Correction

In a recent article from Moscow on labor unions and the state a phrase was inadvertently dropped. The result -- minor by most definitions of journalistic accuracy -- caused a subtle shift in characterizations which we think is worth taking the time to correct.

In his cabled dispatch, Moscow correspondent Ned Temko described a meeting with a Soviet trade union official. He wrote: "He seems an example of what the Soviet government is supposed to be: a self-made man, a workaholic, either a very good actor -- i doubt this -- or genuinely concerned about the people whose fate he may control."

When the story appeared in the Monitor the phrase "I doubt this" had been dropped, making it appear that the writer felt there was a 50 percent chance that the interviewee was insincere. The missing phrase obviously indicated quite the opposite.

Because Monitor writers and editors feel it extremely useful to our readers to know how correspondents perceive the integrity of quoted sources, we seek to avoid such a ccidental deletions.