Mr. Coleman.

(Commission Exhibit No. 955 was-marked for identification and received in evidence.)

Representative Ford.

When Oswald came back on November 3, I believe, which was a regular working day----

Mr. Coleman.

Mr. Commissioner, he did not come back on November 3. He merely wrote a letter.

Mr. Chayes.

Wrote a letter. He never came back.

Representative Ford.

Are all of the employees, Mr. Snyder, Mr. McVickar, and the others who had any firsthand contact with the Oswald case in this area, were they State Department employees?

Mr. Chayes.

Yes, sir; these two men who were the only ones who did see him directly, I think the secretary, their secretary also saw him, but had nothing to do with him except as a receptionist These two men were Foreign Service officers and are now Foreign Service officers.

Representative Ford.

In the strictest term.

Mr. Chayes.

Yes, sir; members of the Foreign Service, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Representative Ford.

Could you tell us in a bit more detail the process that you followed or the procedure that you carried out when you first got into the Oswald case.
You mentioned yesterday you got a call or you were directed by I believe the Secretary of State or by somebody in higher authority to take certain steps. Will you tell us who called you, what you did in the first 3 or 4 days?

Mr. Chayes.

It was the evening of the day, perhaps about 5 o'clock on the day of the assassination. It may have been somewhat earlier, because I think I remember I went home for an hour and then came back to carry out this assignment. Mr. Ball, once it became known that Oswald had some history as a defector----

Mr. Dulles.

Ball is the Under Secretary of State.

Mr. Chayes.

He was then the Acting Secretary because the Secretary of State as you recall was on a plane over the Pacific. So he was the Acting Secretary. But even if he had been the Under Secretary he is my client.

Representative Ford.

He still had some authority.

Mr. Chayes.

Yes; he directed me to gather together the files in the Department on Oswald, and to prepare a report to be available for him the first thing in the morning covering as best we could within that time span the contacts that Oswald had with the Department.
We got the passport file. We got the security office file. We got the special consular services file which covered Mrs. Oswald's visa and the repatriation loan. I think these three files were the ones that we had. It may have been there was a smaller fourth file, but I think those three were the ones.

Representative Ford.

What would that smaller fourth file be?

Mr. Chayes.

I can't remember. It was duplicates if it was anything. Oh, that is right, we had a visa file and an SCS file so those were the four. The SCS file, that is Special Consular Services in the office, in the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs.

Representative Ford.

You got this order on or about 5 o'clock the 22d of November?

Mr. Chayes.

The 22d; yes, sir.

Representative Ford.

And you issued orders to have these files brought in, or did you go and get them yourself?

Mr. Chayes.

No.

Representative Ford.

Or what happened?

Mr. Chayes.

I issued orders to have them brought in. I called--I am trying to think how we got them. [Turning to Mr. Ehrlich.] Did you go down and get them? Mr. Ehrlich and Mr. Lowenfeld, another of my people, we worked through the night on this, the three of us all together and it may be that the two of them went down to get them. I don't think we just called over the telephone and asked them to be brought up.
(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. Chayes.

It is my recollection that one of these two gentlemen, either Mr. Ehrlich or Mr. Lowenfeld acting for me, went down to pick up the file.

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