SIR,—In the early days of the war the Government stressed
the strength of British morale. As one whose profession brings me into contact with all sorts and conditions of men, I write to point out how I see this morale being damaged by a Ministry of Information which is disseminating news as if its hearers were ignorant or, worse, fools. I strongly support Mr. A. G. Fuller's letter about the news from Libya, and also the remarks of " Janus " regarding the answer to the night-bomber. Both illustrate symptoms of our news-distri- bution which are having a wider effect than the departments con- cerned realise. While our propaganda eagerly repeats the threadbare phrase " We can take it," our news services have treated us as if we cannot. We know we have not got the answer to the night-bomber, and we long for silence on the subject until we have the answer. We are tired of seeing columns filled with facile optimism implying that we cannot wait for the scientists to produce it, and that we must be " doped " until they do. Similarly, the average man is sick of seeing headlines in the popular Press that " shortage of oil will hinder Germany." When German land- and air-attacks die clown, John Citizen will believe this—not before, so why keep annoying him by taunting him with it? (If anyone now picks up a copy of an M. of I. pamphlet—Assurance of Victory—I shudder for their reactions to it.)
The Prime Minister warned us of a dark road ahead. We are prepared for it. But we are definitely not prepared to tread it by having unpleasant things slurred over and successes primed up to more than their ordinary significance. Recently in a •news bulletin bad news from Greece was briefly mentioned, while a minor success in Abyssinia took nearly five minutes to report. That offends the British sense of fairness, which is one of the supreme factors in our morale. Morale will win this war. Pray, Sir, follow up your recent firm plea for " straight news " with its corollary—in " Janus's " words—that " the public are not fools," and may the protests swell until the Government cease treating us as if we were!—Yours truly,
HERBERT C. ROBINSON.
24 Hextol Crescent, Hexharn, Northumberland.
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