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Warren Commission Hearings: Vol. VII - Page 278« Previous | Next »

(Testimony of W. E. Barnes)

Mr. Barnes.
It would be a guess. I wouldn't want to venture to guess, because it would be just strictly guesswork.
Mr. Belin.
More than 20?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes.
Mr. Belin.
More than 50?
Mr. Barnes.
I am not saying. I don't know.
Mr. Belin.
All right, in any event, you were working on the fourth floor?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes.
Mr. Belin.
Then where did you go?
Mr. Barnes.
Later we went to the third floor, to the office of Captain Fritz.
Mr. Belin.
What did you go to Captain Fritz' office for?
Mr. Barnes.
To make a paraffin test of Lee Harvey Oswald's hand.
Mr. Belin.
About when would this have been, approximately, if you know?
Mr. Barnes.
I tell you, the time didn't mean anything there, and it was after I returned to the city hall, and after 6 o'clock.
Mr. Belin.
Sometime after 6 o'clock?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes.
Mr. Belin.
Did Captain Fritz call you up and tell you to come down and make the paraffin test?
Mr. Barnes.
He didn't talk to me. I was advised to go to that office to help make the paraffin test.
Mr. Belin.
By your supervisor?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes.
Mr. Belin.
Who would that have been?
Mr. Barnes.
Lt. J. C. Day.
Mr. Belin.
Now is this the usual procedure when you are going to make a paraffin test, to go to an office such as Captain Fritz' office to do it?
Mr. Barnes.
No.
Mr. Belin.
What would the usual procedure be?
Mr. Barnes.
If he is alive, they usually bring them to our bureau.
Mr. Belin.
That would be to bring them up to the fourth floor?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes.
Mr. Belin.
This would have necessitated, I would assume, moving the prisoner from Captain Fritz' office through the hallway up to the fourth floor?
Mr. Barnes.
It would.
Mr. Belin.
Were there any people in the hallways at this time, or did anyone tell you why?
Mr. Barnes.
Well----
Mr. Belin.
That is, tell you why they were going to make a paraffin test down in Captain Fritz' office rather than in your laboratory?
Mr. Barnes.
No, sir; nobody said anything to me about it.
Mr. Belin.
Was there any particular problem that you saw insofar as taking the prisoner up to your office from Captain Fritz' office?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes; you would have to take him through the throng of newspapermen and photographers who were in the hallway.
Mr. Belin.
What is the fact as to whether this might have presented a security problem in any way?
Mr. Barnes.
It would.
Mr. Belin.
What equipment did you take down to make this paraffin test?
Mr. Barnes.
I took paraffin, the paraffin kit that we have which consists of gauze and paraphernalia that we need to make the test.
Mr. Belin.
Was this your permanent equipment or your portable equipment? When I say your permanent, I mean your inplace equipment?
Mr. Barnes.
It is the same equipment we use up in our bureau, working under makeshift conditions.
Mr. Belin.
When you use the phrase "makeshift conditions"----
Mr. Barnes.
Just like putting up a portable camping ground to cook on. We have our benches to work on up at the crime scene search section which makes it handler to work with.
Mr. Belin.
Would the quality of the test be the same?
Mr. Barnes.
Yes; I think so. The quality would be the same, Just takes a little more time and inconvenience.
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