MR. SAVAGE IN LONDON

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1937, Page 12

MR. SAVAGE IN LONDON

(To the\ Editor.) ' Sir,—l desire to \draw attention to the display of modern journalism as exemplified in your issue of the 24th instant. lam referring to the'-cablt" message referring to tbp Imperial Conference, which bore 'the following captions:— European Aff&rs^ Mr. Savage's Vfews Strong Line Taken Not Quite So Simple Corrected by Fellow Delegates On reading, these captions'v the impression was conveyed t»." me that the Prime Minister gtf New Zealand, theßt. Hon.M. J. Savage, P.C ',' had spoken out of his -turn at tfte Imperial Conference, and further, tliat ha had made some mis-statement out of simplicity or ignorance, and -thafl ha hid been "corrected by his fellow \de-. legates." On reading through tyia cabled message* there is no- direct Reference to any statement made by Mir. Savage at all. \ In black type, the cable message sayi that "Certainly the Prime Minister of. New Zealand, Mr. M. J. Savage, is believed to have taken the strongest possible line, etc." Further on, the cabled message states: "Mr. Savage evidently •insists that the rebuilding of collectiva security is. one of the most urgent problems of the international situation, etc." The cabled message proceed! to say: "But most of the other delegates believe that any immediate action to reconstruct the League would ba fruitless." -. ... Would you allow me to'point out: (1) That Mr. Savage's views are" not quoted; (2) that thsre is no indication' of what line he has taken; (3) there is nothing in the cable message to indicate that Mr. Savage was "corrected by" fellow "delegates." I therefore suggest that the captions which you have given this - kite-flying i cable", message, had. no, bearing; on-.the-cable message itself, arid that the. captions give an entirely wrong concep* tion of the cable message. '.'-.■ Was the intention to leave the im-'" pression with your readers that Mr. Savage was corrected by his fellow delegates, and was it intended to leave the impression that' the Prime Minister of New Zealand was a simpleton in international affairs? As a matter of fact, this was the first-impression that I'got from reading your captions, and whether it was the general impression or not I cannot say, but I was considerably disappointed in the attitude of a journal of such standing.as the "Evening Post" in consciously or unconsciously giving-a twist to a kite-flying cable message, which twist had the tendency to discredit the eyes of our. representative at the Imperial Confer* ence. ■. ■ ■ ■ I desire to ask you, Sir, is this action calculated to improve the prestige of your paper in the eyes of your readers, or to improve the standard of journalism of New Zealand? I would further ask: Is such action truly patriotic, or conveying a sense of loyalty to our elected Government, and our represen-tative-who is thousands of miles from.. this country, doing his level best to work in conjunction with the nations that form the British Commonwealth of Nations, in order to get uniformity' of action and to carry into effect his oft-repeated statement that the democratically controlled nations of ths British Commonwealth of Nations arr the best safeguard for democracy?— I am, etc., , PETER M. BUTLER. ! Mr. Butler,, charges us with "giving a twist to a kite-flying cable message," but he makes out a misleading case only by committing this offence himself. He quotes only part of the message set in black type, and substitutes "etc." for the part which answers the questions he haS raised and justifies the captions. The two paragraphs as they appeared are as follows: — Certainly the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. M. J. Savage, is believed to have taken the strongest possible line concerning the question, his attitude necessitating some delegates more experienced in European affairs having to explain that the position is not quite so simple as some imagine. Mr. Savage evidently insists that the rebuilding of collective security is one of the most urgent problems of the international situation, but most of theother delegates believe that any immediate attempt to reconsruct the League would prove fruitless. This answers fully Mr. Butler's three points: (1) What are believed to be Mr. Savage's views are quoted; (.2). the line he is believed to have taken is indicated; (3) his attitude necessitated "some delegates more experienced in European affairs having ,to explain that the position is not so simple as some imagine." The captions gave a true and accurate indication of the contents of the following message. They were to be read with that message and not divorced from it. If Mr. Butler chose to read into the statement "that the position is not so simple," a suggestion that the Prime Minister was represened as a simpleton we cannot help it. There was no warrant for such an interpretation. . ' It was plainly stated in the message that the views were what were believed to have been_ given; but Mr. Savage's statements in New/Zealand and his Government's attitude on the questions dealt with did not justify any. suspicion that the belief was erroneous. On the contrary they tended to confirm the accuracy of the message. We are prepared at all times to' meet and disprove allegations of disloyalty and lack of patriotism, but they must have a better basis than the transparent misrepresentation by incomplete quotation indulged in by Mr, Butler.—Ed,