The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-06-23
M APOLOGY AND A CORRECTION.


REfhsr heatedly-entirey too heatedly-the
Dsuv1ls oReosster protests that 1t is not aligned
with s<hssenemies OF commission government and
4hst any effort to place 1t in that category is
Nnjustifed by the facts. The V.roini1n makes
haste to apologize for being nlisled by the tone
nf the Danvi1e Registers editorial.
A casual reading left us under the distinct
MON government and a second reading has the
snme effect So does a third However. the
EeUtster denies with so much bitterness and
seems SO much outraged that one should sus-
pect for a moment that 1t is not the greatest
friend In all the world of commission govern
ment that we must conclude that we have done
Il m Injustice
Having abjectly apolog1zed for having mis-
understood the Register on this point and having
given recognition to its great zeal for com
mission government, The Viroinian now ven
tures to point out little inconsistency of which
the Register is guilty. without intention we
. oncesprodded it into anger and are not sure now
that our apology has Modified 1t, but neverthe-
] Less we are going to brave another explosion
and call attention to the fact that the refusal of
the Register to accept arbitrary distinction"
- 70 what constitutes real commission govern
nent H. followed by the making of that arbitrary
sADsdnction. 1t refuses to accept out arbitrary
distinction and then makes the same distinc-
Hon. When The Virginf1n makes 1t 1t Is arbitrary:
when the Register makes it, we suppose II be
comes law and truth and fact and gospel. Says
the Register:
That the plan in vogue IN Richmond is not
SHhe commission government plan is arbi-
frary distinction which The Virginian seeks to
make tor what reason we cannot understand.
The Viroinidn would reply by saying that 1t
does not make nor seek to make the distinction
Ut merely exists. The virgtnion would say that
Richmond has not commission government be-
cause 1t is not governed by commission. But
there is no need Of saying all this. The Register
does understand why The Virgtnian does not call
the form OF government in operation in Rich
mpnd the commission government for it says
30 itself follows:
Neither Norfolk nor Richmond has had OPP
rortunity to try commission government and in
neither city Ia there any general satisfaction
with the foolish experiment now being taken.
In other words The Viroinidm does not call 1t
commission government that have here for
the very good reason, as the Register SO we'll
points out and as The Virgintqn pointed out in
the editorial which so aroused the usually good.
humored and even-tempered Register, neither
Richmond nor Norfolk has had an opportunity
10 try commission government"
The Register also seemed little peeved be-
cause The Virgtnian fatty denied its assertion
that the plan in operation in Richmond is caus
ing great" dissatisfaction. The Virginiau had
intended 10 point out to the Register that there
as difference between great dissatisfaction in
u whole city and some" dissatisfaction on the
pArt " few bat thu Roatster has saved as the
frnuhie 1t has corrected it's own error. made
In IT. hrst editorial by saying in 1he one we
qnote today that there is no general satisfaction
II Richmond with the plan.
There Is great difference between something
that gives great dissatisfaction and something
which does not give general satisfaction. The
ReDtsfer was entirely wrong In the first IN
stance and partly right in the second.
n conclusion let us say that there was no in
&ention on our part to excite the Register or TO
misrepresent its attitude.