Mr. Jenner. Is that a Dallas concern?
Mr. Raigorodsky. No; that was a California concern, specializing in the building of gasoline plants and refineries. Then, I worked for Newton Process Manufacturing Co. and for Signal Oil and Gas Co.—just, that is, progressive—you see, it was going from one to another, getting higher pay and things like that, and then in 1928 the Newton Process Manufacturing Co. was sold out and three of us, I was at that time chief process engineer, and the other man was chief construction engineer, and the third one was chief operational engineer—we organized a company called Engineering Research and Equipment Co., and we started to build gasoline plants and refineries. Then, I was sent to Dallas because our business was good—I was sent to Dallas.
Mr. Jenner. Your business was growing?
Mr. Raigorodsky. Oh, yes; growing. I was sent to Dallas and I organized an office here. Then, we moved the company from Dallas and made the Los Angeles office a branch office. Then, I went to Tulsa and opened an office of our company there, and that way we were building lots of plants in Louisiana, in Texas, in Oklahoma. Then, I sold out my third in 1929. It was a good time to sell out, and I organized the Petroleum Engineering Co., which company I have had ever since, until just now—it is inoperative.
Then, I continued to—I opened an office in Houston and continued to build gasoline plants and refineries under the name of Petroleum Engineering Co. and built about 250 of them all over the world and in the United States—lots of them—even in Russia, though I never went there, we had a protocol (I believe No. 4), under which we were supposed to have given them some refineries and gasoline plants—you know the "chickens and the eggs" situation. The fact is I had an order from the Treasury Department and one of them was sunk. Maybe this should be off the record?
(Discussion between Counsel Jenner and the witness off the record at this point.)
Mr. Raigorodsky. Let's see, now, Pearl Harbor was in 1939?
Mr. Jenner. 1941; December of 1941.
Mr. Raigorodsky. 1941?
Mr. Davis. 1941.