PUBLIC SUPPORT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 March 1942, Page 4

PUBLIC SUPPORT

BASED ON KNOWLEDGE OF TROTH VITAL FACTOR IN WAGING WAR. DECLARATION BY GENERAL MACARTHUR. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY, March 24. “One cannot wage war under the present conditions without the support of public opinion, which is tremendously moulded by the Press and other forces of propaganda,” declared General MacArthur in an address to Australian, American and foreign Press representatives. “Men will not fight and will not die unless they know what they are fighting and dying for,” he proceeded. “It is essential that the public know the truth. “There has been nothing more astonishing in the progress of the war, which is really the application of the mechanics of force to human nature, than the position that public opinion occupies. There is almost a voluntary censorship now. No one wants to help the enemy. “The reasons for the efforts made by the United States and this Commonwealth to inform the public and keep the public informed of what is going on are that, if the public does not know the truth, its imagination at once comes into play. If it does not know the truth, its confidence is reduced. Silence will begin to react against you. “Therefore it is most important that the public be instructed so that it can summon all its confidence and determination and all its purpose in support of the war effort. That is where you are one of the most valuable components I have. Without your help we cannot get the maximum out of the situation and we need the maximum in order to win.”