“ON REPORTING IN WASHINGTON"

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 14 April 1945, Page 7

“ON REPORTING IN WASHINGTON"

On 12th December a widely syndicated Washington columnist published what purported to be the text of a cablegram sent to the U.S. State Department on sth December by Alexander Kirk, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, summarising the orders British General Ronald M. Scobie, in Athens, had received from Winston Churchill. This >s not a criticism of journalistic enterprise, under which Washington reporters normally and properly seek every bit of information—for publication or in confidence—that they can obtain. It relates, rather, to the confidential relations of. two Governments and the deliberate —if irresponsible—“planting” of a document. The columnist pointed up the message in some respects. For instance, he said that Mr Churchill instructed General Scobie “to act as if he were in a conquered city.” The text, quoted later, added to that phrase the limiting words “conquered city confronted by local rebellion.” Moreover, the leakage—and that word is not strong enough—follows by some months the publication by the same columnist of another alleged text —a report made by William Phillips. the special U.S. representative in India, again sharply criticising British policy. It is also arguable that Sumner Welles would be Secretary of State to-day if Cordell Hull had not gained the impression that his Under-Secre-tary was supplying information to this same columnist. There were other factors in the Welles dismissal, but certainly one of the most impelling was Mr Hull’s deep resentment of a situation which to him seemed to involve disloyalty.— (Erwin D. Canham, Foreign Editor of Boston “Christian Science Monitor.”