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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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I would call up Mr. Jones. Well, take San Francisco. Jones would telephone them and tell them what they'd better do, and he'd persuade the employers to raise their wages a cent or two cents or whatever it was. He would take my line. He would believe me. When I said, “It would take this to do it, and if they'd just give way now--“ you know, he'd persuade them to do it. This happened in several cases.

There was a big borax operation somewhere. We had a dreadful time with it. They were way off in nowhere. Well, he got the people who were the financial backers of it in New York, and he just laid it on the line to them what would be the best thing to do. He was very diplomatic, very smooth. They would take it from him, and then they would give way. His influence was always with the employer, you see, to give way on something or other.

I don't mean to say we made great inroads on their resources and finances, but he got the small little bit of a give that would settle the strike. He was very good about things like that.

Interviewer:

Did or do you know how many of you resigned? For instance, I know that you turned in a paper saying that you would like to resign, or did it by word of mouth. Wickard did. Ickes always did. Why didn't Jones? You see, you said we know Jones did not do it in 1940





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