You talked to Ryder on Thanksgiving morning, and he gave you all the information and you wrote the story that came out in the paper.

Mr. Schmidt.

Right.

Mr. Liebeler.

And that night you saw on television a program on which Ryder in general denied ever talking to you, or denied the story that was printed in the paper?

Mr. Schmidt.

Right.

Mr. Liebeler.

And I understand shortly after that time you called Greener?

Mr. Schmidt.

I believe it was the next day.

Mr. Liebeler.

You said to Greener, what is going on. Did you ask him why Ryder denied the story that he had previously given you? That is my question flow.

Mr. Schmidt.

I Could have very well. I do remember talking to Greener and telling him that, I am sure, I got the story from Ryder that Thanksgiving morning, and I told him the reasons I thought that it was a factual story because, as I said before, about getting up early on a holiday, and the ticket with the name Oswald on it, and the cost and everything.

Mr. Liebeler.

Now did Greener ever tell you that Ryder had told him, Greener. that he had never talked to a .reporter from the Dallas Times Herald?

Mr. Schmidt.

I believe Greener said that Ryder said that he hadn't talked to anybody, as best I can remember. I think he did.

Mr. Liebeler.

Have you ever talked to Ryder at any other time except on the morning of Thanksgiving, November 28, 1963?

Mr. Schmidt.

No, sir; I wouldn't know him if he walked in this room now.

Mr. Liebeler.

Have you had any other possible source of information for this story? Did you talk to anybody in the Dallas Police Department about it?

Mr. Schmidt.

About the mounting; no, sir.

Mr. Liebeler.

How about the FBI?

Mr. Schmidt.

No, sir; I got all those facts from Ryder.

Mr. Liebeler.

You got those facts from Ryder?

Mr. Schmidt.

Yes, sir; nowhere else did I get any information. I thought that was getting it from the horse's mouth. If I thought there was anything phony about it, I would have told the city editor about it.

Mr. Liebeler.

Had you given consideration to the reason for Ryder denying having talked to you?. He denied talking to you, he denied it to the television reporter, ,and furthermore, he has denied it to me under oath.

Mr. Schmidt.

Well, he would have to deny it under oath, but like I say, I wouldn't have any reason to fabricate the story. I didn't get any extra compensation for it. I got paid the same thing if I hadn't gotten the story, if it had been a complete hoax.

Mr. Liebeler.

Well, I think you got the information for the story somewhere. I don't think there is any question about that. But isn't it a possibility that you might have gotten the information from some other place, a confidential source of information that you would rather not disclose? Wouldn't that be a sufficient reason to say you got the story from Ryder?

Mr. Schmidt.

No, sir; I had no reason to fabricate anything about Mr. Ryder. I don't know the man. I have nothing against him. I just have a story, and I will stick by that story we had in the paper. But the only thing possible that I would be willing to retract any part would be some details of how you do the boresighting. But I don't know that much about rifles as to why he would deny it, except that he possibly could have thought that wouldn't go over too well with the public, "Here I mounted a sight on the gun that killed the President." Many people would think--he never told me that this was the gun that Lee Harvey Oswald used on the President. He said a customer with a ticket on it that said Oswald, and I believe I asked him what Oswald looked like, and I don't think he could put the face with the ticket, if I remember correctly.
I believe I asked him that, but I wouldn't have any reason to fabricate anything. And the man I was looking for was the man who mounted the scope. After I got that with these other bits of evidence behind it, or evidence in my mind, probably circumstantial, but to. me it seemed like human nature.

Mr. Liebeler.

It was enough evidence to justify writing a newspaper article?