INSTEAD OF AN ARTICLE
This is all by way of introduction to the
story of an article that was not written.
About the time the Pittsburg flare-up began
to show itself in the papers, it occurred to us
that some exposition of the situation there
would be of value and interest to our readers.
Before going about it, we debated it very carefully.
Some of us in the office (and this magazine
is edited by all of us) were fairly familiar
with the subject, and we believed it would
subserve no useful purpose to tackle it along
the "Shame of the Cities" lines. We agreed
that the way to approach Pittsburg was to
consider what had happened there, not as a
sporadic outburst, but as an economic
symptom. Whom could we get that was far
enough from the controversies involved to
treat the subject objectively and with a big
perspective? Brand Whitlock. The Mayor
of Toledo knows more about cities and their
governments, and the evils that arise within
them, than any other man, and he can write
—with knowledge, with sympathy, with clarity.
Also he knew Pittsburg. So we telegraphed
to find if he was free to write an article,
and, when he replied in the affirmative,
the following letter was sent him:
