MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 March 1940, Page 9

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

ABOLITION FOR SIX MONTHS SUGGESTED. The suggestion that the “not very dangerous experiment of totally abolishing the British Ministry of Information” should be tried for six months was made in a letter to "The Times” by Mr Alfred Noyes, the author and poet. After making the suggestion as a ‘ contribution to winning the war," Mr Noyes continued: "Taxation is likely to be a burden quite heavy enough for all sections of the community, without this mad waste of the proceeds on highly salaried amateur inspectors of the press. Lord Newton stated in the House ol Lords that Lord Raglan’s task al the Ministry was to spend an hour a clay looking at the illustrated papers: and that Lord Raglan—very rightly—bad resigned his £750 a year post in ine Ministry for that reason. To this it was replied, with the asperity of those who prefer io itold on to the loaves and fishes, that Lord Raglan's successor had found plenty to do. But anyone can find plenty to do, from crossword puzzles to tinkering with the news (which is precisely what we do not want), or making suggestions to newspaper editors and professional writers who know their job far better than any amateur can possibly know it. The question is whether the "plenty to do,' oi indeed the entire work of the Ministry of Information, costing a great many thousands a year, is as valuable to the country as a single litter of l„gs raised by an honest agricultural worker. 1 venture to think it is not.