of someone other than Oswald having prepared it. But in my opinion, the characteristics I observed were not of sufficient weight for a positive opinion in this regard.
Mr.Eisenberg. Could you note those characteristics?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; I think the capital letter "A" and the capital letter "H" in "Hidell" are different from the "A's" that Oswald makes, that appear in the enlarged photographs, Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10.
Mr.Eisenberg. Anything else?
Mr.Cadigan. I think the lower case "d," especially in the rounded shape of the body of it and the relatively short height of the staff, so that the staff compared to the body is very short. The "J" is made different or in a different manner than Oswald regularly makes or usually makes his "J's" in the known standards, but again it is a question of judgment as to whether you believe a combination of characteristics is enough to either eliminate or identify. In this instance, in my opinion, these differences point to the possibility of another writer other than Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. You indicated before, also, that there was another ink used.
Mr.Cadigan. That is correct. This, of course, in and of itself, is of no consequence, since the same person can use two different pens, so the color of the ink would not be, in my mind, significant.
Mr.Eisenberg. Does that signature appear to have been written naturally?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. At normal speed?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Any evidence of retouching?
Mr.Cadigan. No.
Mr.Eisenberg. Generally, were the signatures and other handwritings in the questioned documents you have reviewed in this deposition today written naturally?
Mr.Cadigan. With the exception of the "Hidell" signature on his certificate of vaccination. There is, in my opinion, distortion present there. But, by and large, in fact in almost all of the various handwritings, hand printings, and signatures, there is no evidence of disguise or distortion, in my opinion.
Mr.Eisenberg. What type of evidence indicates disguise or distortion?
Mr.Cadigan. Distortion and disguise can take many forms. It can be in the form of a change in slant, a deliberate malformation of the individual letters. It can be shown in broken or interrupted strokes. It can be shown in waves or wiggles in the line itself which should not normally be there. It may be occasioned by a person using other than normal hand, a left-handed person writing with his right hand or a right-handed person writing with his left hand. All these introduce elements of distoration or disguise. The extent of it can only be determined by comparing a given writing with known writings, and observing the characteristics present, and on that basis you can then formulate an opinion as to whether or not there is any appreciable amount of distortion or disguise.
Mr.Eisenberg. How would you evaluate the possibility of another person having simulated the handwriting of Lee Harvey Oswald in these questioned documents?
Mr.Cadigan. I don't think there is any possibility.
Mr.Eisenberg. On what do you base that?
Mr.Cadigan. I base that on 23 years experience and judgment and the examination of the documents and the various writings involved in this instance.
Mr.Eisenberg. And do I understand that if that had happened, the person would have left evidence behind which you would have detected?
Mr.Cadigan. In my opinion, yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And that would be in what form?
Mr.Cadigan. It would be in many forms. Failure to incorporate into the writings things that should be there, and including in the writings things that are not in Oswald's writing, differences in slant, spacing, proportions of letters, both to other letters and proportions of letters within themselves, the adoption of the various variations that you find in the known writings. When the amount of writing approaches the amount involved here, there is a large, a relatively large volume of questioned writings. The possibilities of successful or undetectible forgery, in my opinion, are nil.
Mr.Eisenberg. Mr. Cadigan, I now hand you Commission Exhibit No. 1, which is a note in the Russian language in cyrillic print, and ask you whether you have examined that item?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. I now hand you Commission Exhibit Nos. 55, 56, and 66, consisting of various notes in the cyrillic language, rather in the Russian language in cyrillic print, and ask you whether you have examined those notes?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. Who is the purported signer of those notes, Exhibits Nos. 55, 56, and 66?
Mr.Cadigan. From the translation that I read these are purportedly written by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. Now, for the record, these have also been identified by Marina as having been written by Lee Harvey Oswald.
And these are signed Alek in some or all cases?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; they are signed A-l-e-k, Alek in all three instances.
Mr.Eisenberg. Again, for the record, this is a name which was used for Oswald during his period of staying in the Soviet Union.
Have you attempted to determine whether Commission Exhibit No. 1 was written by the person who wrote Commission Exhibits Nos. 55, 56, and 66?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. And what was your conclusion?
Mr.Cadigan. That Commission Exhibit No. 1 was written by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. Have you prepared photographs of Commission Exhibits Nos. 55, 56, and 66?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; of the letters contained in those exhibits.
Mr.Eisenberg. I will mark those as Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 25, 26, 27, and 28.
(The documents referred to were marked Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 25, 26, 27, and 28.)
Mr.Eisenberg. Have you also taken a photograph of Commission Exhibit No 1?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes.
Mr.Eisenberg. I will mark that as Cadigan Exhibit No.29——
Mr.Cadigan. Front and back.
Mr.Eisenberg. And Cadigan Exhibit No. 30, representing respectively the back and front of Commission Exhibit No. 1.
(The documents referred to were marked Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 29 and 30.)
Mr.Eisenberg. Now, by use of photographs Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 25 through 30, could you explain some of the reasons which led you to your conclusion?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes; and I would point out that in addition to the four enlargements written in Russian, I also used Cadigan Exhibits or the documents represented by Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10, the known standards of Oswald, since there are English letters interspersed with the Russian writing on Commission Exhibit No. 1. Thus, for example, in the second line in Cadigan Exhibit No. 29 appears the word "to" which is directly comparable to thesame word appearing in Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10. This is characterized by a long sweeping upstroke, and the recurving downstroke cuts the staff about in half. And the "o" is without any tail, and it is relatively small and set fairly close into the staff. The "t" crossing is rather long and fairly high.
