EDITORIAL CRITICISM

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 146, 23 June 1938, Page 11

EDITORIAL CRITICISM

MR. FRASER'S REMARK CHRISTCHURCH COMMENT (By Telegraph—Press Association.) 'CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. "The audience that listened to the Minister of Education last night must have been puzzled by his reference to this journal," says the "Star-Sun." "He introduced the reference by saying that he 'used to think there was a limit to unfairness,' and then quoted an isolated sentence from an editorial. Mr. Nash had said that criticism was the essence of progress, but it should be meted out evenly to all parties. The comment of the 'Star-Sun' was that there was only one party whose objective was the socialisation of means of production, distribution, and exchange, and if the newspaper Press was unanimously opposed to such an objective 'it must direct its criticism accordingly and not cloud the mam issue with irrelevancies disguised as impartiality.' If'that plain statement of fact seems to Mr. Fraser to exceed the limit of unfairness he could find unfairness in the Post Office Directory. It is the Government's policy that is under criticism, and anything else mustJ>e irrelevant to the main issue. Mr. iraser evidently read into the sentence a suggestion that the Government should not be given credit even fpr good deeds or good intentions. The newspapers give daily proof that they do not subscribe to that doctrine, but they can surely not be expected to praises a policy of which they strongly disapprove." _____^_____.