BRITISH NEWSPRINT GUTS CONSIDERED UNDUE DISCRIMINATION

Evening Star, Issue 26153, 15 July 1947, Page 5

BRITISH NEWSPRINT GUTS CONSIDERED UNDUE DISCRIMINATION

(Rec. 11.20 a.m.) LONDON, July 14. The new cuts in British newsprint represented undue discrimination against the newspaper industry, said the Board of Newsprint Supply Company, in a statement to-day. The company said that the newsprint supply which had been arranged for the next 12 months was only one-third of pre-war consumption. That in itself was a greater cut than suffered by any other industry.,, Yet, the new out would reduce the’*’ proportion even further to one-quarter. This was discrimination against newspapers. The new cat would save only £1.000,000 compared with the total national deficit in overseas payments estimated as high as £700,000,000 a year. British newspapers, states the company, were entitled to protest in the strongest terms at the undue discrimination against their industry. The Rationing Committee of the company announced to-day that the ration to newspapers!would be reduced from July 21 by an amount equivalent to one page per issue (two pages lor tabloids) from the present maximum paging. Also circulations would he pegged to average circulations between June 2, 1947, and June 19, 1947.

I he board’s statement said that the four-page basis for newspapers would be totally inadequate for the discharge of their primary function. It would involve all newspapers, especially the smaller one, in serious financial loss, would cause widespread unemployment in the industry, and would hamper the nation’s business and social life. The board said it had decided that it must conform, though under strong protest, to the Government’s wishes, and reduce newsprint consumption to save dollars. As far as imports were concerned, however, it could not agree to risk cancellation or repudiation of North American supplies and contracts, which were vital to security and freedom of the British Press. It was, therefore, negotiating with the Government to safeguard these contracts by _ allowing suppliers to Iniikl up in Britain stocks which could be exchanged for dollars in an extreme emergency. 1