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Notable New     Yorkers
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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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They had tipped the word, through their colleagues in San Francisco to their colleagues in New York, that this would be a good chance to get in touch with members of the crew, and that Curran, who didn't know anything, would be an easy mark for them.

At any rate, Curran went off with these Commies that night. So did a lot of the other members of the crew. He went with them to an address on 29th Street. That's all we know. Then the cry began that Curran was a Commie. Whether he was or not, I suppose will never be known. He had sworn under oath that he never was a member of the communist Party, and I believe it. I do believe that he was a boob, but he learned awfully quick. He was a kind of ignorant boob when we first met up with him, but inside of a month he was a very intelligent, sophisticated person, who handled himself very well, and who knew how to negotiate, how to put other people on the spot and get them nervous. He knew how to come to the Department of Labor and ask to see the Secretary, come in, and handle himself very well, without anybody nearby to advise him. He could tell his story well and effectively, give all the answers. He's a bright man. His career since that time has shown that he's a man of very considerable





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