PROPAGANDA

Grey River Argus, 29 June 1925, Page 2

PROPAGANDA

BY SUPPRESSION Our Pliant Press (By P. J. U’Rcgnu). Everybody know • j, ress ~r o -■•ganda coum.sls ~}• lh(l s ri , ssiolJ ()f this connection I have in ■ •■nd two very rerent instances. When Le ca de mlurmed us of the death of Imrd Curzon the other dav, the newspapers naturally gav e sonic bio, graphn-al details ot the gre ;. t man. Not one ot them stated, however, that ianal Curzon was a Hebrew whose original name was Cohen, and so the average man regards him as a tvpical specimen of ‘‘our old noldlitv,”’ and doubtless not a few take it for grant, cd that Ins ancestors came to England "‘th AVilliam the Conqueror! I am Ear from reflecting on Lord (’urzon because of his Jewish origin, indeed I imagine that orthodox Hebrews would not be proud of the man who abandoned a name indicating descent from Aaron, and substituted the grandiose surname, Curzon. How, why. when. Eord (’urzon came to abandon the name of Cohen I know not, but it would be interesting to learn the reason why the fact of his Hebrew origin has been so rigidly suppressed. The death of Lord Milner affords another illustration of this polii-v of suppression, for although he was of German Idrth not a single newspaner im-mded that fact in the numerous biographical skidches published when I lie cable announced his death recently. .\’ot only was Lord Milner born in Germany (Gio 1854, however, but his family had dwelt there for three generations. In 1525 his «> rand fat her, James Richardson Milner, left England and settled at Dusseldorf, al the same time changing his name to Richard Milner, lie married ii (o-rman lady, Sophie Von Boppard, and lajer settled al Neuss. He had several children, one of whom ho_ <-‘iine a professor in a gymnasium at K rciizra<di. a second became a minister .'prediger) in the Rhine Province, and a third became a farmer in the Province of Posen. 'Their children, Ta>r<l Milner's cousins, never left Germany, ami doubtless fought for tin- Father. land in the Great War. Lord Milner’s father, according to his son’ 1 < I'rtitic.'il e. w its horn on June 2‘lth, Is?.!), and was named ('arl. Carl was educated al Bonn, and in 185(1 his name is found on the roll of those “dde as Germans Io military service. He studied medicine at Bonn, at (liessen, and at Tubingen, where lie tool; his medical degree in IS.’G. In 1853. being then a student of IwentyIv. <» ho married at Cologne, Mary liene I'roinie. a w’do”’ 'd' I I'i'di birth. II Years of age, who had been a Miss R-adv. Lord Milner himself was born /.f i ' onion al (Hessen on Afarch 2.'' ,, d. 185 1. From IS'H to 1867 he re, 1 luned to Tubingen, becoming a pro. fessor in the University there. His lust v. ■ I'e dying in 1869, in 1872 he married Elise Caecilie Henriette von Walz, and he died in 1882. I make a present of this information to the learned Editors of our daily ’tress, who would have their readers believe that I.ord Milnor was not only mi Imperialist, but a tine ‘‘old’ English gent loman. ’ ’ As a matter of fact when T.ord Milner was raised to the House of Lords some years ago the late Air H. Laboiisclo-re.’ M.P., raised the question of legality, pointing out that Lord Milner was a German subject who had m ver been naturalised. ITow the difficulty was go! over I know not. but the fact remains that, according to both British and German law. he was a German subject, and had his fathei been a British subject, which he was not. his birth in Germany would be still sufficient to make him a German. Wlrnt influence Lord Alilner had, T am unable to say. but the fact remains that Im was High Commissioner in South Africa before and during the ! war there, and there are those who say that he shared with Cecil Rhodes and Joseph Chamberlain the responsibility for the Jameson Raid and the subsequent war. As far as the war is concerned. at anv rate, we need only read Sir William Butler’s Autobiography to learn that Lord Alilner did his best to foment it. During the late war, v hen even naturalised Germans wore interned. Lord Alilner became Secretary of State for the Colonies in the Coalition Government of Air Lloyd George. Aly renders will remember that during the war a number of Far. lin.menlarians and journalists from the ‘“Dominion overseas’’ visited England, and I have before me as I write a Blue Book concerning an address to the distinguished visitors by T.ord Alilner on how best to consolidate and federate the British Empire. I do not discuss tin- crazy scheme of Empire Federation, because what appeals Io Hie just now is the grim humour presented bv a German sr.trap dilating on Empire consolidation, while the Empire was at war with Germany, and while the most of his countrymen in British territory wer<> in internment camps. During the war of course, the censor saw to it that no newspapei published the fact that Lord Milner was born at Giessen, Germany, but whv this suppression when the AVar great is Humbug, and it shall prevail!