Yes of course-------------the numbers 275 and 276 were deliberately assigned to the Paine garage curtain rods 3/23 in order to absorb the two curtain rods submitted for testing for Mr Oswald's fingerprints eight days earlier.
If you disagree, Mr Smith, perhaps you will be so kind as to explain just how it was the Paine garage curtain rods came to be named Ruth Paine Exhibits 275 and 276? Why were those particular numbers chosen?
This is getting very confusing. The exhibit numbers are generated by the WC at the moment when an item is entered into evidence. Ruth Paine continued her testimony at her house in Irving on 23 March 1964 at 7:30 PM with Secret Service Agent Howlett being present. It was during that testimony that two sets of curtain rods were entered into evidence as exhibits 275 and 276.
So, how can it be that Howlett presented those exact two sets of curtain rods and their exhibit numbers to the DPD Identification Bureau at 9:45 AM on 15 March 1964?
Is it really believable that the DPD not only got the date so wrong but also did not know the difference between 9:45 AM and 7:30 PM. I'm sure there is an explanation for all this, but to simply dismiss it as an error in date and time isn't very credible.
Having said that, it's also difficult to understand how Howlett could measure the two curtain rods in Ruth Paine's garage, during her testimony on 23 March 1964, if those curtain rods - as the DPD document shows - were not collected from the DPD until the 24th or 26th March 1964, depending on which copy of the document you believe.