FRIENDLY ROAD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22355, 28 February 1936, Page 13

FRIENDLY ROAD

STAFF MEMBEB'S VIEW; ALLEGED POLITICAL BIAS DISCLAIMER BY SECRETARY [by telegraph—owx correspondent] CHHISTCHURCH. Thursday The claim that the Friendly Road broadcasting station, IZB, played a large part in the defeat of the late Government, is made in an article by Mr. Lan K. Mackay, of Auckland, in an article printed in the Green International Bulletin, the international organ of the war resistance movement.--The writer, 'who announces that he is about to take over the managership of the station, states: " We have succeeded in winning for ourselves the freedom of the air. 1 am happy to say that we have played a large part in defeating a Tory Government at the recent elections, and New Zealand has elected for the first time in history a , Labour Government. The broadcasting stations will now receive freedom of the air." After stating that the Friendly Road station, under the Rev. C. G. Scrimgeour, has " fought for right against oppression" for the past four years, the writer continues: " We shall really control the policy of all the private radio stations in the country and will, I trust, do our little bit to promote the principles of the New History Society, which are also our principles. Of course, we have to move slowly for a start and feel our way, but 1 am confident that we will make our presence felt here and in Australia. Already we have a powerful organisation and, with a benevolent Government in power, we expect to achieve greater heights." y Regarding the article mentioned in the Christchurc-h message, Mr. Mackay, who is a member of the staff of the Friendly Road, said yesterday that the text had been taken'from a private letter which he had written to a friend abroad. The letter had expressed his personal opinions only, and had nothing to do with the which he held as secretary of the Federation of B Stations. The secretary of the Friendly Road, Mr. H. Bell, who said that he conferred by telephone with the Rqv. C. G. Scrimgeour, at present in Sydney, made the following statement:—"The statements made in the article .-were private opinions of Mr. Mackay £ contained in a personal letter writqbn to a friend in Geneva just after th» elections, and before Mr. Mackay joined Uncle Scrim's ' band of assistants in the Friendly Road. Mr. Mackay is by no means manager of the station, and we had no knowledge of this communication. Hisc ontact with us at that time was merely a fortnight old, and hf> certainly had no voice to speak of Friendly Road work or policy, past or projected."