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industry and was very sick. They were very anxious for that. They wanted this code. It was going to be good for them. It wiped out competition between the firms, even the southern and northern firms, to a very large extent, because if I'm not mistaken the basing point price was being modified in some way by this agreement. So more of them could get a share of the business. In other words, they were kind of parceling out the business, which, of course, is a form of cartelization. But they were doing just a little of it, and they thought they were doing something very fair to let this small manufacturer from north of Chester have a little bit of the business. They were letting everybody have a little bit.

Anyhow, this discussion went on for some time. It was very, very painful. They would not sign with Green. I finally made it a personal point, “Please, do it for me. After all, I'm in a dreadful predicament. I've asked Green here in good faith. He's come in good faith. He's a decant man. He's never made any trouble for me or for anybody else. What am I going to look like? He's going to be very angry and it may do you more harm than you think it's going to do you to sit down with him.”

They wouldn't do it under any circumstances. In the meantime, Bill Irwin was down there talking to Green. I said, “Mr. Irwin doesn't seem to mind.”