GREAT BRITAIN: Square Deal, Square Meal

Into London, from as far as Wales, Lancashire and Yorkshire, came 300 apple-cheeked, angry rebels from the Women's Land Army. Their target was Parliament. Their slogan: "Give us a square deal, and we'll give you a square meal." Their grievances were low pay, long hours, no gratuities, no pants.

A World War I institution, re-established in 1939 to meet Britain's manpower shortage, through six years of war WLA tilled, milked, cleaned and planted. With conscription, the force of "land girls" grew to 77,000 in 1943, despite uniforms that were green and khaki horrors, and pay as low as $9.60 a...