I noted these same characteristics in Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10.
Further, there is the wording in English, "Red Cross" appearing about two-thirds of the way down the side of the page beginning with the numeral 6, and here, again, I noted the same characteristics in the English hand printing in Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 4 through 10. Again, the use of the small "e" and the small "d" in conjunction with the capital "R," and then in the word "cross" he has used the capital letters. On the face of the Commission Exhibit No. 1 appear the printed English letters "ERVAY" which are almost directly comparable with the name "Lee Harvey Oswald" in Cadigan Exhibit No. 10. The E here is characterized by the little loop at the base of the staff. The "R" has a flat closed loop on the left side of the staff. The "Y" is constructed of two strokes, almost a perfect "V" shape for the body and a tail slanting back away from it.
The letter "p" or what appears to be the letter "p," indicated by the roman numeral 2 and a red arrow, is similar to the English "p," characterized by a long narrow staff without much of a loop. The body of the letter extends above the staff and the base is open. The bottom of the letter is not closed in.
The numeral "1" on the chart Cadigan Exhibit No. 29 points to a Russian character which resembles somewhat the English letter "G," the capital letter G. This is characterized by a rather large elongated loop along the left side of the upstroke, and the finishing stroke is short and straight.
The numeral "3" in red on Cadigan Exhibit No. 29 points to the Russian word which resembles the English word "tbi." The "t" has a very long beginning upstroke. The crossing of the "t" is high and is at the top of the letter. The b is formed with a straight staff on the back side, and there is a well spaced connection to the following letter which resembles the English letter "i."
I further noted that on this same side of the document shown in Cadigan Exhibit No. 29 in the second to the last line from the bottom appears the combination "exa," which is directly comparable with the "exa" in "Texas" appearing on the photograph Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 6, 4, and 9, among others. Again this characteristic way of making the "x" is almost like a "u" or an open "o." There is a little extra stroke that breaks off of the "x" so that instead of looking like "exa" it has the appearance of "eva" with a diagonal stroke through the "v."
The number "6" in red on Cadigan Exhibit No. 29 points to the combination which looks like the English letters "Ha," where the same two letters appear on the photographs, Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 25 and 26, the "H" being made in two roughly parallel straight strokes. The "a" is almost in the form of a circle, and the tail of the "a" runs out horizontally to the line of writing.
On Cadigan Exhibit No. 30, the number "8" in red with an arrow points to the combination of letters which resemble the English letters "tak," and this same combination or the same letters appear on Cadigan Exhibit No. 27. Again, the "t" has a rather long beginning stroke. The crossing is high and long, and I noted that the "k" in both instances is made in a similar manner.
The figure "9" on Cadigan Exhibit No. 30 also points to a different style of k, or what resembles the English letter "k," in that it is composed of a straight staff and the body or the right portion of the letter is almost the shape of a v tilted on its side.
Because of this combination of characteristics, as well as many others, I reached the opinion that Government's Exhibit No. 1 was written by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Mr.Eisenberg. Commission Exhibit No. 1, that is?
Mr.Cadigan. Yes, of which Cadigan Exhibits Nos. 30 and 29 are photographic enlargements.
Mr.Eisenberg. I have no further questions, Mr. Cadigan. Thank you very much. You have been extremely helpful.
The following affidavit was executed by Earlene Roberts on December 5, 1963.
AFFIDAVIT
PRESIDENT'S COMMISSIONON THE ASSASSINATION OFPRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
State of Texas,County of Dallas, ss:
I, Earlene Roberts, after being duly sworn, do depose and state:
I live at 1026 Beckley, Dallas, Texas, where I serve as housekeeper for a rooming house owned by Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Johnson.
On Friday, November 22, 1963, at approximately 1:00 pm I was sitting in the living room watching television about the President's assassination when a man I knew as O. H. Lee, but who has since been identified as Lee Harvey Oswald, came into the front door and went to his room. Oswald did not have a jacket when he came in the house and I don't recall what type of clothing he was wearing.
Oswald went to his room and was only there a very few minutes before coming out. I noticed he had a jacket he was putting on. I recall the jacket was a dark color and it was the type that zips up the front. He was zipping the jacket up as he left.
Oswald went out the front door. A moment later I looked out the window. I saw Lee Oswald standing on the curb at the bus stop just to the right, and on the same side of the street as our house. I just glanced out the window that once. I don't know how long Lee Oswald stood at the curb nor did I see which direction he went when he left there.
About thirty minutes later three Dallas policemen came to the house looking for Lee Harvey Oswald. We didn't know who Lee Harvey Oswald was until sometime later his picture was flashed on television. I then let the Dallas policemen in the room occupied by Lee Oswald. While the Dallas police were searching the room two FBI agents came in.
The police and FBI agents took everything in the room that belong to Lee Oswald and also took our pillow case and two towels and wash cloths.
I have made this statement, consisting of three pages, to Special Agents William N. Carter and Arthur W. Blake of the U.S. Secret Service. I have read this statement over and I find it to be true to the best of my knowledge.
Signed this 5th day of December 1963.