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SAN FRANCISCO: HARRY BRIDGES

Of course, there is this to be said. By the time this planting in the St. Francis Hotel took place talk about Bridges had begun to go from mouth to mouth to the effect that he was really a pretty radical fellow. Whether they used the word “Communist” or not, I don't know, but “Communist” was not used as specifically in those days as it is now. It was a very general term. They were more likely to call anybody a Bolshevik than they were a Communist, not knowing what either one of them were exactly. But at least that was being talked about and I used to inquire of the conciliators whenever I saw them as to whether they thought this was the case. They always said no, they didn't see any signs of that, and he didn't seem to be that kind.

As I said, the impression he made on me was more that of the British workman, who is much more class-conscious than the American workman and who would have a sense of class solidarity which the American workman





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