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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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give it a slightly different name and a slightly different description of functions, but we have to have something of this sort, or there won't be any peace. There's no way by which the ordinary processes of conciliation can bring about a settlement in each of a number of strikes quickly enough to get them back to work. The fact that the Secretary of Labor says ‘I will certify this case to the board', means that when you say, ‘Now, will you go back to work?' they say, ‘Yes. If you'll certify the case to the board, we'll go back to work, and will work in the meantime.' The employers then agree that whatever the union status is, and whatever the scale of wages is, continues.”

The board had nothing to do with anything except disputes. It was a mediation board, really. It didn't take over any part of the Department of Labor, such as the Conciliation Service. The Conciliation Service handled the strikes in the first instance. No case went to the board except as certified by the Secretary of Labor, who acted, of course, only on the report of the Conciliation Service. We speeded up the report, though. Conciliation or mediation in normal times, to be effective, must be allowed to graze a little. You can't hurry it. To quote John Garner, “Let the cattle graze.” If you're going to operate in a conciliatory, mediatory style, you've got to allow time. You mustn't expect everything to be settled tomorrow morning. Nobody can be in a hurry. The employer groups betray themselves frequently and get into trouble by being in too much of a





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