"I'll get you yet," he'd say, "you black-headed buzzard." And so while I was making enemies among many of the men who thought I wasn't standing up for their rights, I was making myself even more unpopular with the owners by sticking up too firmly for the rights of the men.

They told me they believed I knew as much about the tin plate business as any man in the trade.

This knowledge would enable me to do better in the distributing end of the business, while as a worker I could only make the union wages that all the fellows were getting.

This gave me an idea that has since become the dominating purpose of my life.
Handicraft is the basis of the best schooling.

By working with my hands as well as with my head I learned the actual cost of production of every kind of plate they put out.