The Editor Apologizes for a Canning Controversy
After criticizing the quality of fruit canned at a local contest, a local editor faces backlash and clarifies his stance on 'quality versus quantity'.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It is to be regretted that in an editorial last week we unintentionally gave offense to some of our readers. It is still more to be regretted that the offended carried their complaint to some of our friends who were in no way responsible for the editorial. The editorial complained of was entitled 'Speed vs. Efficiency' and was a comment on the fact that a number of cans of fruit turned out by the competing teams at the Grape Carnival canning contest had spoiled. The editor asked no questions and he and the spoiled fruit alone are to blame. It was not written as a slam at any organization or anybody. We still insist that any contest, canning or otherwise, should be judged by quality rather than quantity of product. It is a fact that a number of the cans of fruit did spoil and it necessarily follows that they were not properly canned. We do claim, however, that the same careful methods should be insisted upon in competing for a prize as in canning for winter's use and that efficiency rather than speed should be the deciding factor.
“It is a fact that a number of the cans of fruit did spoil and it necessarily follows that they were not properly canned.”
Local newspapers have always served as the primary, sometimes volatile, forum for town gossip and civic standards. This editor’s scramble to separate his own opinions from the local institutions he covers is a classic feature of small-town media, mirroring how local disputes play out on social media platforms today.
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