Mr. Rowley. Yes, sir—on the basis of this section here.
The Chairman. Yes.
Now, Chief I noticed, also, in reading some of the reports that three of these men whom you speak of, were actually on night duty, protecting the life of the President. And around 4 o'clock in the morning, when they were protecting him at the Texas Hotel, they said that they had a coffee break, and they went from the hotel over to the beatnik joint. Now, is that consistent with your regulations?
Mr. Rowley. In this case, I talked to these three agents. They were relieved at different times—because their posts are in the corridor of a stuffy hotel——
The Chairman. Of the what?
Mr. Rowley. The corridor that they were on post outside the President's suite was a stuffy one, and they went downstairs to get a breath of fresh air. And they walked—it was a block—and out of curiosity they went into this place. One fellow looked in and left, he didn't buy any coffee. Another fellow went in and felt, I suppose, when he went in that he would buy a cup of coffee. But they were on what we call reliefs, the same as we relieve them around the White House. There are only so many posts, but you have a group of men in one of the rooms of the hotel where they are available, like an alert squad, and they relieve everyone on post every half hour. It is a part of the rotation of positions we have.
The Chairman. Do you have any regulations concerning where they shall remain when they are relieved for this short period of time?
Mr. Rowley. No, sir.
The Chairman. They can go any place they want?
Mr. Rowley. No; not any place. They usually stay within the immediate confines. That is understood. The hotel or the residence.