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workers and that we would not increase the wages beyond two cents an hour. But in this matter we do not speak for him. We condemn him publicly for having written such a letter as that.”
The audience burst into cheers. “Oh Percy! He's a man.” I remember that phrase - “He's a man.” It was as though they hadn't expected it, and they hadn't. The strangest thing came over him, because he was a raw, naked human being before his Maker, so to speak. They were his judges and they judged him a man because he was big enough to apologize for something he hadn't done, but which he was inevitably and irrevocably associated with. When the cheering ceased, Percy was still awfully bewildered, but it was awfully interesting because he was pleased. I knew intuitively, and so did John Mitchell, that the first step was won. He was getting good marks for doing that. He looked like a little boy when he realized that his good act had been recognized. It was a very minor good act, but still it was recognized.
Then he went on to say that they were very sorry about this and so forth, and that speaking for himself and the three others - leaving out the fifth one who was not there - they believed that some kind of settlement could be reached. Mr. Mitchell said, “We have been here three days. This has
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