OUR STRONGEST WEAPON

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3009, 21 February 1917, Page 6

OUR STRONGEST WEAPON

ACCORDING TO GERMANY. The literary supplement of the "Kolnische Zeitung" of a recent issue con- 1 tains two. long articles on "England's Strongest Weapon," viz., the Press, the history of which is treated at'greafc length ,in order to arrive at the following conclusions: — "The intellectual side of British journalism even more than its technical has been raised to great perfection, being guided by an unerring instinct for British consciousness of superiority and by long experience. The- . articles in the Press during the war have revealed great adroitness in treating each nation according to its indtridualty, and touching upon its most son- / stive spots, now brutally and now tenderly, as seemed most suitable at the moment. ... Neutral telegrams were sent out into the world wbich in. reality had been fabricated in London, and so-called neutrals who were entirely in British pay were made, on returning from Germany, to tell the world harrowing stories of what they Lad: seen." . : The articles proceed in this strain for some time, andthen. iheir author, hopefully .'observes : — ; . "It may- safely be asserted that the great British Press has, in this world war,,already passed the highest point of its influence—indeed, its decadence cannot escape attention. Just as Eng-land-will emerge from this-war with a considerably' diminished prestige as a: world Power, so will her Press lose a good dear of its European .influence. Both the .' and the Press have stretched the bow' too far."