Chapter 27 of ‘The Life and Times of D. R. Wijewardene’ by H. A. J. Hulugalla is reproduced here to commemorate the 67th death anniversary of the late press baron and the founder of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., D. R. Wijewardene which falls on June 13.
Wijewardene’s success in business and his power of applying himself unsparingly to his self-imposed duties sometimes gave the impression that he was an unfeeling robot. In later years the state of his health gave a querulous edge to his conduct in office which belied his real nature.
He often worked himself up to a frenzy when things went wrong or did not come up to his expectations. He always regretted such lapses but was too shy to own it.
Looking through some old papers, I came across four letters. Two of these he wrote from England, when he was on business trips, to me in Colombo, and the other two from Colombo to London where I was attending a meeting of the Commonwealth Press Union. The letters from England are in his own hand and the two from Colombo are typewritten. There were many such letters over a period of thirty years. They reflect his simple character, human qualities, devotion to his work and public spirit.
National Liberal Club,
Whitehall Place, S. W. 1
24th September, 1937
My dear Herbert,
I was very sorry to read about your brother-in-law’s death. It seems to have been very sudden. Please convey to your wife my deep sympathy in her loss.
I am struggling through the business that has brought me here. I have interviewed about a dozen men for the executive post we are creating whom Shaw had seen previously. I have not been impressed with any of them. I am pursuing my enquiries a bit further to find out if there are men of good business talent without newspaper experience. I find it difficult to get all the qualities we require from purely newspaper-trained executives.
Odhans have discovered in Creswell-George a likely ‘star’ man of theirs. Apparently he has blossomed out since he came out to India and they were not aware of the amount of work he had done for them until he returned. They have sent him back, and Surrey Dane, who is really the second-in-command of Odhams’ manifold activities, asked me not to take him away from them as they are finding it difficult to get the right sort of man for their jobs. He told me he could do with six Creswell-Georges. Still, he promised to look around for a man for us.
I met Paul Pieris twice or three times here. He privately told me that he had been cabled to get more expensive offices. In his report, he says, he has said that no useful purpose can be served by keeping Ceylon House.
I entirely agree with him. Denounce the continuation of this. Apparently Corea wants to keep it going. As you know he was misled by those who stand to benefit. Somebody has suggested that it might be kept as a recruiting office for tourists. Don’t countenance anything of this. Ceylon is spending far too much on tourists already.
I hope you are making full use of the Sino-Japanese war for raising circulations. The people in the press are very angry about the air raids. The Japs should not get any sympathy from anywhere.
I am hoping to get back as soon as I fix up the two or three things I have in hand. I do not want to stay a day longer.
Tonight is the India and Eastern Newspaper Society Dinner. Dr. Peiris is responding to the toast of the Trade and the East. I hope you are taking some weekends and a week or two off.
With kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
D. R. Wijewardene
P.S. - A tremendous fuss is being made in the press about the relaxation of the Quotas. The Secretary of State is receiving a deputation on the 8th October. I have arranged with Reuters to send a cable. See that it is properly displayed and commented on. Carry on the campaign for the abolition of the whole Quota system.
(The Quota system was imposed by Downing Street on Colonies to counter so-called unfair competition by the Japanese in the textile trade.)
Queen’s Hotel,
Eastbourne.
23rd September, 1937
My dear Herbert,
Received your cable about the exchange Telegraph offer. I will be attending to it when I get to London today. In the meantime don’t you think that the ‘Independent’ ought to make a start by subscribing to the Associated Press Telegrams? If you agree, will you please tell Neil to arrange for it at once. It is better not to wait till my return to start it.
The Annual Dinner of the London Committee of India, Ceylon and Burma newspapers is fixed for Friday October 4 at Claridge’s Hotel. I have received an invitation which I have accepted. Sir Stanley Reed and Nixon are trying to induce me to respond to the toast of the Press of India, Ceylon etc. along with Arthur Moore of the ‘Statesman’. The Marquess of Zetland is down to propose the toast. I am strongly hesitating but they are insistent. I haven’t given my final word. If I do accede to their request, it will be at the expense of any benefit I have derived from my holiday. As you know I do not like to do things which I cannot do and to my satisfaction. If I agree in a weak moment, it will be simply for the greater glory of Lake House.
Reuter might send a cable about the dinner and if my name is there, make a judicious splash for the sake of the papers. No photograph. A cable ought to reach Colombo on Saturday afternoon if one is being sent by Reuter. Lord Reading was due for a speech but he cannot attend now. Sir Edward Stubbs, I understand, is also attending. According to my present arrangements I hope to be back in Colombo either on November 1st or November 2nd.
With kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
D. R. Wijewardene.
Lake House,
Colombo.
