Mr. Liebeler. And were you surprised when you heard he had been arrested in connection with the assassination?
Mr. Alba. I was very much surprised.
Mr. Liebeler. After you heard he had been charged with the assassination, did it seem to you then that he could have been capable of such a thing? Or did you hold to your former opinion?
Mr. Alba. I think I held to my former opinion. Things I have seen on television, of course, and read in the newspapers, and so forth, has laid out some suggestive pattern that Lee Oswald was a subversive, et cetera, toward the country, and maybe even the President, or something; but prior to that assassination he gave me no indication at anytime that he was burdened with such a charge, or that he was concerned or involved with anything of that nature. He had never at anytime spoken against the President or the country. He had never at anytime, prior to the assassination, of course, mentioned communism to me, or anything suggestive or leading to it, or otherwise.
Mr. Liebeler. Do you remember whether he mentioned the President at all, one way or another?
Mr. Alba. I think I might answer that with a definite answer—I can't remember anytime that Lee Oswald had ever mentioned the President, the country, foreign countries, et cetera.
Mr. Liebeler. Is it customary, or the usual sort of thing for people in this area to discuss politics, or discuss the President? People that come into your garage or——
Mr. Alba. Well, the usual trend of conversation in the garage, other than the garage business or the personal customers' cars or neighbors that walk in the garage that want change for the coke machine, et cetera, would be either politics—I would say mostly politics more than anything else.
Mr. Liebeler. What was the attitude of most of the men toward President Kennedy? Was he well liked down here, or was he not highly thought of?
Mr. Alba. He was very highly thought of for his convictions, for his stand on his convictions, but he wasn't too well thought of for his stand on the integration program to the South.