(Testimony of Winston G. , Accompanied By Fred B. Smith, Lawson)
Representative Ford.
Will you proceed please, Mr. Stern?
Mr. Stern.
Yes.
Mr. Lawson.
You mean why we didn't come straight down Main Street to the Stemmons Freeway?
Mr. Stern.
Right.
Mr. Lawson.
Because it is my understanding there isn't any entrance to the freeway on Main Street.
Mr. Stern.
But you don't yourself recall now or do you?
Mr. Lawson.
Yes, I was told that there wasn't any entrance that way, and I myself once when I went to the Trade Mart, not knowing that there was any entrance to it, went down Main Street, You must enter the freeway going in the direction that We wanted to go from the Elm Street extension.
Mr. Stern.
When you went down Main Street you found that you could not get on to the entrance to the Stemmons Freeway?
Mr. Lawson.
Going the direction on the freeway towards the Trade Mart, that is correct.
Mr. Stern.
Which is the direction the motorcade was to go?
Mr. Lawson.
Was to go; yes, sir.
Mr. Stern.
Have you ever had occasion to provide for building checks along a motorcade route when you were doing an advance, or is it just never done? This is as of the time of Dallas.
Mr. Lawson.
I have never had an advance where I had buildings checked on our route.
Mr. STERN, It is not a question----
Mr. Lawson.
On a moving route.
Mr. Stern.
It is not a question of your instructions? You could if you wanted to, I take it? It is just a matter of your discretion and your training, is that correct?
Mr. Lawson.
I don't believe it is discretion. It is just that to my knowledge only inaugurations or when a foreign president or king comes to Washington, like that where it is a motorcade route known practically for years in advance of how you are going to go do we check, start out with enough men, enough time ahead of time to check the whole route up to that time.
Mr. Dulles.
Is there any practice of going to the superintendent of a building and putting any responsibility on him to see that strangers don't come into the building at ,that time, or assuming any responsibility at all with respect to the inmates of the building? I don't know what the practices are.
Mr. Lawson.
As I stated, sir, there was for inaugurations here in Washington--we have done building surveys of buildings that overlook the White House, that overlook ,the grounds, that overlook areas where the President goes quite often or where he might be out or something like that. Yes, sir; we keep those quite up to date. Out on a trip away from Washington, I have never requested building superintendents to do this. This was not the usual practice.
Mr. Smith.
May I ask a question there, sir. Is any of that information that you just gave the type of thing that is not supposed to be known publicly? I just don't know how necessary this is to the record, I mean about checking the buildings around the White House and so on. Is there anything about that that is sensitive?
Mr. Lawson.
I would assume that most of the people thought that we did.
Representative Ford.
I think that is the general impression.
Mr. Lawson.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Smith.
I can check on that. If there is something in there I might want to come back on.
Representative Ford.
I think as far as we are concerned if you do check on it and find that it is something that ought to be left off the record we could certainly do so.
Mr. Dulles.
It might be declassified as a whole or lower the classification, so I think it is well to put in the record what you have said, that this part of the record should be reviewed by the Secret Service, and if it is a security matter I think they ought to raise it. I don't think we want to ever disclose anything that the responsible agency thinks would imperil the life of any President.
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