One Hour
To get the best, or indeed any, results from Socialist ministers you have to beat them regu- larly like women and gongs. It is becoming painfully clear now, that Mr. Wilson's energetic flourishes over Rhodesia since and just before UDI were all too late. He stopped arguing too soon on Mr. Ian Smith's last visit to London.
The early history of the bread dispute is another illustration of lack of tenacity. Mr. Gunter may be working hard now, but at the crucial moment he needed a rest too soon. There never was a dispute which was easier to settle on reasonable terms. Certainly the Ministry of Labour knows this and its minister ought to. Yet the key talks at St. James's Square lasted one hour. Ye gods, an hour! In these pon- derous confrontations that is hardly time enough for an exchange of civilities. Mr. Gunter should not have expected results in an hour, nor yet in a day. Somewhere around two in the morning on the third day he and his excellent staff would have brought it off—that is, of course, if George Brown had kept out of it. A little more sticking power, please. A little earlier action. A little less folding of the hands to sleep.
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