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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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The rule was, “Nothing matters now, except ‘Does he have a pair of hands and can he work?’” Well, the trade union men thought that other things did matter. So they began complaining.

Then somebody had a bright idea. I think it was Mr. Flemming, who was on the War Manpower Commission to represent the Civil Service Commission. His idea was that you should put labor men on the local committees and then everything would be all right. I remember that one of the days when we had an opera bouffe performance was the day I tried to explain to all hands why it would make it just worse and not any better to put local labor people on, that it would move the row down from headquarters where it didn't matter. We might get angry, but nothing stopped. But if you moved it down to the locality into the towns where the factories and mills operated, where the war munitions were being made, if you moved your difference of opinion out there, it would stop everything. I thought we had better take all the arguing at headquarters, letting them operate alone at the local level.

I still think one should never put committees, advisory ones, or others, out on the firing line. Keep them strictly up top. Sometimes it is a good political move to have people think they're helping. Then have them advise right up at the top and nowhere else. Don't let anybody





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