July 6, 1946
Per air mail
My dear Herbert,
Thank you for all the letters you have written and for all the information you have sent in regard to newsprint, machinery, etc. I am glad to hear you are having a very interesting, though a somewhat strenuous time. The several contacts you have made should prove very useful and valuable to the office, I am sure. I hope your tour on the Continent too will prove very enjoyable and instructive.
Stewart has written to you, I believe, in regard to the London “Times” correspondentship. If, as it is rumoured, A. C. Stewart is retiring and this is falling vacant, you might see what you can do to secure it.
I am enclosing copies of correspondence exchanged with the Monotype Corporation’s Indian Manager. If you can spare the time, would you please drop in at the Monotype Corporation’s office and impress on the Director in-charge the present urgent need for Sinhalese type.
If they are not in a position to make any machines just now, they could, as suggested in my letter of May 20, cut out the characters and make a complete die case, which could be used for casting the type.
In connection with the proposal to send young Abeyasekera to the “Birmingham Post” for training, I wonder whether you have been able to get any information as to the premium and other terms on which English newspapers take on such trainees. I should like you to make a note to look into this when you can spare the time.
Yours sincerely,
D. R. Wijewardene
Lake House,
Colombo.
Sept. 11, 1946
My dear Herbert,
Thank you for your letter (from London).
I should like you to fix up the arrangement with Jack Miller for work here for three months. I presume he will be paying his passage. He ought, I think, to be able to give the “Observer”, both Daily and Sunday, the brushing up they need in view of the recent efforts made by the “Times”, to brighten their paper. With some new ideas, the Daily “Observer” should be able to give the “Times” a better run than it has been giving it for sometime. If necessary, you can get Shaw to give Miller a formal letter of appointment, his salary to be the Rupee equivalent of 20 Sterling Pounds per week.
As regards young Abyasekera, I am writing to Shaw asking him to send Turner a formal application and to ascertain particulars of the terms, etc. I hope it will be possible to get Abaysekera onto a provincial rather than a London newspaper office. The “Birmingham Post” would, of course, be better as Hutton’s brother will probably take a personal interest if asked to.
I was interested to hear of your talk with Deakin. Stewart, I gather, is retiring almost at once. Incidentally the “Times of Ceylon” deal is said to have fallen through. But Gardiner and Subbiah (of the General Trading Corporation) are now reported to be in the field.
Yours sincerely,
D. R. Wijewardene
The “kindly instincts”, to which Earle Abayasekera has referred, were also in evidence in his sympathetic attitude to struggling journalists and publishers. One of them, Dr. D. J. S. Peiris, wrote in his journal, the Ceylon Business Express what he called “a sidelight of the life of the late Mr. D. R. Wijewardene”. In it he said:
“Ten years and two months ago, in May 1940 I met him for the first time. The interview was at Lake House and the business was to present him a copy of the first issue of this paper. He received me in his sanctum and offered me a seat beside him.
” ‘I congratulate you on you new venture, but don’t you think you have started at a bad time?’ he asked. There was the war on and any new business was bound to meet with many difficulties.
” ‘Excuse me, Sir, I think I will succeed if I maintain my enthusiasm, war or no war’, I replied in the feeblest tone that ever gushed out of my trachea. He smiled, ran his eye over the columns of my paper and said, ‘Yes, of course, nothing is difficult to the lover, they say, and that’s true.’
“It was a memorable day and I was very proud as I came down the steps at Lake House on my way back to 23, Canal Row, with a substantial currency note in my pocket - as token of good luck from Ceylon’s most influential man - the late Mr. D. R. Wijewardene. “He was a good judge of men, or was I one of the few fools that he suffered gladly? I am sure that he had a hunch that I would carry on and it is with the greatest sorrow that I print these lines in his memory. He belonged to that rare category of hard, firm and kind men who get big things done and go down in history. His loss is irreparable.
“Again at 99 Braybrooke Place, nine years later, I met him for the second time. He sat with me in the verandah discussing the progress of my paper. I had gone there to sell him a few shares in my Company. The Ceylon Business Express Ltd.
He said he read every copy of my paper and that he was following its progress. He referred to my uncle, the late Veda Mudaliyar W. Daniel Fernando Waidyasekera, whom he called a very enterprising man. He was glad that my paper was getting on well and he did not mind giving me every possible encouragement.
That evening too I left him with a fat cheque in my pocket and today I am happy to see the great name of Don Richard Wijewardene appearing in my Share Register - an achievement in itself and a constant reminder to me of his words at my first interview, ‘nothing is difficult to the lover, they say, that’s true’.
He is dead....long live his name”.
W. Daniel Fernando in his day was an advertiser in the struggling Ceylon Daily News and Wijewardene never forgot a kindly deed.