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

the ones that had the greatest influence on the trade union movement.

You'll read in union histories how in the 1850s six men gathered around a table in somebody's kitchen and discussed how terrible their working conditions were and what they should do. Out of that grew the bookbinder's union and so forth.

In the 1920s the money to back these social organizations that I worked with came out of the middle class completely, except for a few very rich who were charitably inclined. There's a great deal of charitable inclination in this country. I don't think people realize how much, from the very earliest days, people who got rich felt a charitable inclination. Certainly all the intellectual and political support that any of these social work movements had was all middle class and well to do. The labor people didn't know that they existed. The labor people opposed workmen's compensation and practically every other piece of social legislation originally.

There was a man named Jim Fitzgerald who was the legislative agent for the New York State Federation of Labor at Albany. I ran into him when I went up there to lobby for some Consumers' League bill. I learned a great deal from him about what they weren't interested in - and they weren't