Hard Economics

What about lies? These are also difficult to pin-point, and usually subtle. For instance the fantastic statement in the Evening Post that "several hundred pounds'. [unclear: wont] of damage was done on [unclear: ca] perty on 1st April has never been withdrawn. And compare Evening Post and Southern Cross reports (29/9/48 and 30/9/48 of demonstrations of the earlier date by V.U.C. students against conscription—the former said 69 students took part, the latter said 150. One of them was obviously not telling the truth, and we have our opinion as to which.

All this is not just cussedness on the part of reporters and sub-editors.

We often forget that in fact the "Evening Post" is Blundell Bros. Ltd., and the "Dominion" is the Wellington Publishing Co. Ltd.—respective capital £30,000 and £40,000. They are private business concerns, run for profit—the most influential contributors to which are not us readers with our three penny-bits, but the advertisers, who are also private business concerns run for profit.

The list of shareholders of Blundell Bros. Ltd. shows that the shares are concentrated in the hands of a comparatively few persons—most of whom are Blundells, and all of whom own comparatively large blocks of shares. They are all comparatively rich men.

Shares in the Wellington Publishing Co. Ltd. are spread around a bit more evenly, but prominent among the shareholders are Daniel Johnston Riddiford (lawyer, and well-known crusader in right-wing causes), Robert Mackenzie Watson (a director of Sharland & Co.), Gordon Graham Gibbes Watson (chairman of C.M.L. and B.P. (N.Z.) Ltd., director of Ford Motors, N.Z. Felt Textiles, and Matheson Minster). Sir Will Appleton (director of Amalgamated Brick & Pipe Co., N.Z. Guarantee Corporation, Bryant & May, Griffin & Sons, Schullers, Victoria Laundry, Bond's [unclear: Hosiwy,] Wellington Woollen Manufacturing co., R. McCaskey & 'Son, Frozen Product Ltd, etc., etc.) [unclear: and] concerns (including C.M.L., and [unclear: N.Z.I] and N.M.I.).

Viewed in the light of these facts, the right-wing policios of the newspapers make sense. Rather distasteful sense.

Political proclivities are apt to be dictated by hard economic facts.

There is not much we can do to alter either facts or proclivities, but we can, in our small way, counter the influence, of both by raising a voice of honest doubt, verging at times into radical protest, through our student press.