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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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I remember saying, “I don't know anything about it. I just did what we did in New York and it seemed right. We had it written into our law in New York and that law was drafted in 1913. Although I had a finger in drafting it, I certainly didn't have the legal brains that put this procedure into it. But it did seem fair to me, did seem right, non-arbitrary.” I was a great believer in administrative law. I knew that if we were to operate this legislation it must be done with the utmost fairness and the utmost cooperation by all affected parties. I was sure of that and this decision of the Supreme Court rendered me certain.

Well, our case came up before the Supreme Court within a very short time. Without a word of rebuke or anything else, they wrote a very brief memorandum sustaining us and our procedure. So we were safe and in the right. We never had any real trouble with Walsh-Healey after that.

We did have some trouble at a later date about its application to steel. I was firmly of the opinion that it was never intended to apply to any industry or occupation in which the wages were well above the minimum. I couldn't describe this steel case too well, but I remember that I gave way under the advice of lawyers





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