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503 E. Grace St., November 8, 1917.

Mr Charles G. Maphis, University, Va. 
My dear Mr. Maphis: Thank you very cordially for your full letter of November 7th and its enclosure. 
I think that the reason stated by you to Dr. Alderman for continueing to press the claims of the Coordinate College before this session of the Legislature cannot be improved upon. I herewith enclose you copies of Dr. Alderman's and Professor Thornton's recent letters to me and my reply to the same, all of which correspondence I hope you will treat as confidential. I sent Mr. Livers also a copy of this correspondence, since it was the easiest way for me to make plain to him my own views and position in the matter. 
If such a conference can take place in Richmond, as I have suggested to both Dr. Alderman and Professor Thornton, and it is decided it is best to go forward promptly with this measure, I would be willing to go to work on the old lines and under the old plan as set forth in paragraph two in your letter, provided the University agreed to your suggestions in that same paragraph. I entirely agree with you, that it has been holding back of the University authorities until the last moment that has largely been the reason for the defeat of the bill in the past, and it was with this in mind and because I felt that the leadership of the University in the matter, making the opening of this Institution to the women a part of their program for the meeting war and post war conditions, would not only largely insure the passage of the bill, but really in essence and fact make it a war measure and, therefore, offset the arguments of the old time opposition before they were made, that it was inexpedient to introduce a bill for the College in war times, I very much regret that both Professor Forrest and yourself, as members of the Committee, were not included in the conference, which resulted in Dr. Alderman's and Professor Thornton's letter to me. I was sorry, too, that you were unable to be present at the Charlottesville conference. It seemed to me, at that conference, that Professor Forrest grasped very fully the point of view which Miss McKenny and myself were endeav-