Witness Interview: Elliot Perch

Elliot Perch, labor union organizer, was questioned April 12, 1958 at 10:15 a.m. at the station by Detective Jack McPhail. The following transcript is taken from the recording made of the interview.

M: Detective McPhail
P: Elliot Perch

(Sounds of set-up, introductions, chairs scraping and a great deal of underbreath muttering by Perch)

M: Late night, Mr. Perch?
P: (silence)

M: Where were you yesterday afternoon, Mr. Perch?
P: At Sid's, like everybody else.

M: Everybody?
P: The guys from Bowlan. You know that. The ones that'd still have jobs if they'd listened to me. Damn hard-headed...

M: What time did you get to Sid's?
P: Exactly? No idea. It was around noon, though. Just before.

M: Ten o'clock? Eleven o'clock?
P: No, no... a little before. Say quarter of, something like that.

M: Did anybody see you there?
P: I sure as hell hope so. They were sitting there without work because they wouldn't listen to me. I wanted'em to know I was there.

M: Rubbing it in?
P: Nah, not like that. More like... refreshing their minds to the possibilities of organization, under the circumstances.

M: Did you see Richard Izard there?
P: Of course not. He wasn't about to show his face around town.

M: What makes you say that?
P: You know as well as I do. He'd just fired everybody. Him and Bowlan. Got their way. No union, sure. Sure. Make everybody scared of the union, then give'em the ax. Just like that. No warning. Boom.

M: How long did you stay at Sid's, Mr. Perch?
P: Little while. Not too long.

M: How long?
P: An hour, maybe hour and a half.

M: Why'd you leave?
P: (silence)

M: Why'd you leave Sid's, Mr. Perch?
P: I wanted to. Nothing left to do there.

M: Scared, were you? Have'em turning against you?
P: No. No! That's a damned lie!

M: I got somebody says you had a few, got real mouthy.
P: (Expletive)

M: Did you?
P: No. I never did.

M: (Sound of paper rustling) Jimmy Warren didn't take a swing at you and yell at you to shut up, that you'd caused enough trouble?
P: (Pause) That was him, not me. You talk to him? Swinging at me like that?

M: Did you tell Jimmy Warren that you weren't his problem, that Izard and Bowlan were, and that up north y'all have ways of taking care of problems like that?
P: He was drunk. They were all drunk.

M: Did you say that, Mr. Perch?
P: I don't know. I don't remember everythi- Maybe. But I didn't mean anything by it. It was all just tempers running high.

M: Where'd you go when you left Sid's, Mr. Perch?
P: I went out to the reservoir.

M: What's out there?
P: Nothing. I just went out there to think, that's all.

M: Anybody go with you?
P: Of course not. Why would I take some yokel with me if I wanted to think?

M: (Pause) Did you see Richard Izard yesterday, Mr. Perch?
P: No, I did not.

M: Did you visit him at his house yesterday afternoon?
P: Of course not. I don't even know where he lives.

M: You've been here better'n a month and you don't know where the Izards live?
P: I'm not in the habit of paying house calls to management.

M: Only to workers.
P: Yes.

M: Mr. Izard wasn't interested in your union ideas, was he?
P: He was management. They never are.

M: Have you ever killed anyone, Mr. Perch?
P: No!

M: Seems like an awful lot of folks got the strong sense you'd "taken care of some problems" real permanent along the way.
P: I don't control what they think. What do you expect?

M: Are you a communist, Mr. Perch?
P: What?

M: Are you a communist? Some of the men are right sure you must be.
P: What does that have to do with anything?

M: You tell me.
P: It has *nothing* to do with anything! And no, I'm not a communist.

M: Lotta those union leaders are. We don't like communists down here.
P: Are you asking me questions about a death or playing Tailgunner Joe?

M: I'm not playing anything, Mr. Perch. Where were you last night?
P: I was in my room.

M: Nobody was there when I came by at 7, or at midnight.
P: (Pause) I was in Memphis.

M: Where in Memphis, Mr. Perch?
P: (Murmur) The Kit-Kat Klub.

M: Anybody see you there?
P: Maybe. I don't know. The bartender, he'd remember me.

M: Anybody else?
P: Maybe... maybe one of the ... hostesses.

M: Get her name?
P: No.

M: What'd she look like?
P: Blonde. Good-looking. You know.

M: You can do better than that.
P: No. I can't.

M: Mr. Perch, did you kill Richard Izard and his wife?
P: No!

M: Do you know who did? Maybe some of your union friends?
P: No! No, I don't know anything of the kind. The union is a respectable organization for the protection of workers, not some kind of... of .... gangster operation.

M: Oh?
P: Oh.

(Pause)

M: You'll stay in town, Mr. Perch? And be available when we need to talk to you again?
P: Are you charging me with something?

M: Not at all, Mr. Perch. Just advising you to stay handy.
P: You can't threaten me like that.

M: Nobody's threatening anybody, Mr. Perch. Just advising. You have a good day now, y'hear?