Mr. Jenner.

in your handwriting, they are in the same condition now as when you received them?

Mr. Oswald.

That is correct.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, I wish you would-I want to exhibit to you the postcard dated April 10, 1962, which is Commission Exhibit No. 321.

Mr. Dulles.

As I understand it, these letters have not yet been formally introduced in evidence.

Mr. Jenner.

They have not, sir.

Mr. Dulles.

Very well.
I might add, Mr. McKenzie, that, of course, one does not know whether those letters were opened by the authorities in the Soviet Union before being forwarded. I think that ought to be on the record.

Mr. Mckenzie.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner.

Commission Exhibit No. 321 I now hand you, Mr. Oswald. There is a date appearing thereon which reads, according to my interpretation 10--and then I cannot quite decipher it.
Would you look at the original, please?

Mr. Dulles.

The European system of marking is different from the American. system.

Mr. Jenner.

That is what I seek to bring out, sir. Do you now have the original before you?

Mr. Oswald.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Jenner.

Would you read the figures to which I point? The first is 10?

Mr. Oswald.

10/4/62.

Mr. Jenner.

Indicating what date?

Mr. Oswald.

April 10, 1962, in accordance with the European system of dating.

Mr. Jenner.

Of putting the day first, the month second, and the year last?

Mr. Oswald.

That is correct.

Mr. Dulles.

Do you recall whether these letters were opened by cutting or opened by unsealing?

Mr. Oswald.

I believe without exception, sir, looking at the originals, that they were opened by unsealing, rather than cutting.

Mr. Dulles.

I was asking because it is sometimes possible, by modern methods, to determine whether a letter has been opened and resealed, and if the letter is cut, that can be done.
If the letter has been torn open where the seal is, you cannot do anything with it. You cannot always do this, but there are certain techniques.

Mr. Mckenzie.

Mr. Chairman, did you have reference to when Robert opened the letters?

Mr. Dulles.

Well, what I had reference to is to whether if the letters were cut and not resealed, then there is a certain possibility of ascertaining whether the letter has been previously opened by a censor, and then resealed. I was just getting at that.

Mr. Jenner.

Mr. Dulles is interested, I see, in whether the letters had been censored in Russia before they arrived in the United States.

Mr. Dulles.

That was my point.

Mr. Jenner.

May I inquire of the witness on that subject further?

Mr. Mckenzie.

Let me state this for the record. When Robert Oswald or his wife opened the letters, as you
can plainly see from the letters here in front of you, they were either opened by letter opener-a knife or a letter opener, or just torn open.

Mr. Jenner.

Mr. Chairman, it is entirely possible and might even be probable that the Commission would be interested in examining the originals on this subject-that is, to determine through experts as to whether the envelopes had been opened and censored, and the contents censored, before being resealed, if they had been so opened, and dispatched to the United States. And I take it that your inquiry was directed towards that.

Mr. Dulles.

That is correct.

Mr. Jenner.

May I inquire of Mr. McKenzie, in the light of that fact, as to whether these originals of these letters would be available to us so that we may have expert examination of them for that purpose?