The Dead-Letter Package

[Alan Ford]

My head is spinning.

Well that's not saying much, is it Mr Smith? Your head spins at even the minutest deviation from the Warren Report bedtime story.

My head is still spinning by your idea that a random hoaxer was in a position to write Mr Oswald's name and the fake 'West Nassaus' address in a convincing imitation of Mr Oswald's own style of handwriting. Like I say, if it weren't for the timeline implications (foreknowledge of motorcade route) you would not be putting forward such a silly explanation

Oswald is concerned about someone monitoring his mail to discover a large paper bag. And he tests this by sending a smaller brown paper bag to a non-existent address?

Yes. To see if it finds its way nevertheless to the Paine residence

Even if someone discovered a large bag in his mail - so what?  Why would they conclude it was going to be used to carry a rifle to assassinate the president?

Mr Oswald is paranoid about surveillance. With JFK coming to town, he fears that an odd parcel containing a long (rifle-length) paper bag could easily raise suspicion with the authorities. He is being extra careful

All of this when he has the obvious solution of just taking the bag there himself when he goes (which he did)?

Really? Where on his person was it when he travelled back to Irving with Mr Frazier on the Thursday pm?

Why mail it?

He doesn't want a fellow employee to see him taking (i.e. stealing) TSBD property home from work--------------especially not when said employee will be seeing the same paper bag the following morning and being given to understand that such was needed to carry mere curtain rods. Much cleaner to have the bag there waiting for him when he arrives at the Paine home on Thursday pm.

[Jerry Freeman]

Guys...there is another possibility--- Someone wanted Oswald's hand prints on a paper bag.
 A palm print and/or index finger print will do.

[Alan Ford]

Guys...there is another possibility--- Someone wanted Oswald's hand prints on a paper bag.
 A palm print and/or index finger print will do.

Yes, Mr Freeman, this has been a favored explanation amongst CTers. It seems to me however to be attended by at least three problems:

1. Why an 18" bag? (Was the original plan to have Mr Oswald framed for, at least, supplying a shorter weapon---------of the type seen by Ms Carolyn Walther? Or was it to take the paper from the 18" bag----------with Mr Oswald's prints now on it-----------and tape it together with more paper to form a rifle-sized bag?)

2. Why not just send the parcel to the correct address (Paine home)?

3. Wouldn't it have been much easier to just get Mr Oswald to handle paper at the Depository?

[Jerry Freeman]

1.     Or was it to take the paper from the 18" bag----------with Mr Oswald's prints now on it-----------and tape it together with more paper to form a rifle-sized bag?)

There you go.

2. Why not just send the parcel to the correct address (Paine home)?

Mystery

 

3. Wouldn't it have been much easier to just get Mr Oswald to handle paper at the Depository?

The paper would have to be re-handled and fabricated [as it seems it was anyway] complete with telltale fibers.
There was this disgusting revelation of certain hairs analyzed and traced to LHO on the surface of a blanket.
 They apparently did not make it to the confines of the paper bag so why mention it?



Notice that the bag is partially laying on subject blanket. Can we say contaminated evidence?

[Richard Smith]

Mr Oswald is paranoid about surveillance. With JFK coming to town, he fears that an odd parcel containing a long (rifle-length) paper bag could easily raise suspicion with the authorities. He is being extra careful

Really? Where on his person was it when he travelled back to Irving with Mr Frazier on the Thursday pm?

He doesn't want a fellow employee to see him taking (i.e. stealing) TSBD property home from work--------------especially not when said employee will be seeing the same paper bag the following morning and being given to understand that such was needed to carry mere curtain rods. Much cleaner to have the bag there waiting for him when he arrives at the Paine home on Thursday pm.

Why is it less odd to send an 18-inch bag than a somewhat longer bag?  The bag folds.  It was made of paper.  A genius like Oswald could figure that out.  It could be folded it and carried under his jacket.  Which is what he did.  And the guy who is planning on assassinating the president is "worried" about stealing TSBD property?  Very silly.  And why is Oswald doing all of this if you believe he is innocent and just carried curtain rods to work?  I realize that nothing has to add up in CTer fantasy land but that is rich.   Because none of this adds up, a hoax is most likely. 

[Alan Ford]

Mystery

Well, a very big mystery! And one only compounded by the fact that postage was not paid. If the objective was to get a package into Mr Oswald's hands, it seems pretty counterintuitive, to say the least, that this would occur to anyone as a good way to go about it.................

Notice that the bag is partially laying on subject blanket. Can we say contaminated evidence?

We certainly can!

[Alan Ford]

Why is it less odd to send an 18-inch bag than a somewhat longer bag?

You can't seriously need this spelled out, Mr Smith! An 18-inch bag is not a bag long enough to hold a rifle. Hence no danger of a red flag in relation to a known subversive on the Feds' watchlist as a Presidential visit impends

The bag folds.  It was made of paper.  A genius like Oswald could figure that out.  It could be folded it and carried under his jacket.  Which is what he did.

Just because your Warren Report bedtime story says this doesn't make it any less unlikely

And the guy who is planning on assassinating the president is "worried" about stealing TSBD property?  Very silly.

Yes, that would be a silly thing to suggest. Which is why I made no such suggestion

And why is Oswald doing all of this if you believe he is innocent and just carried curtain rods to work?

I have NEVER said Mr Oswald is innocent of involvement in the assassination. Do try to keep up, Mr Smith!

As for curtain rods, the evidence is clear: two curtain rods were submitted to the Crime Lab for testing for Mr Oswald's prints 8 days before two curtain rods were taken from the Paine home. I stand over my assessment of this remarkable fact: it points to two curtain rods having been found in the Depository sometime after the assassination. No other scenario makes sense in my view.

However, IF that address label on the Nixie Package is indeed in Mr Oswald's handwriting, then that has the potential to change things----------dramatically. I am doing something you never ever do: assessing the evidence critically and with an open mind

Speaking of handwriting, your random-hoaxer-who-happened-to-imitate-LHO's-handwriting-to-perfection hypothesis is still a dud

 

[Alan Ford]

However, IF that address label on the Nixie Package is indeed in Mr Oswald's handwriting, then that has the potential to change things----------dramatically.

Now! Let us see where the above line of thought might take us.........................

1. We have a parcel connecting Mr Oswald to a bag open at both ends made of heavy brown wrapping paper
2. Mr Oswald is testing whether he could get away with sending himself the real deal, i.e. a bag made of heavy brown wrapping paper long enough to carry a rifle
3. Mr Oswald brings the rifle to the Depository, telling Mr Frazier the bag contains curtain rods
4. After the assassination, Mr Frazier is in a panic. He consults with his sister and they concoct a story about a shorter bag (i.e. one short enough to contain curtain rods)
5. At some point in the days following the assassination, Mr Frazier himself brings two curtain rods to the Depository and quietly places them somewhere: he is desperate to NOT be the man who drove the rifle to the building 11/22
6. The curtain rods are found and tested for Mr Oswald's prints (negative result)
7. The discovery of the curtain rods causes a major headache for the 'investigation', leading to all sorts of shenanigans in the Paine garage in March '64

Just a line of thought!