Friday, June 17, 2022

The Assassination and Mrs. Paine-The Coffee Klatch

Note from Webmaster: The caption in the above image of David Lifton is Max Good's original creation and is incorrect. David Lifton is not an attorney.

Author David Lifton explains one of the more popular conspiracy theories regarding Ruth Paine (51:10):

She [Ruth] makes the phone call on Monday [Oct 14, 1963]. Then he [Oswald] goes in for the interview on Tuesday, and he starts work on Wednesday. The people involved in this plot have done site selection in advance. They’re planning to murder President Kennedy on this trip. Oswald is going to get a job at that building. That’s the setup.

But this theory is impossible unless one believes that numerous individuals besides Ruth were involved. One would also have to believe that the conspiracy somehow knew the route of the motorcade even though it had not yet been proposed. Similarly, the conspirators could not have known the day of the week that the motorcade would occur, leaving open the possibility that it could have been scheduled for a weekend when Oswald would not be working at the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD).

It all started when four ladies, Ruth Paine, Linnie Mae Randle, Dorothy Roberts and Marina Oswald met for coffee at the Roberts' home. During the conversation, the subject of Lee Oswald's lack of employment while his wife was expecting a baby came up. The group mentioned several places where Oswald might look for a job including Manor Bakeries, Texas Gypsum and the TSBD. Mrs. Randle noted that her brother Wesley had recently aquired a job at the TSBD.

After returning to the Paine home (Marina was living with Ruth at the time) Marina asked Ruth if she would phone the TSBD and find out if they were hiring. Ruth called and spoke to Roy Truly, the building superintendent, who told Ruth that Oswald should apply in person. He did so and was hired on October 15th.

But if Ruth Paine was working for the CIA, who would her accomplices neccessarily include? Certainly Linnie Mae Randle who brought up the notion of the TSBD and her brother previously obtaining work there. Roy Truly would also have to be in on the conspiracy since the depository operation consisted of two locations and he could have sent Oswald to the other location at 1917 Houston Street which was not on the motorcade route or neglected to hire him at all.

Additionally, those individuals tasked with hiring employees at four companies where Oswald unsuccessfully applied during his job search would have had to be cogs in any conspiracy. Note that none of these companies were on the motorcade route and Oswald aquiring a job at any of them would have scuttled the assassination. They were: Padgett Printing (Oct. 4th), Solid State Electronics Company of Texas (Oct. 8th), the Burton-Dixie Corporation (Oct. 9th) and the Wiener Lumber Company (Oct. 14th).

Additionally, the Texas Employment Commission tried to contact Oswald on October 16th which was his first day at the TSBD. This job reportedly paid more than the one Oswald had just taken. There would be no way for the conspirators to know with certainty that Oswald would not take the better-paying job and quit the TSBD. Of course, Oswald, who was not known for holding long-term employment, could have quit the TSBD for any reason at all prior to the date of the motorcade thus foiling the plot. Indeed, Marina stated that Oswald expressed his dislike for the TSBD job in November and applied at a "photographic" firm but did not get the job.

The final conspirator would have to be Marina Oswald herself since she asked Ruth to call the TSBD on her husband's behalf. The coffee klatch theory is one of the more untenable notions for reasonable students of the assassination. And since filmmaker Max Good has stated that a "reasonable" person should be skeptical of Mrs. Paine, shouldn't a "reasonable" person be just as skeptical regarding the coffee klatch theory and the number of people it would have taken to make the dubious concept work?

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