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(Testimony of Earl Ruby Resumed)
Mr. Ruby.
in deep tears, he really was. And he was so upset and so disgusted with this situation that he called my sister Eileen in Chicago and told her this is a good time to get out of Dallas. He is ashamed of it, that this thing could happen there, and he will probably--he wants to come up to Chicago for a few days, you know, to visit with her. Well, she discouraged him from coming up. He wanted to come to Chicago, and he also called my brother Hy in Chicago after the assassination, and told him how terrible it was, and he thinks he is going to get out of Dallas, he is coming back to Chicago altogether.
He also called his good friend, this was all brought out in the trial, not all of it but most of it, although those last two incidents about him calling my brother and my sister were never entered into evidence. We couldn't understand that.
He also called a fellow in California, A1 Gruber, I think is his name, and Gruber said he just couldn't talk. He just couldn't talk' he was so broken up.
So we know he was really broken up, and he must have really loved him because otherwise you just don't do these things. And the fact that he went to the newspaper and complained to them for even taking the ad, and I mean nobody else did this.
Mr. Griffin.
Do you have any examples of his conduct in Dallas before the President was shot that would show his feeling toward President Kennedy?
Mr. Ruby.
No; We don't have nothing that I know of. We don't have anything that I know of.
Mr. Griffin.
I wonder if you can give us some more examples of----
Mr. Ruby.
There is a bit about his patriotism that might mean something.
Mr. Griffin.
Tell us about that.
Mr. Ruby.
This happened many years ago. They were playing the Star Spangled Banner in the stadium in Chicago before all sporting events, and a friend who was with him, a fellow by the name of Mr. Kolitz told me this himself, he was smoking.
Mr. Griffin.
What is Mr. Kolitz's first name?
Mr. Ruby.
Ira. He was smoking when the Star Spangled Banner was playing and my brother insisted he put out his cigarette, that it wasn't in good taste to be smoking when the Star Spangled Banner was being played.
Mr. Griffin.
Your brother didn't approve of smoking either, did he?
Mr. Ruby.
No; he didn't smoke at all. Well, neither do I, for that matter. But this I didn't find out about until a couple of months ago because I ran into this party in Chicago, and you know talking about these things, and he says, "How could they accuse your brother of being a Communist", and-then he related this incident to me. Fie says, "I remember, you know at the stadium when this happened, and he actually insisted I put the cigarette out."
Mr. Griffin.
Did Jack in your dealings with him, did he strive to be important and did he strive for recognition, things like that?
Mr. Ruby.
I would say, well, he tried to be a success. He always wanted to be a success in life.
Mr. Griffin.
What was his idea of being a success?
Mr. Ruby.
Oh, having a family and being happily married and earning a steady living.
Mr. Griffin.
Did he talk to you about his desires to have a family?
Mr. Ruby.
Oh, yes; on a few occasions. Once when he had financial failure and he was terribly depressed back in the early fifties, I think, he came to Chicago. Fie was just terribly depressed and he says, "Well, it looks like it is the end for me." And, you know, he had no--he was penniless, and I tried to help him out again there. I was trying to look around for a business for him, to be truthful with you because we were doing pretty well, making a living, a good living, and I thought I could help him out but he decided to go back to Dallas again.
Mr. Griffin.
Well now, there have been reports that Jack was the kind of a person who liked, who wanted everybody to know him and liked to be a big shot, some people might say. Did you have any experiences with him that would indicate anything about those kind of observations?
Mr. Ruby.
Well, he was pretty well known in Chicago. Fie always was a good athlete, a good ballplayer. He was a very great swimmer, and he was very close to Barney Ross, so I would say--and he had many friends, so he
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