State of Business: Statesmanship in Steel

An appropriate indication of the present mood in the steel industry lies in the date picked for the opening of 1962 contract negotiations—St. Valentine's Day. Amid mutual professions of sweetness and statesmanship, both labor and management last week spread word that they expect no repetition of 1959's disastrous, 116-day strike, have decided to start their talks earlier than before so that they can iron out their differences well before the current three-year contract expires on June 30. Bluff David J. McDonald. 59, president of the United Steelworkers, was jocularly casual about...