University of Virginia Library

Jefferson Slandered?

On your page of Tuesday, October
24th, you reprinted an editorial
from The Richmond Times-Dispatch
of October 22nd entitled,
"Slandering Mr. Jefferson," which
I assume was composed by Mr.
V. Dabney. In it, he called on
Dr. Fletcher to apologize for his
"slanderous remark," referring to
a jocular reference that Dr.
Fletcher made to "another Jeffersonian
plan, that of providing
a 'brothel or bordello' for University
students."

Mr. Dabney unfortunately had
not consulted the University Administration,
which had received
an apology from Dr. Fletcher,
dated September 29th. In that letter
to Mr. William Hobbs, Dr.
Fletcher said:

"You have my apology instantly
and without reservation. I feel
badly if any mention of that part
of Jefferson's plan according to
the 'oral tradition' has caused you
pain or the University embarrassment.

"It is a little hard for me to
see how it can be retracted, it is
so firmly a part of the gossip of
American history."

There you have it: an apology
and the reasons for saying it in the
first place.

I am frankly amused that the
Times-Dispatch could not have
let it pass with a smile or a disdainful
shake of the head when Dr.
Fletcher referred to it-and most
present laughed-on September
24th. But Mr. Real, a student of
the University and a reporter for
the T-D, saw fit to write it in
and the paper to print it. Now
the editorial. Shall we press the
matter further?