Show Home Stock Company Indignant Salt Lake City Feb 3 To the Editor of The Herald If you will permit me I desire through the columns of your valuable paper to correct certain statements made recently by the dramatic critic of your morning contemporary about the people who participated in the performance of The Black Flag at the theatre last week His statement was to the effect that everyone connected con-nected with the performance received pay for his or her services So far as it concerns myself and I believe every other amateur in the company the statement is false To apologize gracefully for a wrong done or an error committed is one of the essential qualifications of a gentleman gentle-man and to be able to apologize at least frankly for a like offense is a necessary part in the makeup of any ordinary honest man But neither of these achievements It would seem is within the capacities of the dramatic critic of the Tribune I compliment him upon his magnanimity in so generously offering to retract his statements state-ments if proved false but it is to be deplored that he should afterward have lacked the manhood to live up to this praisworthy resolve In passing I would suggest to him since it seems that his wide experience as a journal ist has hitherto failed to do so that the wiser course for him to pursue in the future would be to refrain in the first place from making rash statements state-ments which he may afterward be compelled to withdraw I have no desire or intention of em barking upon a discussion with this person I did not happen to be one of those to whom he referred in his graceful lucubration of Friday as a delegation of outraged thespians because be-cause I did not consider the fellows statements of sufficient importance to warrant my contradicting them Since however he has seen fit to adopt this tone and since so much publicity has been given the affair I feel that I owe it to my fellow amateurs am-ateurs and myself to say a word in the matter Not to trespass further on your courtesy I desire merely to deny the statements made by him in the Thursday issue of the Tribune and I am content to let the matter rest as a simple question of veracity between us Respectfully GEORGE WESTERVELT |