For most of its lifetime, the FWP faced a barrage of criticism from conservatives. When "Massachusetts: A Guide to its Places and People", was published, it was lauded by government officials, including Governor Charles F. Hurley, but the day after its publication, "conservatives attacked the book over its essays on the 1912 Lawrence textile strike and other labor issues. Even more sacrilegious to these critics was the coverage of the Sacco and Vanzetti affair." Scholars called the questionable passages "fair accounts"; ironically, the controversy helped increase book sales.