THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service.” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1941. RUMOUR-MONGERING

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 50, Issue 3057, 2 April 1941, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service.” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1941. RUMOUR-MONGERING

ALTHOUGH the most strenuous endeavours have been made to awaken the people of New Zealand to the danger and the injustice of launching, listening to and giving credence to rumours, the practice still persists in vicious form. The result, is that a number of alleged incidents of more or less grave import have in the minds of many people become almost unofficial history of the war, whereas in fact they amount to nothing more than baseless rumours. Many people, it is true, have learned to keep an open mind and to accept as truth only that which is proven, but far too many are still willing to listen to and spread stories that are only wretched untruths.

At the present moment several rumours are being bandied about the country, casting an unjustified reflection on persons in authority. A moment’s reflection should show that most of these rumours are lies, and yet some people seem to delight in being “first in with the news” with a shocking disregard for its quality. This suggests- that some people want to hear and to believe sinister stories, even though they know their action may definitely harm their country’s war effort. Some of the stories even impute gross disloyalty in quarters where the mere suggestion is ridiculous. It is gbod that a people should be wide awake and watchful for any direlection of duty and to act in the appropriate manner if necessary, but to foster and spread vicious rumours is another matter.

Mostly it is a matter of exercising common sense and investigating and weighing rumours wherever they are heard. There are some rumours, such as events at sea, which simply cannot be proved or disproved by the man in the street. Then the plain duty is not to repeat the rumour. It is known that censorship is in operation, and that has led to rumours that most of the truth is suppressed and gives justification to some minds for believing the story heard strictly “ the quiet.” As a matter of fact so little that really matters is withheld that if all were disclosed it would probably not slay a solitary rumour. Let any man or woman who hears the next “whispering” type of rumour ask for proof from the purveyor and investigate it thoroughly.