The New Ministers
Of the three Ministerial changes announced last week that at the War Office is discussed in a leading article on another page. The appointments of Sir Andrew Duncan to the Board of Trade and Sir John Reith to the Ministry of Information have been received with general approval, and on the whole rightly. Sir Andrew Duncan has won a high reputation as an administrator and business man in many capacities, most recently as chairman of the British Iron and Steel Federation, and he will bring valuable experience as well as necessary vigour to his new office. Sir John Reith's appoint- ment may best be described non-committally as interesting. That it unquestionably is. Sir John imprinted his personality deeply on the B.B.C., and there is enough in common between that institution and the Ministry of Information to make his sixteen years at Savoy Hill and Broadcasting House a considerable qualification for the task of telling the British people and neutral countries all that can properly be told them of Britain's part in the war. He undoubtedly has sufficient strength of personality to insist that there shall be no suppression of facts by the service departments except when it is obviously necessary. The chief test of his capacity will be his failure or success in beating the Germans in a field where they are incontestably beating us, propaganda among neutrals. One of the first and most profitable steps would be to organise an adequate, regular and expedi- tious supply of British daily and weekly newspapers to libraries, hotels and other institutions in neutral countries.
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