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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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curricula I wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with it. He'd been the head of a big school. I think he'd been the principal of the high school. He'd been a Democrat for years. He'd been a member of the Assembly or the Senate once and then he was defeated. This was one of those debts of honor. He was from the Bronx, so I suppose Ed Flynn recommended him. In the election of 1922 Smith stood by Flynn when the other four boroughs went away. Hamilton just needed a job. There was nothing that you could have thought about him that would lead you to say, “Oh, don't do that.” He was all right. I thought that if he had been the head of a school he would be a good administrative officer. But he proved to be a terrible administrative officer. Everything went to sixes and sevens.

I don't think that Higgins stayed on but one term and then he resigned. Then I became Chairman of the Board in 1926. Smith designated me Chairman. I was Chairman for four years and then I was the Industrial Commissioner for four years appointed by Roosevelt. The Industrial Commissioner was not a member of the Industrial Board. It was a very interesting reorganization and not a bad scheme, although I appeared vigorously against it before Governor Miller and made the best speech of my life against the reorganization.





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