Deliberate block?

Dr. Butterworth alleged that newspaper proprietors and individual editors had consistently blocked efforts of the Journalists Association to institute training programmes. She pointed out that staffing is so inadequate that time off even to learn shorthand cannot be regularly and adequately given.

The proposal for a National Joint Council was a well-tried device in other countries she said. Not only were all organizations forced to participate, but by regulation and the economic logic they actually employed only those Journalists who were trained.

Referring to the local newspapers, Dr. Butterworth drew attention to the fact that the metropolitan dailies' were eating up the smaller newspapers. It was not enough to have a policy for decen-tralisation of industry, she said. Labour must see that those things that make a community tick are preserved and built up.