◆ SpookStack

At last « newspaper has rung the bell. There hieve been countless (costly) stortes of Mr. WWaclean and Mr. Rurgess, of the Foreign Office, since they vanished four years ago. New. the tale told in “The People” as from Mr. Petrov im Australia is admitted by the Foreign Office io be in certain essentials true. : THOSE are not my words. They are a quotation from a leading article in the “ The Times” last Monday while the world was still reeling from the disclosures we printed the day before about the missing diplomats. It was a graceful compliment from that august journal and it is gratefully received. Not merely because it is pleasant for the staff of a newspaper te have its enterprise so openly acclaimed, but because these words may put an end to the insidious cam- paign to discredit what is called “ the popular Press: For years the public has been fed with the story th hey should take no. notice of newspapers like “Th éople.” We have been brushed aside as “ sensation speking hariots, converned only with cateh-penny stunts,’ we het ; When Danean Webb brought to light the ghastly vice ring in London ran by the Messina brothers, they sneered and called his IF we uncover a grave official injustice we are ealley “scandal sheets" and accused uf distortion. If we reveal aspects of Jifp that show the existence o social problems we are accused of “ muck-raking.” There is a good reason for this. in all walks of life there is a hard core of men with power who fear the popular Press, For we are not satisfied te accept official statements, We dig under the surface. - We find out the facts—and we print them.’ Worse slill, we call a spade a spade and, since we see it as our duty to write for ordinary men and women who often refer io that implement as an adjectival shovel, we sometimes nse these very words for it. ; So efficialdom has tried te gang up on us. Tt has “explained away” our disclosures aboul.what is really feing on in public life with airy-Isiry sltatemeiis. And lately it has adopted the nivte sinister tactics of delaming the popular Press as “irresponsible” and “ degrading.” ‘ Since it has been “The People” that has upset then most wilh ils ernsades, this newspaper has been the tap- get. af much of this denigration, But the conspiracy has : . failed. Time and agai Peer Pores we hare succeeded Ju exposing and ending. evils despite their clucks and jeers. articles “ purnography.” But the police were forced to act, and bwo of the Gang were gaoied while ithe other three fled the conniry. ; ke . pus newspaper faces fife as. it sand forees others i fallow suit. Muek ~ raking? fs it “muck-raking * to let young people read whet actually happened toja girl who ran away froin home to fake a lorry rifle juto a life of shame?