The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-03-11

stronger ana more direct On March we
said
Wherever segregation ertsts the city can
not escape responsibility, ami becomes, IN
fact, a partner an cice And yet
Virginia is urged to retain system which
is being abandoned in the yiee-ridden cities
Of the old world.
y Completely silent Mr. Mayor?
On March we said. in an editorial entitled
Drive Qua Dcns Of Vice:
Willie the General Assembly has great
deal Of important work to do in the remain
ing ten days Of its session, IL should make
certain the abolition OF segregated rice dis
trictS ia our cities BIZ passing the Saunders
Land bill
The Iyginidn might quote from almost every
issue Of the paper for TIE full month preceding
the appointment Of the Mayors v!ce Commission
and find abundant material with which to refute
the statement OF Mayor Ainslie that We had been
completely silent" on the subject of the aboli-
ton of the segregated district; but not to pro-
long the argument on this point we close with
the following extract from our editorial OF
March 9, entitled Attention, Country Senators ="
We said in part;
II Richmond could be barred from the
country districts; If she did not appeal in
every possible way to the country people TO
Come and trade with her; II she forbade any
but Richmond citizens to drink at her bar
rooms, or to enter her openly tolerated
houses Of ill-fame. she might have some
ground for this plea. But her bars and her
redlght district open to all Corners from
country as well from city The country
districts reap a harvest of drunkenness and
disease and death from Richmonds shame
The country Senators not Interested in the
anti-Vice bills? Why, they are vitality inter
GStedi Inc man from the country In town
lot daV or So has no time to hunt out per
sons who carry on private immortality. But
the open, set apart, red-tight district, beck
OttS to him ~ come 10 the Citu and enter the
haunts Of vice. Many men from the country
many students from our colleges, 20 to the
city, especially to enter these houses, tole,-
0ted openly ty the public officials Of Rich
ta0nd and other cities ia direct rtnInti0n OF
tfeH oaths o. oftte. Segregation
as advertisement.
We think that the public and the Mayor him
self will agree. after considering these matters
of record, that the Mayor does us an injustice
in stating that The Virqinian was completely
silent on the subject prior to the appointment
OF his Commission 1t is very true that Mayor
Ainslies name does not occur in any of the
quotations presented. Mayor Ainslie will scarce,
y fail to recognize. however that The Firgiaian
was discussing the nonenforcement of the law
against the segregated district Ia Richmond as
Well as in every other Virginia city, and thai
In cur statement that The oaths OF officers in
this state not being obeyed he was Ger
tainly included. for he is an officer of a Virginia
city, and the Law was not being enforced in
Richmond. and the oath " Office OF the
Mayor which specifically states he shall enforce
all the laws all the time, was being broken The
people Who believed, Mayor Ainslie did al
that time, complained because The Firgtniax
had so much to say about the nonenforcement
Of the law, and now the Mayor comes along q
year afterwards and says we were "compictch
aucut"
We think also from, these statements of rec
ord, that Mayor Ainslie viii recognize that hi.
statement that the whole community mayors
police boards. citizens, and ali acquiesced in it,
is an injustice, We will not dispute the asser
tion that mayors and police boards" aud some
of the citizens, acquiesced In it. but not 9Th,
whole community" not all the citizens. amt GER
tainly not this one Of the newspapers
Second We stated that we would show by
the record that the Mayor was not warranted
.
appointment of the Commission This statement
Is all the more surprising, as only few days
before the Mayor issued his statement We dis
cussed this question and showed. by quoting ouI
original editorial. that we did approve the ap
pointment OF the Commission. but insisted that
the enforcement OF the law was an Infinitely bet
ter way Of obeying the law and his oath of OF
flee. The day following the Mayors appoint
ment of the Commission we stated, under the
heading Mayor Ainslies Commission" that
The VirGi'ian believes that the Mayor has
appointed a Commission composed of a high
type OF men and women, and that they win
take up the task assigned them with a de-
termination TO do what they for the
betterment of conditions, and that they viii
recommend action which will be helpful
II IS certainly q Step forsodrd to appoint
Commission rather than to do nothing and
the Mayor Is TO be commended for his dis
satisfaction with existing conditions But
The Vifganiaa can but wish that the Mayor
would issue an order to the police to close
the houses in the segregated district and
thus put an end to the unholy partnership
OF the city with vice. for the city Is a part
ner in all the wickedness committed there
and is responsible for the physical and
moral disease and death which issue there
from, until 1t has enforced the laws on the
statute bookG OF Virginia on this subject
Il.r.r