ENCOURAGEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24389, 16 October 1944, Page 4

ENCOURAGEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE

“ INFORMATION VITAL TO UNITY”

AN AMERICAN’S PLEA

Over and above proposals to ensure the future peace, of the world, such-as those recently announced after the conference at Oaks, there was the necessity for peoples to have information about r each other; and the basis for any sort of peace, for lasting peace, first and foremost, was the freedom of- information, rsaid Mr Sydney .Qreenbie, special consultant' to the United Spates Minister to New Zealand, and head representative of the Office of War Information, in a broadcast address last evening. After living for three years in Japansaid Mr Greenbie; hfe had returned to America, determined to help in making America know the dangers facing her in the Pacific., Japan and Italy and Germany had been arming to the teeth, yet no one wanted to believe,, and people refused to know. How, unless the people of the world became informed, could we hope to provide the machinery for peace and security? How could we know to whom to give power 1 and for wha't, unless we were informed? Peace depended, not on power and Ponce, as one newspaper had claimed, but on information. Mr Greenbie said that when the American Government in Washington had asked him to undertake a mission to New Zealand, he did not hesitate for very long; he had always* loved New Zealand, and their he saw an opportunity 'of serving her. However, he had been afraid that his hands would be tied somehow, and he and other Americans watched over their rights to the free, expression of their minds with a jealous fierceness. He soon discovered that there would be “no strings attached, and that apart from such delicate matters of state which common sense would keep anyone from talking 1° absolutel y free g £ (Ja , y . t 9, present time, he had had no detailed instructions from his Government as to what he must or must not say. The only item that he was to represent both oftheAmerican political parties without bias!” 6 sain M- r 5 that at times I am scared," hafflJ r r G u reenb d e - At times, I am baffled. .1 have been given a by no means simple assignment. For I am discovering that one of the great bSriers to understanding between nations is one of a common language Because thaUhl wordf 1 ? 6 tO, * Ue We a “ 2! d .u lways mean the same thing to each other, if that were true how would it be that congress and dSut?’ en AnW re H SU?h bitter places of I' P f. And d hrmg the last two months I have a number of times seen with amazement ,something that I have m» d + w + b n h ?eeblfi d Simple and clear to £t ? tany and- completely misunderCriticism of Americans 8, a . ve as an example of this public reaction to comments he !^ d r e u Qn the Unlted States Information Library opened two months a f?, IX I Wellington, He had told a fathering of New Zealanders that in th »?, library were more than 1000 books written by Americans, published by Americans, for Americans— not for K(vfn'i lders- There were also more than 5000 documents in the files of the library. They were published by the American Government, at Government expense, and written by American experts for American people—not for New Zealanders. i u He had thought, said Mr Greenbie, that his talk would explain the purposes of the American library to New Zealanders, To- his horror, he had been told a few days later that some people had thought he had assumed an attitude “that we didn't care whether you liked or could understand our books.” - He had really meant, added Mr Greenbie, that the books and docu-

ments were not specially prepared for foreign consumption. They- were not written to display the greatness cpd the virtues of America before the astonished eyes of the world. They were not written with facts and information so deftly handled as to beguile me world. Those books and magazinesand documents were written lor Americans’ own use; by them Americans had achieved their own imturity., their own advancement. If they coiufl be of any help to other peoples, the Americans would be happy. This sort of difficulty in getting two peoples with ' two different mental landscapes to understand each other was a very serious matter, said Mr Greenbie. If what we said was always to be misunderstood, how could we hope for a basis for a durable peace? Information was the essence of living; , yet how many people took seriously the words they .used and the informa- : tion (sometimes little more than rumour and gossip) which they passed’ lightly round.

“Bragging” Another example of misunderstanding was about the alleged tendency' fif Americans to overstatement, or “brag*, •ging," ss.jd Mr Greenbie.’ When baMpd mentioned in New Zealand that APIS" rica bad about 20,000 public libraries, some of them with millions of books, he had not been conscious of “bragging.” With the experience of having worked in the library of Congress in Washington, - manned by 1450 librarians. and having 6.000,000 books ?na, 18,000,000 documents, films, musical scores, etc., he did not think that » was such a thing to marvel at/or “brag” about. It was a commonplace. He had been merely trying to show that Americans were not a vulgar, illiterate people; but to New' where books and libraries were not so numerous, this had seemed like ‘‘hrßr gipg.” Each of us heard or read-- 8 thing against his own mental laßO* scape.' - : ■. “We must understand each other, no* as we want to see each other, but-a®-we are for what we are,” said Greenbie. “The circumstances andcpn* ditions are never alike for two nations- . . .The peril is not to those who are misunderstood, but those who Ml*'*-: understand."