The Government and the Press.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16159, 13 March 1918, Page 6

The Government and the Press.

"Lord North-cliffe's influence, like that "of the Crown in the eighteenth"cen- " turv, has increased, is increasing, and ■"'ought to be diminished." In these words the "Saturday Review" not long ago summed up the difficulty which, as many cable messages in the past threa months have allowed the general public at. this end of the world to understand, has been growing increasingly acuto, and becoming a source of discontent, distrust, and ill-feeling towards the Government' in quarters tho most diverse. For a vory long time it has been felt that Lord 2vorthc*liffe, through his powerful group of newspapers, has exercised far more influence with the Government than is good for either tho Government or tlio country. There has been widespread indignation over the Northcliffe policy of setting- on foot fierce campaigns against individuals in authority, including high naval and military commanders, particularly as the success of some of these campaigns has raised the suspicion that the Prime Minister was privy to them and not merely intimidated by them. Mr Lloyd George and Sir Bonar Law have on more than, one occasion assured the House that they have neither approved nor encouraged these Xorthcliffe agitations, but they have not succeeded in dispelling the general impression that tho Prime Minister is in specially close alliance with the great newspaper proprietor. Lord Northcliffe was selected to head a British Mission to America (where American nowspapers believe he completed his private, project l of Kitting rid of Sir Cecil Stirinc Ttico),

and on his return he was offered tho position of President of the Air Council. In refusing the appointment, he wrote to Mr Lloyd George a letter declaring, in effect, that the Government, was so incompetent that he could not join it. Shortly afterwards he was made a viscount, and his brother. Lord Itothermere, who is also a great newspaper proprietor, was appointed President of the Air Council. Lord Rothermere's first action, on taking up control of this very specialised and technical branch of tjhe services, was to dismiss all but two of the lioads of Departments. Lord Northcliffe himself was lately appointed Director of Propaganda in Enemy Countries, and it. was the criticisms provoked by this appointment that Mr Lloyd George dealt with in the speech cabled t'o lis to-day. A fortnight ago the appointment was strongly condemned by certain members of tho House of Commons, who suggested that the Gorman equivalent would bo the appointment of Count Reventlow to a similar post respecting England. The Prime Minister claimed, and rightly, that the propaganda should be controlled by a journalist ; nor can it bo disputed that Lord Northcliffe has tho energy and skill required. But tho real grievance against the Government is its undue dependonce upon the Northcliffe group, as exemplified not only by the posts and honours given to the Harmsworths. but also by what Mr Austen Chamberlain called the "too "much coincidence" between newspaper attacks on Government servants and the removals of those servants. Mr Lloyd George accepted Mr Asquith's principle that it was of tho utmost importance that the Government should ba frog of any suspicions of direct association with the operations of the Press, but we are afraid that the suspicions will remain. A Government independent of the Press and a Press indopen*dent of the Government are essential to the national health, and it is right that men should bo alarmed at tho prospect of losing either tho one or the other.