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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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The McNutt claque did behave terribly and they were greatly irritated by the bad behavior of the Hillman outfit. The CIO, the garment workers, are quite strong in Chicago, so there were a lot of them who lived there. A lot of them could get into the convention. Hillman and others got them tickets and because they lived there they could get to the galleries easily. McNutt's outfit spread the rumor that Hillman was taking too much of a part in these things, and, after all, Hillman was a rank outsider too. He wasn't anybody. That made them mad. He was a Jew also, and a New York Jew at that. This wasn't an anti-labor situation, but the delegates didn't like to have the CIO bossing the show, or pretending that they were doing so. The CIO didn't boss the show, but they were enjoying themselves by pretending that they were. It was a bit of unwarranted arrogance. They were having fun doing that and it built them up, but it annoyed terribly the oldtimers who had borne the heat and burden of the day of the Democratic Party.

I called at McNutt's headquarters, as I've said, as a matter of courtesy and saw him. He was as always unctious and handsome and very unimpressive to me, but he always was unimpressive to me. I haven't a doubt that he's a man of competence, but his front was always





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