INFORMATION

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 42, 17 August 1918, Page 7

INFORMATION

NEW GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY

A BRITISH DEPARTMENT.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 28th. June.

The urgent necessity of doing something in the way of British propaganda throughout the world has, after several expedients and makeshifts, led to the creation of a new Department of Government, called the Ministry of Information. The head of the Department is Lord Beaverbrook, who. at the beginning of the war, was Sir Max Aitken, and acted in a humble way as eye-witness for the Canadian forces. The Department has several branches to deal with—neutral countries, enemy countries, and British Dominions.

The British Dominions Branch is in charge of Major Evelyn Wrench, C.M.G., who is well known throughout the Empire as organising secretary of the Overseas Club. Major Wrench got his commission in the Royal Flying Corps some little time ago, and has now been seconded from the R.A.F. for the new Department.

The exact activities of the Department of Information have, of course, yet to be defined. There have been several meetings between Lord Boaverbrook and the heads of his Department and the correspondents in London of the Overseas Press. At one of these gatherings Lord Beaverbrook expressed the opinion that the best possible propaganda for the British cause was the dissemination of the truth, and stated that his Department, acting on that principle, would do everything in its power to provide facilities for Oversea correspondents in London to do their work. .Hitherto, to be quite candid, the Oversea correspondents have had to fight pretty hard for facilities, and have shared with their British colleagues the mortification of seeing neutrals, and especially Americans, granted privileges and opportunities which have been denied to them. Through the organisation of the Empire Press Union, however, a good deal had already been done to improve this state of things, and to obtain recognition in official circles for Oversea correspondents in London. . Exactly to what extent the new Department will itself become a purveyor of news and articles remains to be seen. Hitherto a good deal of propagandist articles have been circulated through various official sub-Departments, much of which has been of very indifferent character, but there has been one conspicuous exception. One of the first acts of the new Department when the Dominions branch was established was to issue an official invitation on behalf of the British Government to a certain number of representative journalists fiom each of the Dominions. The , idea is that they will spend a month in England as the guests of the Imperial Government, nnd shall have an opportunity during that time of seeing the Old Country in every aspect of its war activity. The selection of the delegates was left entirely to the Oversea Governments, each of which was informed how many to nominate. Now Zealand was asked to nominate five, to which, later, another invitation was added : Canada twentylive, Australia about a dozon, and so on.

lii the Dominioas brunch of the Ministry there will bo sub-branches probably for each of the Dominions, and it is hoped in each case that a journalist from the Dominion will be appointed. Mr. F. W. Doidgo (Auckland), who has been serving- in the N.Z.E.F. in Flanders uncl Great Britain, is about toSjoiu the Department to look after the New Zealand branch. ■