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(Testimony of John G. Graef)
Mr. Graef.
The fact that he had--that the employment agency had said--told me. that he had recently been discharged from the Marines, or had gotten out of the Marines, and the fact that he had backed up that statement immediately when he came over and said that he had been recently discharged from the Marines, and I asked him if he had been honorably discharged, more as a joke, and he said "Yes," he had. To me, what background was there to check into? Was I going to go through his commanding officer or his sergeant, for example?
Mr. Jenner.
Well, it was a half truth--he had been honorably discharged and then dishonorably discharged.
Mr. Graef.
I wish I had--but the whole thing, of course, seemed so on the level that I just hoped that he would be a person that could fill the job.
Mr. Jenner.
Was this interview in the ordinary course of business?
Mr. Graef.
Oh, yes.
Mr. Jenner.
And having in mind the particular position you desired to train the man for whom you were looking, and having in mind the work--the background of work of the Texas Employment Agency, you made, I take it, the inquiries you would normally make under the circumstances?
Mr. Graef.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
There was nothing extraordinary about this?
Mr. Graef.
No.
Mr. Jenner.
Out of the ordinary pattern?
Mr. Graef.
No--he came in for this interview sometime in the morning, 10:30 or 11:00, and we perhaps talked for 15 minutes. Of course, I took down his name and whatever information I could get on a piece of paper, just for my own record, as I did with the other two or three boys that had come previously or after him, and finally there was no one else, and so then I had to make a decision, and, of course, I think I threw this piece of paper away because they were just personal notes that I had made about the interview, so that I could look back and remind myself who was who. So, I believe, in fact I am very certain that Lee called me back--I told him--at the time I interviewed him, I thought I knew that he had the best chance of the other fellows of doing the job, and usually I call them and would tell them that they are hired, but I think in this case that there was no phone and that when I asked him could I call him and let him know whether he had been hired or whether he had not been hired--he said, "No, there is no phone" where I could call him, and I said, "Well, I'll be making a decision perhaps tomorrow and if you would care to call, I can let you know then."
Mr. Jenner.
Didn't that excite any wonder on your part that there was no telephone at which he could be reached?
Mr. Graef.
No, not really. It's surprising how many of the young men are in transit or moving--in many, many cases the people that have applied for the job--it may just be circumstantial, but the people that have applied for work with me don't have phones. They may have a neighbor somewhere who they might give, but usually that's reluctant because the neighbor doesn't want to be bothered and many, many of them won't have phones, and many, many of them have very temporary addresses. I mean, it may be a room somewhere where they are residing for 2 or 3 or 4 days and they are in the process of finding some other place to live, so this didn't excite any curiosity at all on my part. The fact that he had again said he had been discharged recently from the Marines--it seemed entirely plausible that he was trying to find--he said he had a wife and either a baby--like I say, I don't remember whether the baby was coming or already here I think she was here at that time. I think he said he had a wife and baby. I could easily see how he would be looking or could have been looking for a few weeks for better quarters and would not have a phone and would not have a permanent address. So, this didn't excite any particular curiosity on my part and I was intent, of course, on finding a dependable employee. That was my main concern, so, I at this interview felt that he had the best chance of making a go of this than the other applicants and so I told him, "I'll be deciding definitely in a day or two. Call me back," which he did and I said, "Okay, come on in to work."
Mr. Jenner.
So that you were not looking for any special skill. If the gentleman whom you were interviewing had it, that would be a plus factor?
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