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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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it, and, of course, when the Governor introduced me, here it came. He had to tell the story, although I had explained it to him at dinner the night before, had stood up at the dinner in Atlanta and apologized for saying it, just as nice as pie, but he couldn't resist getting a laugh at my expense. The chorus of school girls from some school had been brought in to ornament the public meeting in the Baptist Church sang “All God's Chillun' Got Shoes.” They're just as polite as that when they want to be, but actually they didn't mean any harm and they've all been very good to me.

Actually I've gotten along very well with the Southerners as a result of those meetings, my relations with Nance and Googe, my inspection of the employment office, which was very popular down there, and of the public works projects, which were going on down there. I was taken to see several proposals for public works which Ickes had not yet approved. Altogether it was a profitable visit.

As a result of all that we actually got a Labor Department established and a reasonably good man was appointed as Labor Commissioner in the State of Georgia. Whereas there are still a great many things to apologize for about industrial conditions in the State of Georgia, a real step forward was made at that time. They never went backwards,





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