Fleet Street's ink was running dry, and throughout the British Isles newspapers and periodicals were closed or closing. Reason: Great Britain's worst printing strike in more than 30 years. Started last month, when members of ten printers' unions walked off their jobs, the strike last week spread to 38 firms making ink for the nation's presses, including those of London's mass-circulation dailies.
Originally at issue were demands by the printers, who average $40 to $50 for a 43½-hour week, for a 10% raise and a 40-hour week. Employers' groups flatly rejected them, later made an unacceptably low offer. The unions refused arbitration,...
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