GF Mr. Sprague, We are down to just about $25,000 at this moment. Mr. Gonzalez. We have a Catch-22 proposition here. © - oe 4g oo 7 Mr. Fauntroy. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to the point which ge you raised, and which Mr. Anderson mentions, I admire@ the og thoroughness and ground work, the approach you have been: = ‘taking, to the investigation. - But I have been’ in 7 sort of 3. a dilemma, personally, about how to proceed. in the ‘first, 4 || instance, I recognize we do need a little something to. E “take, to sa Floor, | and | we need public interest. ates ue we are in fact to be able to do the thorough. ob that _you: outline here. | oe T have wondered whether or not it might be pseful to have someone on the staff, or a small group on: ‘the - Stade, he, to yo over thoroughly much of the research, many of the “books that have been written a some of them positing theories. about how the assassinations were carried out and by whom, “and that sort of thing, with a view to arriving at one, two | Sona oe Pe Sy EE ag: ox three propositions that have been made by some of those a : aonery, “some “have seemed to be very thorough in their investigations a ae on as a starting point, to see if there is in fact anything be me “there. : no . 22 an . : , “ Sprague. Well, my problem is, Mr. Fauntroy, Lat that nae 24 | 4 Mr. Fauntroy. Let me first say I have read so much now, HW 50955° octal: 3266459. Page 5000"
and Iam so confused by the many, many theories, that I welcome ‘what I call the grate-laying you are now doing in terms of finding out the sequences What in fact happened, when, and | where 7 we are going to need that to straighten it out. De Sprague. That is the problem. T am. looking at it, maybe improbably in the. tong | | roa, because maybe we will never get to travel. ‘that ing road. But assuming we do, I do not. think it would do us well. . Af in that long travel, “we put ourselves in the  potton ae the beginning of giving the indication, now that we “are ‘on the road, started the investigation, of just shooting off in terms of sonebody's theory here and there. Tr: really | ‘Think total impartiality 4 is ‘what is essential for our 6 own | “Gnvestigation. | | ‘Chairman Downing. | Are you now or would you next week be J in a position to say that the Warren investigation was not_ ‘a complete investigation? - | | wo | Fe ae, Gonzalez. Excuse ie for interrupting before you answer. Let me say this, Mr. ‘Chairman, I don't thin ae that + we should have to try to reach for the sensational, the tantalizing thing, to dangle before the Members of ofthe House, in order for us to get ‘the approval for this. J We have to confront each and every Member of the nouse.as if it . } : os || were. us a that is assuming that they are men of good reason » ao HW 50955 Docld:32}66459 Page 51 420 ° and all. Because , just as many of the critiques and the theories|
and the hypotheses that you have in both homicides, you have almost an equal number of apologigs 5) __ that is people “writing books sustaining those findings. So I think if we get into that, we are going to be chasing rabbits right off. 7 * the beginning and we will get lost. Ds think we have got to look at it this way. And the ‘reason I interrupted before I even gave him a chance to answer his gp the Warren commission -/ 1 have even seen members “|| of the Congress say, "We are reopening that." We are not reopen ing anything. This is the first time it has ever been done. ‘The. Congress has never undertaken this. eo I had a reporter argue, "Well, you had the Church fomictes, you had the Pike donnittes.” It is not the same thing} They | never had a grant of authority to look into chiens they & stumbled upon some peripheral matters in looking ints ‘the intelligence agencies of the Federal Government that had to. do with Kennedy, that had to do with Martin igather King. But they were peripheral. 7 They: never had the authority, oe they never had the resources to go into this. '"M Now, what we are saying is Hook, House", you~ gave us $150,000 to start. We are doing the we know. how, which is to get the be xpertise available llona professional basis, here is the consensus, it wad Betiig given to us first, we have had a chance to shoot tat it, and we have got to take that risk I think if. we try: to obey
422 “we know now, and we can tell even at this point the Warren Commission was defective partially or in toto, I think, Mr. ‘Chairman, we might be really flirting with trouble, even if oye got the $6 million. Pwr. Sprague. Mr. Chairman, I didn't get to answer, but “T really feel Mr. Gonzales answered for me. | - Chairman Downing. I think that is a pretty good answer. I think we all admire your thoroughness. | , You just bring ina report next week. Mr. Gonzalez. Let me say this: We cannot minimize. “This is sensational, just what has been done thus far; well, what is this? Well, one, none of these witnesses, incluain Marie Niles, has ever testified under oath. We cannot expect “of the Warren Commission a power that could rise and be inherent| “in the precutive ranch of the Government. It was anad’ | ‘hoc. situation, to try to address itself to the nation at a time “Of trauma and high. emotionalism, and where all kinds of theories were batted around. We had a similar thing in’the “case of the murder of Martin Lguther King, Sr. You had rioting, 9 || you had emotions +, people said, "Aha, we know it. But now we have a brilliant opportunity to look at this in retrospect- |} ana not so far off ‘where you don't have more living witnesses san those dead, where we still have available ‘som fiocuereation ~ Our task is going to really be big, and that is. to talk. . to those who voted for it who are ‘still with us; those who | HW.50955. Docid:3¥266459 Page 53°.
didn't, and somehow convince them. This is the reason Tf | asked the question earlier this morning. Maybe even on an initial Z . i . ae fragmentary basis GF maybe they will say, “We can't give “you $6 million for the whole year, but we will give you one- “third of that for one-quarter of the year. Pr don't know whether that is feasible or not. But. at least |p ve have got the flow of resources on the level we feel. are “required. b- 7 But I don't know A ‘I have faith it is going to! be sold. We will have to call on you, Mr. Chairman, even though © you won! t be here after January 3. But I think the influence is still there. Be Chairman Downing. I have faith in the manner in which a | —=—= = s—e : the state is proceeding. “ome. Fauntroy. Mr. chairman, may I just ask in, that regard at could a part of this report be the Listing of ¢ the ‘mnanswered questions that we have with respect. to the plea of a by. Ray? Sprague. Yes. And in n making the report, Tr will, be ‘conscious of the thoughts that are ‘suggested here. — “But rT ‘would || ats like to respond with one comment to Mr. Gonzaler. “you cannot have funding for a third of the year for half of the year. There is no way that we can get. thee 24 || competence and the kind of staff that we need; and say lS to them, "We can only tell you you are going to be employed : HW:50955 Docid:3#266459- Page 54.