PRESS AND WAR

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 41, 18 February 1943, Page 2

PRESS AND WAR

EMPIRE STANDARD

BRITISH MINISTER'S PRAISE

LONDON, Feb. 16. "We must not take the view that victory will go to the strongest; it may go to the swiftest," said Mr. Brendan Bracken, Minister for Information, in a speech to Empire correspondents. "I do not think that time is on our side, particularly in the Pacific." Mr. Bracken added: "It is the duty of the United Nations to remain united. Germany is very strong, and Japan is almost as great a menace as the Nazis. We know nothing of Japan's war resources and nothing about the size of her navy. All we know is Japanese fanaticism. We shall have to throw them out everywhere. They never surrender." Mr. Bracken, who spoke largely of the relations between Britain and the Dominions, particularly Press relations, said that the Empire Press contained some of the finest newspapers in the world —steady, enterprising, and independent. The greater part of the Empire newspapers, he declared, were an example to the British Press. They played an important part in Government, they were outspoken, and they did not suffer from the inhibitions of the British about criticism. But the Empire Press was against the notion that the Empire was to be "chattered" out of its responsibilities. The British had nothing to apologise for, and had no time for whining apologists. Civilisation in 1940 hung on a thread, which was the British Empire. "Having been the founding member of the United Nations, we are not going to be pushed round by any nation in the world," said Mr. Bracken. Censorship in Britain

Referring to the British censorship, Mr. Bracken said that there were people who were engaged in trying to sow dragon's teeth amongst the United Nations, and the Germans were most anxious to obtain examples to quote to America. For this reason, the British censorship would not allow publication of anything to "help men who are eager for something new on which to base misconceptions." There were a few such men, but as far as the Empire Press was concerned he knew of no more fervent lovers of England and of all for which she stood. He did not know of any body of correspondents who, during the dark days of 1940, were more eager to depict the heroic stand of the people of Britain, but from time to time the Empire Press was so much more outspoken than the British that Britishers sometimes got excited about what passed for common currency in Melbourne, Sydney and Toronto.

Mr. Bracken said he did not favour the practice of citing from articles one or two passages which did not represent the whole context. "I do beg you to realise," he added, "the vital importance of eliminating criticism likely to cause trouble between the United Nations, because that only helps the enemy." Explaining the introduction last year of new regulations designed to impose a censorship on opinion which formerly had not existed, Mr. Bracken said he had discovered that he had no power to prevent certain foreign journalists from sending out even the most important diplomatic secret. Therefore, it became necessary to reinforce the regulations, but a condition of this reinforcement was that fairness must be maintained.