The seamen's strike and the Daily Mirror

from an industrial correspondent When the Prime Minister delivered his studiously "impartial" attack on the seamen, who have at last rejected the kind of serfdom which is represented by one of their slogans - "Would you work 56 hours for £14 a week?", he spoke for some powerful people. We can confidently predict that he will receive a good press, as he did when he revealed the consistency of his principles by his (rather different) handling of the doctorst dispute. This time, however, his good reception will not simply result from the dispassionate admiration of the newspaper owners: for the seamen are going to be the victims of an altogether more sinister press coverages Mr. Sam Aaronovitch, in his book "The Ruling Class" pinpoints at least one focus of newspaper opposition to the strike: listing the main centres of financial power in Britain, he takes up the enigma of the fortunes of Sir John Ellerman: "The veil of secrecy is such that only guesses are possible. The Sunday Express of January 10, 1960, may be usefully quoted as stating that Sir John Ellerman's fortune must exceed £50 million and may approach £100 million. The Sunday Express goes on: 'The king-pin of his fortunes is Ellerman Lines, which operates about 90 ocean-going liners,totalling more than 600,000 tons. The cost of replacing these ships has been given as £100 million...the company has built up an impregnably strong position with reserves of £45 million, But his wide-ranging investments extend for beyond shipping. He has substantial interests in real estate, in newspapers (notably in the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Pictorial), and in other industrial securities* Ellerman House, at .. 19-21 Moorgate, is certainly the centre of a widespread net, and if we follow the connections of H. Davenport Price (and C, Snelling), chairman of three Ellerman trusts, and of E.S. Birk (a solicitor of Nicholson, Graham and Jones whose offices are also at 19-21 Moorgate) we find among other important connections, AE. Reed, Associated Television, Illustrated Newspapers and subsidiaries, Inverest Paper, as well as the property companies and the Sunday Pictorial/ Mirror. Most of the companies are private, but if we were to put together the public companies = like the combined Mirror=A.P., A.E. Reeds, Illustrated Newspapers, Inverest Paper - we would have easily the biggest group in paper and printing next only to Bowater (if not bigger than Bowater) ." Sitting on these shoulders, the Prime Minister will find that his voice will carry a long way. How deep it will reach to the hearts of the people remains to be seen, We think that many will share our opinion that Sir John Ellerman's millions are of less weight for socialists than the feelings ‘ of the seamen, who are quite right to refuse to continue working 56 hours a week for £144 We hope that the dockers will share our view, and not the Prime Minister's, when the Royal Navy streams in to blackleg on our sailors. And when the soldiers march in to blackleg on the dockers, every trade unionist in Britain must surely stand ready to act, Bothing could underline more clearly the need for Labour to draw back from its fatal capitalist incomes policy, and to make a fresh start on the road to socialist advance.