The Chairman.

along the line of march. Don't you think that they would have been more. alert, sharper, had they not been doing these things?

Mr. Rowley.

Yes, sir; but I don't believe they could have prevented assassination.

The Chairman.

Isn't it a substantial violation of these rules to do a thing of that kind?

Mr. Rowley.

Yes, sir---on the basis of this section here.

The Chairman.

Yes.
Now, Chief I noticed, also, in reading some of the reports that three of these men whom you speak of, were actually on night duty, protecting the life of the President. And around 4 o'clock in the morning, when they were protecting him at the Texas Hotel, they said that they had a coffee break, and they went from the hotel over to the beatnik joint. Now, is that consistent with your regulations?

Mr. Rowley.

In this case, I talked to these three agents. They were relieved at different times--because their posts are in the corridor of a stuffy hotel----

The Chairman.

Of the what?

Mr. Rowley.

The corridor that they were on post outside the President's suite was a stuffy one, and they went downstairs to get a breath of fresh air. And they walked--it was a block--and out of curiosity they went into this place. One fellow looked in and left, he didn't buy any coffee. Another fellow went in and felt, I suppose, when he went in that he would buy a cup of coffee. But they were on what we call reliefs, the same as we relieve them around the White House. There are only so many posts, but you have a group of men in one of the rooms of the hotel where they are available, like an alert squad, and relieve everyone on post every half hour. It is a part of the rotation of positions we have.

The Chairman.

Do you have any regulations concerning where they shall remain when they are relieved for this short period of time?

Mr. Rowley.

No, sir.

The Chairman.

They can go any place they want?

Mr. Rowley.

No; not any place. They usually stay within the immediate confines. That is understood. The hotel or the residence.

The Chairman.

Well, they didn't do that here, did they?

Mr. Rowley.

No, sir.

The Chairman.

They went to the beatnik joint.

Mr. Rowley.

Yes, sir.

The Chairman.

Now, is that consistent with their duty?

Mr. Rowley.

No; it is not consistent or inconsistent with their duty. But as they explained to me, they wanted to get a breath of fresh air. If they are at a residence in a remote place, and they want to walk around the area, they might walk maybe a city block or so, which is what they do on a lot of these assignments--particularly in hotels. This was not an air-conditioned hotel.

The Chairman.

It would seem to me that a beatnik joint is a place where queer people of all kinds gather anyway, and that the mere fact that these men did leave their post of duty might be an indication to someone that the President was not being protected, and might leave an opening for them to go there and try to do something.

Mr. Rowley.

They were relieved, Mr. Chief Justice. They didn't leave their post of duty. They would not leave their post of duty until they were relieved by someone.

The Chairman.

As I understood the report, they said they left for a coffee break.

Mr. Rowley.

Well, it is an expression. They left to have coffee, sir.

The Chairman.

Was there any place for coffee in the hotel?

Mr. Rowley.

I think there was a coffee shop in the hotel; yes, sir.

The Chairman.

That was the only place in town, as I understood, from the reports, outside of the beatnik place they could. But they went down to the beatnik place. Did they do that by prearrangement with the other agents?

Mr. Rowley.

No, sir; it was curiosity on their part. They hadn't seen the other agents. There was no arrangement of any nature at all, sir.

The Chairman.

But they did there meet other agents?