London Tidings - Weekly News--and-Views-Letter Number 44

Montpelier Street London: Reed & Lillis, 1947. Scarce copy of Reed's short-lived one-man newspaper called London Tidings in 1946. For Reed 'Pressland' was inhabited by 'giant eunuchs' who were forced to be 'silent at the bidding of many unseen masters with who knows what motives'. He had now come to the conclusion that the power of the press had been used to mislead and not inform the public. The Second World War could have been averted, or England been better prepared, if the press had spoken the truth about Hitler before 1939. The 'unseen masters' had turned the victory of the Second World War into a defeat by 'the deprivation of human liberties which were won in centuries of struggle'. Thus for Reed, 'those who most raucously shout "Down with Fascism" use "war-time powers" to do the work of fascism in England. Or of Communism. For these are two Siamese twins and both homicidal maniacs.' He concluded by stating that he aspired 'to do what William Cobbett did over a century ago, and many Englishmen before him, to speak the truth in England. ' 10 For Reed 'Cobbett gave his whole life to the battle in England and above all to those two vital objectives: the freedom of the land and freedom from wrongful imprisonment. ' 11 Unfortunately the defence of popular liberties was not the only debt he owed to this tradition. Cobbett's antisemitism was also mirrored in Reed's work. Size: 4pp.. 1st.. Good. Newsletter.