INQUIRY BANNED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21093, 13 May 1943, Page 4

INQUIRY BANNED

REBUFF TO BRASS HATS

PRESS PROTECTED SYDNEY. April 30, Australian Army officers have been forbidden to visit newspaper offices to seek sources of information without the personal approval of the Minister of the Army,. Mr. F. Fordo. Iho instruction followed the -action Of the army in demanding from the Sydney office of Smith’s Weekly, last week, the source of information for an article on army canteen profits. The demand, made under a national security regulation, was signed by Major-General A. C. Fewtrell, G.0.C.. N.S.W.,Lines of Communication Area. The officers also demanded all otne.. letters, writings, and-papers in possession of Smith’s Weekly, or anyone employed by Smith’s Weekly, relating to-the published article. . Smith’s Weekly, on March 6 last, published an article which included extracts from the Canteens Board balance sheets. The article protested that the board had built up profits, ot about £2, OOp,ooo—at the expense of the soldier on 6s Gd a day. It claimed that the board’s balance sheets showed net profits -of £851,117 in less than two vea r s’ trading. The report stated t-lint since June 30 1941 (in the case of Australia), and December 21, 1941 (m the case of Middle East canteenD, the number of men in Australia’s armed forces had probably doubled, and canteen profits had grown proporuonMisusc of Authority

Mr, Claude McKay, managing director of National Press Pty., Ltd., publishers of Smith’s Weekly, sam: What Smith’s did was to puolish the undeniable truth in the matter of a canteen balance-sheet. For years it has been campaigning for non-profit canteens. When we say non-profit, wc naturally take into account establishment charges, the writing-off ot buildin"s all overheads, and operating costs, together with a small margin for contingencies. “As every fighting newspaper knows when conducting a campaign in the public interest, the eyes and ears o. the people are open to any injustice. Consequently information comes unasked and in confidence. The latlei is never betrayed. We wish it to be known that the Minister for. the Army Mr Fordo, was unaware of tins outrage. Therefore it comes to this: Some'Brass Hats took it upon themselves to descend upon our office under the misused authority o National Security. What National Security has to do with the canteens and the prices charged and profits made by them is unexplained and unexplainable.” Mr Forde said that, without consideration of the merits .of the “Smith’s Weekly” case, he had issued instructions banning similar investigations by the army to preserve as far as possible the legitimate rights oi the Press. This instruction, he added, conformed with undertakings by the Prime Minister Mr, Curtin, and himself, that special powers delegated to the army would be used only when real issues of security were at-stake. He had called for a report from the army to learn who originated the order served on "Smith’s Weekly,’ and the reasons for the action.