ABSTRACT
A common definition of democracy is “the control of political affairs by public opinion.” Public opinion is made in England in a large number of different ways by a variety of institutions. The most important single factor in determining public opinion is the Press. Concentration of ownership and control is the keynote of the modern Press. The public is not likely to learn much, for instance, of the conditions of employment among workers in the drapery trade, because the drapery stores are the newspaper’s best customers. In the case of the invasion of Manchuria by Japan, then a Member of the League, there was every reason in the public interest that the facts should be fairly stated. Government influence on public opinion is not easy to assess. Liberty in the expression of opinion is limited by other factors.
