"NOT A GESTAPO"

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 30, 3 August 1940, Page 10

"NOT A GESTAPO"

Discussing the functions and powers of the Ministry of Information recently, Mr. Harold Nicolson said that though it was difficult to say exactly what the Ministry was, jit was easy to say what it was not. "It is not an Ogpu or a Gestapo," he said. "It does not desire to dictate to the citizens of this free country what they should think, say, feel, or hear. It does not prey upon the private thoughts of the people. It does not bully and it does not sneak." These remarks may be opportunely recalled when considering the criticism of the canvassers of public opinion who have been nicknamed "Cooper's Snoopers." Defending the employment of these agents, Mr. Duff Cooper stated in the House of Commons that the difficulty of ascertaining public opinion was greater in wartime than in peacetime. Scientific methods had been used by the newspapers and commercial firms, and the Minister of Information decided months ago to utilise a method whereby, under the auspices of the National Institute of Economic and Scientific Research, about 60 persons were now employed. The canvassers call at an average of j eight houses daily, and recent questions have related to the effects of air raids and rationing. _ _ Only 2 per cent, of householders, it is stated, object.

the experiment is an interesting one. Public opinion is normally expressed through two main mediums, the Press and Parliament. Both reflect, through news and editorial columns and speeches, the public opinion that is expressed by organisations of various kinds at meetings, by deputations, letters, and interviews. But newspapers and politicians are well aware of the difficulties of accurately ascertaining opinion on any point. They know that the propagandist is always eager to seize an opportunity to air his views, and that the unprejudiced citizen is often reluctant to engage in public discussion. Also they know that some sections of public opinion, through perfection of organisation, are highly vocal, white others, such as consumers, suffer in silence because they have no effective organisation. There are always gaps in public opinion which could be filled with great benefit to a Government sincerely anxious, not merely to register approval of its own policy, but also to discover where that policy does not agree with the mind of the people. But is a Government the best investigator? Even democratic Governments suffer the disability formerly ascribed to Kings, that of being surrounded by people willing to tell them what they wish to hear. On facts, such as a Census discloses, a high degree of accuracy is attainable; but on questions of opinion it might be difficult indeed to assure an impartial survey. The method employed by the British Ministry of Information suggests a way: operation with or through a scientific factfinding body. The Ministry of Information is conducting its inquiries "under the auspices of the National Institute of Economic and Scientific Research." If by this njeans it gains an insight into the mind of the quiet citizen who never raises his voice and never moves a resolution, it may be learning what many Governments would like to know, but what some, if their own policy were involved, would not wish to reveal.