ABOUT A "FRAMEUP"

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22738, 26 November 1935, Page 12

ABOUT A "FRAMEUP"

HOAX ON THE LABOUR PARTY A COMICAL ANTI-CLIMAX The Labour Party publishes an advertisement in this issue in which it alleges the practice of "dastardlypress tactics " that are supposed to have taken the form of a "last-minute frame-up." The expression "frame-up" does not occur in any recognised English dictionary. It is American slang, apparently of criminal origin, and is defined in " Slang To-day and Yesterday," by Eric Partridge, as meaning " a false accusation," and, used as a verb, as meaning "to arrange a conviction whether deserved or not." It certainly possesses an ugly significance, and the Labour Party's advertisement may be taken as directly implying that the Otago Daily Times had deliberately misrepresented Mr Munro in its report of his meeting at Woodhaugh last week. Mr Munro himself, in his own statement which appeared in the Daily Times yesterday and which is reproduced in the Labour Party's advertisement this morning, declared that the report was "a deliberate and unscrupulous misquotation of his speech." The fact that Mr P. Jones, the Labour candidate for Dunedin South, was not present at Mr Munro's meeting did not deter him from asserting on Saturday night that our report was "a deliberate fake." The Otago Daily Times has been attacked as having been guilty of an offence the commission of which would be seriously injurious to its reputation as a journal that is scrupulously fair in its reports of the speeches of public men. To this charge there is a full and conclusive answer. In the first place, the Daily Times was represented at Mr Munro's meeting at Woodhaugh by a reporter of undoubted comeptence and of unquestionable integrity. He had no concern other than that of supplying a fair and accurate report of any statement by Mr Munro • that seemed to merit publicity. We have adhered to the report as a fair and accurate presentation of views expressed by Mr Munro. Our confidence in the accuracy of the report has been confirmed by evidence from a source from which the Labour Party might little expect us to receive support. Mr Munro has himself acknowledged the accuracy of our report. By asserting, as he has done, that it was "a deliberate- and unscrupulous misquotation "he was unjust to the Daily Times. He also rendered a disservice to his own party and, in fact, perpetrated a hoax on it. Speaking at George Street School last night, he took exception to the headings to the report of his' Woodhaugh meeting because, he said, of the psychology they created, but, referring to the body of the report, he said: " I don't find much fault with the rest so far as it goes, but it does not go far enough." . Prior to last night Mr Munro had admitted the accuracy of our report. He visited the Daily Times office on Sunday night in order to submit the carefully-worded disclaimer, which is reproduced in the advertisement this morning. By a fortunate chance, he met in the office the reporter who had attended his meeting. In view of the wild statements which Mr Jones, and Mr Neilson also, had made on the previous evening, the reporter challenged Mr. Munro to show him in what respect the report of his speech was inaccurate. Mr Munro was taken, passage by passage, .through, the report, and "had to admit its accuracy. The only except tion he took to it was in respect of a point concerning which he had not himself correctly read the report. The effect of it all is that Mr Munro lias alleged that there was " a deliberate and unscrupulous misquotation" of a speech which, he himself now admits, was accurately reported. But; he did not think fit to withdraw the statement which he had submitted for publication, asserting that the report was a distortion of what he said. It is perfectly clear that the "lastminute frame-up" is a figment of the Labour Party's imagination. And when Mr Jones complains of "dirty tactics" he expresses a grievance against the Daily Times because it accurately reports the utterances of a candidate in the same interest as himself. Pair-minded electors will realise, in the circumstances, that the imputation of the practice of "deadly press tactics" is one that falls completely to the And the suggestion that it is the Labour Party that is associated with "clean politics" becomes positively amusing.