Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 731

done it. She was a wonderful corrective. I would say to her, “I know we did this, but why was it? What happened?” She would remember what had happened that caused us to take a particular action. She's that sort.

However, I clearly remember the cases once she mentioned them. I clearly remember the referees' conferences. I personally spent a great deal of my time on them. All these matters had the full approval of the Governor. I saw him frequently and reported constantly to him about these activities with the referees, which he fully approved. As I said, I took a great hand in the selection of referees and in the development of a humane spirit on the part of the referees.

Of course, the way that new compensation law is made is by decisions. You extend the meaning, the coverage or the benefits of the law. There were a number of very important cases involving the common law wife, where a man was killed in the course of his employment. There was one of these upon which I wrote an opinion. All the lawyers around said, “Why they'll never hold that in the world. This woman was not ceremonially married to him.” She was a common law wife. The whole matter of law on common law marriages is very vague. It rests on custom, ancient practise, consent, and numerous other social situations.





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help