Evening star., 1923-10-21
ROTHERMERER RULE
Of PRESS ALARMS
Much Concern Aroused in
England by Tactics of Sue
cessor to NorthcIiffe.
BY A. G. GARDINER.

BY Gable to The Star.
= LONDON, October 20.-Lord Rother-
mere's capture of the Hutton press
is arousing extraordinary concern.
and Attorney General Hogg made a
public attack Wednesday on the men,
ace of a press monopoly. The Hutton
press was the second most powerful
newspaper trust in the country. It's
absorption by Lord Rothermere
makes the power Of that press mag
nate overshadoW the land more COM
pletely than did the power even OF
/ his brother, the late Lord Northcliffe
1t Is now indisputable that he has
access to more households than all
the rest of the newspapers in the
country. His papers are legion, of all
kinds, and have vast circulations
Advertisers cannot dictate to him. He
dictates to them. He practically con-
, trols the machinery of newspaper dis
trlnution. and the profession of jour
nalism is becoming enslaved to one
vast system of ownership.
Great Political Power.
But the main difference is that the
hotnermere press is a political power
OF the first order. Its influence on
affairs is undeniable and Lord Roth
ermere clearly aims at making parlia-
ment subordinate to mob opinion
controlled by his press. 1t is notori-
Gus that his Poincare policy has been
the chief stumbling book OF three
prime ministers in succession-Lloyd
George, Bonar Law and Baldwin.
am Informed on indIsputable au-
thority that at the recent interview
between Prime Minister Baldwin and
t'remier Poincare' Mr.. Baldwin was
largely occupied with an attempt to
convince M Poincare that the Rother-
mere press did not represent British
opinion. II is certain that but for the
support of that powerful engine for
manufacturing mob opinion NJ. Poin-
care would not have dared fout the
British government so openly.
With the latest development, re-
sponsible opinion in all parties is
seriously alarmed at the magnitude
of the menace to constitutional gov
ernment. 1t is realized that parlfa-
ment capnot function in the presence
of an uncontrolled dictatorship of one
man who has access to nearly every
household and gives or suppreSses
news according to the motive he has
in mind.
The speech of the attorney general
indicates that the government is com
ing to the conclusion that this chal-
lenge to democratic government must
be faced openly.
Government Is HesItant.
So far Lord Rothermere, like Lord
Northcliffe before him, has succeeded
because of the unwillingness and
timidity of successive governments 10
grapple boldly with him. This i'm
punity has encouraged the press die
tator to grow more insolent in his
methods. until a situation has been
reached in which, If the government
refuses to accept dictation, mob opin-
ion Is modified against II and action
is paralyzed.
I anticipate that the question OF
what is known as "the menace oi
fore parliament in some form when
tit meets next month. My own opin-
| ion is that Lord Rothermere will rind
the British public not su table ma
| terial for fasciSm and that sharp dis.
! illusion awaits him.
He is man of negligible intellec.
| tual quality, much inferior to Lore
| Northcliffe. Northcliffe had a touch
of genius mixed with his madness
Rothermere is mere big business