17 MARCH 1928, Page 17

• THE PRESS AND INTERNATIONAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS [To the Editor of

the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I have been requested by the World Peace Foundation of Boston, and the Foreign Policy Association of New York, two organizations earnestly enlisted in the cause of inter- national harmOny, to undertake an inquiry into the extent to which unwise, ill-considered, or purposely provocative reports of foreign news in the newspapers of various countries con- -tribute to international misunderstandings.

We desire, for example, to make a study historically of the reports sent to the English and American papers particularly, • relative to the recent Conference for the Limitation of Naval Armaments at Geneva, and to determine whether readers in • each country were adequately informed as to the attitude of the representatives of the nations participating in that conference.

Aside from historical inquiries such as this, we hope to -maintain a careful scrutiny of the columns of the principal newspapers dealing largely in international news during the -next year, with the purpose of collecting and reproducing instances of the type of harmful news to which I have referred. - I am writing to invite your readers, who may be interested, to co-operate in this endeavour, and to ask such of them as may come across items or articles from foreign countries which have a tendency to bring the Government, the people, or the society of such a country into needless or undeserved dis- repute, to clip and forward them to me. Such co-operation will be very highly appreciated, and will, I think, aid in a