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He was just as “old family”as “Mr. Avondale” was, or as I was. He just happened to be a machinist, but a good machinist, with a great appreciation of the art of the machinist. He laid on the detail of the ancient guilds and all that kind of thing for “Mr. Avondale's” edification. Between them they did a very good job.

The next day “Mr. Avondale” came in to see me. He said that well, of course, he wasn't going to say that he would welcome a union at the Avondale mills and he didn't want me to get the impression that he would gladly deal with them, but he said he saw the point, and if there were more people like Wharton and Hillman in the leadership of the unions, he didn't think there'd be any trouble at all. He believed they would get on all right and if they wanted to organize his mill, it would be all right. But while these roughnecks were operating, he didn't want them to come near the Avondale Mills.

I cite that because this man was better than the average mill owner - when I say “better,” I mean he was morally and philosophically better - and yet he had this overhanging prejudice and fear of their coming.

As a matter of fact, of course, the textile union did not get going in a constructive way in the southern mills until after the CIO came in, although they were