UNION ATTEMPT AT DICTATION

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 268, 7 August 1943, Page 5

UNION ATTEMPT AT DICTATION

Political Advertising And Comment SYDNEY NEWSPAPERS’ FIRM STAND (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.-Copyright.) (Received August 6, 9 p.m.) SYDNEY, August 6. Au unsuccessful attempt has; been made by the Trades Union to dictate to Sydney newspapers the type of political comment and advertising th should publish. This has been stated by Mr. R. A. Henderson, general mana ger of the Sydney “Morning Herald, acting on behalf of Sydneys daily first raised when some of the chapels of the printing industry omnlovees’ union protested to the &ews papers’ management against the publicaffof certain editorial comment cnUcil of the Curtin Government. ine chapel representatives told newspapers that unless they moderated their comment the Trades and Labour. Conned might declare them black, in case the chapels would be forced to cease work. Subsequently the union record ed its “strongest disapproval of *9 n ® of certain Opposition pohtieal iffivertise ments, and stated that its members would be advised not to set or to handle this class of advertisement. 5n - The newspapers resisted this, and in a statement made on their joint behalf, Mr. Henderson said: “The proprietors of the daily papers of Sydney are inflexibly determined that the responsibility for what appears in their various publications is entirely their own, subject only to the law of the land. If any person or body is aggrieved or injured by anything published they can have recourse to appropriate legal remedies. Newspapers will not tolerate that any censorship should be exercised over what they publish by their own employees or any outside body whatsoever. They point out. that any such threat of direct action is a blow against freedom of speech and freedom of the Press, which are an essential part of the democratic system. Such rights are not the prerogatives of the newspaper proprietors in their own interests; they are held by them in trust for the pulilic. Proprietors will resist to the last ditch any attempt to interfere with this freedom.” ■ , The Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, stated that he had directed the attention of the chief censor to an advertisement published in Sydney newspapers which stated: “If your soldier hasn’t enough to eat, blame the Curtin Government.” Wilful mis-statements in advertisements were of assistance to the enemy, and the suggestion in the advertisement, should it be transmitted to members of the forces, was subversive to discipline. The military authorities had reported that there was no shortage whatever in the supply of food to Australian troops, and the organization for bringing food to the troops was excellent and completely effective. Mr. Curtin said he had also asked the Attorney-General, Dr. .Evatt, to examine the position concerning the person who authorized the advertisement.

[A chapel is an association of tradesmen in a printing office or a newspaper typesetting and compositing department]