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(Testimony of Mrs. Lillian Murret Resumed)
Mrs. Murret.
in the morning. He wouldn't eat any breakfast. I would try to fix him an egg and bacon or something like that, but he didn't want anything to eat for breakfast and he wouldn't take a thing. We always eat a big breakfast in our family, but he wouldn't eat a thing. He would just get dressed and go out with his newspaper to look for a job, and come home in time for supper and then he would sit around a while and watch television and then go to bed, and he followed that same pattern all while he was with us, until he got this job with the Riley Coffee Co.
Mr. Jenner.
Did he ever talk to you about Russia during that time, his life in Russia, and how he felt about it?
Mrs. Murret.
No; the only thing he spoke about was the relatives. He said in Russia all the relatives knew one another and he said they all lived together, and he said if one comes in and he wants to stay overnight, that they will put him up in a corner, or help him out with clothes and so forth, but of course he worked in a factory while he was over there.
Mr. Jenner.
Did he tell you that?
Mrs. Murret.
Well, he did tell me he worked in a factory and he did work around the machinery, but that's all he told me about that, but then when he got this job with the Riley Coffee Co. and started to work there, he said, well, that was no different than any other factory in Russia. I said, "Well, what do you mean by that?" He said, "Well, the equipment was just as bad, the machines, and the work conditions were not any different from Russia," but that's all he would say about it. We didn't talk about it too much.
Mr. Jenner.
Do you mean he inferred that the machinery at the Riley Coffee Co. was outdated as compared with the machinery in Russia?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes; as compared with the machinery in Russia, and he said you had to work hard. He said they work you hard at the plant.
Mr. Jenner.
Did he say anything about his reaction to Russia?
Mrs. Murret.
No; he never spoke about Russia that way. He would only talk when you would ask him a question, that's all. He wouldn't ever tell you anything. When he first came in and stayed with us. I asked him a few things about Russia, but he wouldn't talk much about it. He never expressed an opinion about Russia at all. About all he would say was that they were just about like any other people. That's about all he would say.
Mr. Jenner.
He didn't talk then about his views on the Russian government?
Mrs. Murret.
No; not to me. There was no time really. The way things were, like I said, he would come home in time for supper and then watch a little television and go to bed, and he never spoke about anything.
Mr. Jenner.
Did he ever discuss his life in the Marines with you?
Mrs. Murret.
No; he never talked about that either. He did say that he was wanting to get out of Russia so that he could bring his wife and child over to this country, and he said the Immigration Department loaned him $365 and some odd cents, to use to get out of Russia, and he said he worked for the Dallas or Fort Worth, for some photographer in there, one of those places--I forget which--but he did say that he worked until he paid it all back, and I said, "If you made that much money on that job, why did they let you go?" And he said, "Well, they didn't want a third man on the job," or something like that.
Mr. Jenner.
They didn't want a third man on the job?
Mrs. Murret.
That's what he said, that they didn't want a third man on the job.
Mr. Jenner.
And you say that was in Dallas that he worked for this photographer?
Mrs. Murret.
I think it was Dallas that he said; yes. It was either Dallas or Fort Worth. I think it was Dallas. He said he liked the job all right, but he said they let him go because they didn't want a third man. Now, I don't know if that's a true story or not. So then he came here to look for a job, and he said when he found a job, that he would have Marina and the child to come over here. I think before that time Marina had called, but he hadn't found anything then, so when he called and told her he had this job, she must have been all packed and everything, because they got here so quick.
Mr. Jenner.
Well, did you hear him talk to her over the telephone.
Mrs. Murret.
Well, he spoke in Russian, in the Russian language.
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