Part: 123456789         Session: 1         Page na123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495050a51525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423424425426427428429430431432433434435436437438439440441442443444445446447448449450451452453454455456457458459460462463464465466467468469470471472473474475476477478479480481482483484485486487488489490491492493494495496497498499500501502503504505506507508509510511512513514515516517518519520521522523524525526527528529530531532533534536537538539540541542 of 542

certain about it.

But it was the first sit-down strike. In the spring of '36 sit-down strikes occurred in Paris. Leon Blum was Premier and had just come into power after a big turnover in the government. I think there had even been a general election, with a great turnover in the vote and in the government itself. He formed a government that lasted for several years. The Blum government came into office and the new Deputies had been elected on a promise to make many corrections in the labor legislation. I'hate to say this because the French always are irritated, and I have more than once come nearly into a dispute with a Frenchman in the field of government administration, but the French have had laws on their books for many years that read just fine and that have never been enforced. I knew that long, long before '36. I'd always known it. I had known it since I'd asked years earlier to be taken out to their factories with some of their factory inspectors. In the first place, it's the most terribly complicated thing to get any comity between a government official in this country in the labor field and a labor official in France in the labor field. But I had gone out and I had seen workmen's compensation administration and their factory inspection methods. I