Part: 123456789         Session: 1         Page na123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173 [missing]174 [missing]175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342342a343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423425426427428429430431432433434435436437438439440441442443444 of 444

groups, but the printers were organized.

Sam Fleisher had a factory in which they made vici kid. It was not a plastic as we know it today, but it was in the nature of that. It was a patented process for patent leather. Ordinary patent leather cracked, but this wouldn't. It was very good. The Fleishers became very rich from that. Sam Fleisher had had the idea - I don't know where he got it - that trade unions were good. He was encouraging the formation of a trade union in his factory. It was a little paternalistic, but many good things start that way. That was one of the first non-craft unions. He certainly hadn't thought it out in terms of the vertical and horizontal union, or the industrial union versus the craft union. It was just that his factory might be organized and that they might elect somebody to speak for them and have a shop committee. He had the ideas developed in the best of the English factories - the Rowntree and Cadbury factories where those old Quakers had permitted the organization and had almost from the first dealt with their employees in a kind of collective way.

There were two or three such projects as that going on in Philadelphia. In the printer's union I became acquainted with a couple of the young printers who were very intelligent men and were studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr.