Cushing asked him if a union hiring hall means a closed shop. Bridges's discursive answer added up to an argument for preferential hiring for ILA members. But he conceded, given the membership of the union and the amount of work, it would result in assignment of union men only.

On the third and final day, Plant once again restated the shipowners' case. Two agreements and one proposal had been repudiated by the men "under the domination of radicals and communists." Picketing by "longshoremen, sailors, and Communists" practically closed the ports of Portland and Seattle; intimida- tion and threats of teamsters had blockaded San Francisco, although loading and unloading cargo on the docks and by freight car were handled readily. Plant listed the violence that had resulted. The employers offered to agree to a jointly controlled hiring hall, to hire only registered men, and to spread work through job distribution. They would even accept government supervision of the halls. But a union hall and union dispatcher would not only mean a closed shop (contrary to law), they would also end the employer's right to select his own employees.