Any comment of ours as to the merits of the
dispute would be worthless while the case is, in effect, sub judice, but a welcome feature of the strike has been that, unlike so many others, it has not seriously inconvenienced the pub- lic. Indeed, if the fruit merchants have found ways of distributing their fruit without taking it into the almost hopeless congestion of Covent Garden a considerable gain will have been achieved, although this will not be pleasant for the porters if it results in a diminution of their em- ployment. We at the Spectator office feel particularly strongly on this aspect of the subject, as York Street in normal times is choked with fruit and flower lorries and vans. As Lord Linlithgow's Report clearly showed, Covent Garden is an institution hopelessly inadequate to meet the demands of modem London, and we can only hope that the strike, unlike that Report, will result in some action being taken.
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