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the head of the districts, of each district, is absolutely John Lewis's man who was made by him and can be ruined by him in a minute. Men have been ruined by him in a minute, and they've seen it happen. There've been enough cases so they know their necks are no more sacred than anybody else's neck. And not only are they afriad to go against Lewis, but they really in their hearts believe that Lewis is right, and that Lewis will get something for the miners. He'll get the miners what they need.”
And I said, “He's done it often enough so that they are justified in that belief. Although they may sit kind of frightened and feel uneasy about a situation, they'll do what John says, because they're convinced that he's working for the miners and that they'll do better if they do what John tells them to, and they will not go against him.”
Well, I had the satisfaction of having Byrnes say to me, after most of these things were over--it was in a Cabinet meeting, too, as he reported to one of these things, these negotiations--“I gotta say to you, Miss Perkins, you were right. You told me all this about the coal miners two years ago, and I didn't exactly believe you, but you're right. This is exactly what's happened, and I've often thought of what you said to me that day, but I just couldn't believe it--but I've learned something about the way unions behave, and the union organization, and I see what they've got there.”
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