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is such an infinitesimal proportion of the population.”

Mary Dreier said, “Why, but Mr. Dowling, they were men and women. They were human souls. It was a hundred per cent to them.”

The fat old thing would blush. Al Smith would say to him. “Good Catholic doctrine, Robert.”

These were amusing sidelights. I'm convinced from that and other experiences that the interplay of personalities and moral convictions of people who are working in a group, not always for the same purposes, has more to do really with their eventual decisions than logic or basic political purpose. The basic purpose in all these things was a moral purpose, really. It was also political because it had to be done by political means. You had to do it by law in order to apply it to everybody. There was no organized group of workers pounding their breasts outside and saying, “We will not endure this hazard.” The trade unions took a mild part in this and contributed nothing except an occasional assent, an occasional, “We stand for this.” They didn't do it out of any fear of an uprising of the people. They didn't do it under political pressure of any dominant political party or any dominant economic group.

It is true that we got it at a time when reform was