End of the Line
TRR Spectator has sometimes been accused of animus against the popular papers : Ralph McCarthy—the editor of the'Star, a paper burst- ing With good intentions, but apt to forget the traditional terminus of the route paved with them —recently complained in our correspondence columns of what he called our 'relentless pursuit.' It is only fair, therefore, that we should give credit where credit is clearly due. In an article 'Waiting for the God King' in this month's Atlantic• maga- zine, the chief of the Time-Life bureau in New Delhi describes what happened a year ago when newspapermen from all over the world flew into India instructed to cover the war in Tibet. Circum- stances made their task difficult; but Mr. Connery reveals that the British foreign correspondents were able to teach the rest a thing or two. 'The men,' Mr. Connery puts it, were soon 'separated from the boys'—high praise from a Time-Life Than; and he describes how 'the men' did it. For example : When Barber and company arrived at the air- strip in Assam to load into the chartered plane, he revealed that he had already written the story of the flight and cabled it off. For Barber's com- petitors, this was distressing news. His scoop, however imaginary, automatically made useless any observations they might have made after aerial views of the Dalai Lama. But they were profoundly comforted when told by the charter pilot they could not take off after all. . . . Still, Barber had a terrific story. The Mail splashed it big on the front page 'Noel Barber flies at the "End of the Line" as Dalai Lama prepares for Next Lap to Freedom.'
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