GREAT BRITAIN: A Little* Pravda for Pravda

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In the course of a speech to British newspapermen, Foreign Secretary Herbert Morrison saw a nice chance to twist the ring in Pravda's nose. "I should feel more hopeful for the future," said Morrison, "if our Prime Minister or I were asked for an exclusive interview with Pravda, and if we could then be sure that our words would be reproduced . . . faithfully . . . Now, Pravda, what about it?"

At first, Morrison's challenge struck only the conditioned reflex. "... The columns of Soviet papers and magazines," grunted Radio Moscow, "... are closed to war propaganda." But, after dabbling a bit in the bourgeois luxury of second thought, the Russians changed their minds and picked up Herbert Morrison's dare.

"Very well," said Pravda (which is Russian for truth) on its front page one day last week, "Pravda is ready to give space to Mr. Morrison's words, which will certainly be reproduced exactly and fully ... Of course, Pravda's circulation will suffer, but Pravda is willing to make this sacrifice."

There was a catch to the Pravda offer. Morrison would have to guarantee that Pravda's reply would be carried in full in the British press. "Pravda assumes that I can negotiate on behalf of the British press and pretty well tell them how to use their space," said Morrison. "I can't. Our press is free." But he allowed himself a chuckle over Pravda's rare display of humor. "I am all for a bit of humor," said he. "More of it would do good behind the Iron Curtain."

London's Laborite Daily Herald and Liberal News Chronicle promptly offered to print any Pravda reply in full, and the Foreign Secretary stood by eagerly, if not expectantly, for a telephone call from a Russian correspondent. It was not often, after all, that a man got a chance to inject a little pravda into Pravda.