BUT IT IS only fair to admit that a large
section of the press nurses a particular grudge against the Foreign Office which partly accounts for the malicious delight with which the inci- dent has been greeted. One of the reasons for this is the care- fully extended privilege of by-passing the Foreign Office's press relations system. For years certain responsible newspapers have on occasion been allowed access to information not available through the normal channels. The Times, which a century and a half ago was the first newspaper to denounce the practice, has long since become its chief beneficiary. The idea itself seems sound enough. The responsible newspapers are well briefed and the country benefits from a better-informed public opinion. Of course the briefing tends to reflect the Foreign Office line, but experienced journalists with their wits about them know how to make whatever allowance seems necessary. But undoubtedly the system is open to abuse. To give a trivial example : some months ago when the Spectator referred to Senator Walter as 'a McCarthyite Democrat' it was given to understand that Walter was really a sound fellow. Lest the man might have been misjudged, fresh inquiries were made about him, only to provide ample confirmation that the original impression was correct. His merit in Foreign Office eyes apparently was that he is part of what might be called the British Lobby at Washington. He is race-conscious, an Anglo- Saxon American—a less vociferous breed than Irish-American but not necessarily more edifying. This is a very small ex- ample; but the same tactics are being continually applied to the national press; sometimes with unfortunate results.
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