THE PRESS AND THE WAR.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 17583, 29 May 1919, Page 6

THE PRESS AND THE WAR.

TRIBUTE AND CRITICISM BY SIR

A. GEDDES

Sir Henry Buckingham, chairman of the advisory committee of the City of London Tribunal, who had specially to deal with matters affecting the enlistment of pressmen for military service, speal.lng at a function recently, said the operations of the advisory committee included the press of the whole country. The result had been extremely gratifying. Never had he met a body of men more ready to give an example of patriotism to others than the press, and particularly the London press. At the leginning of the war the great London firms had in their employ about 10,000 men of all ages. Of the 10,000, the number who served in the army reached 5000; but there was a still more remarkable figure to disclose. At the time recruiting ceased there were under 30 men still employed by the London press of military age and fit for general service. If that did not do credit to the patriotism of the London press, he did not know what did. Those figures we-e official, and could be proved to a digit.

Sir Auckland Geddes said there could not possibly have been a better record than that shown by the press of London with regard to recruiting during the war. It was really marvellous, and the best record he had any knowledge of. It was indeed t>, great record, of which the press of London might well be proud. If they looked at the months which followed 21st March of last year they would realise what the press had done when subjected to the full pressure of the recruiting machine. When it became evident that there was a grave and decisive crash and the German armies were being reinforced from the East, the Prime Minister said to him, "Can we find the men " He replied, "We can find three-quarters of a million men. We can supply half a million in the first half of the year, and a quarter of a million in the second half." They actually found five hundred odd thousand by 20th June. They could not have done it if the whole press of the country had not stood firm. (Cheers.) The Government had to trust to the press to keep the spirit of the country right, and the press did it. (Cheers.) Victory was only made possible by the steadiness of the country and by the influence of the press during March, April, May and" June. The principle was laid down early in the war that the press should be a part of the machinery of j war, and without their aid what was accomplished would have been utterly and entirely impossible.