St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-06
THE CHUKCH'S SIDE
Of the May Festival Fiasco-Mr.
JOhnstOn's Version. ~

The leaders of the Gounod club are
visiting the guarantors, endeavoringto
raise a sufficient amount to meet the
May festival shortage, and thus are
meeting with fair success. Charles L.
Johnston, of the Peoples church. after
reading the statement of Secretary
Hastings, immediately filed an exeep-
ton. He makes the following state
ment of the church'S relation to the
difficulty:
AS a wrong impression seems to have OBJ
tanned currency as to the attitude OF the Peo-
pies church during the recent musical fes-
tival, consider it my duty to publish full
statement of the facts in that connection.
The rental contract was made with Mr..
Hastings personally, as secretary of the
Gounod club, and not with the club itself,
for it had no legal existence and therefore
no financial responsibility. This contract
called for payments on each day of the fes-
tiyal week of part of the rental agreed
upon, which rental was much lower than
regular rates because of the public nature of
the enterprise, even lower than the price
paid by the managers of the similar festival
the year before.
Mr.. Hastings paid me the first instaliment
promptly according to contract. The con-
certs of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
evenings were every one allowed by the
church. to be given upon only partial pay
ment of the installments due. Late Friday
evening Mr.. Hastings paid the balance due at
that time.
AS was doubtful from the very first as to
whether the festival this year would be a
financial success and as this became more
evident during its progress, suggested to
Mr.. Hastings on Thursday afternoon, that he
arrange with the guarantors for sufficient
advance to tide him over. Again on Friday
morning called upon him to arrange for
the amount then III default. and the pay
ments about to accrue, and urged more
strongly my advice OF the preceding day, be-
cause was unwilling to take Mr.. Hastings at
q disadvantage, but wished 10 give him ample
opportunity to call upon his guarantors If it
should be necessary. L had not then, nor
have ever seen this list of guarantors, or
the conditions of the pledge to which they
subscribed Mr.. Hastings assured me that he
would pay on Friday evening before the per-
Torrance, the amount in default together
with the installment then to mature, and that
he would arrange to let me have saturdays
installment as provided in the contract. Mr..
Hastings did not pay me the full amount on
Friday evening as agreed, though later in
the evening he paid me the balance, but
made no reference to any difficulty expert
enceG in obtaining an advance from his
guarantorS
Shortly after o'clock on Saturday after
noon Mr.. Hastings came into the church,
where / had been waiting for him about half
an hour, and stated that the artists would not
sing unless paid in full; that he had been
unable to raise the money, and that, there
fore, the afternoon and evening perform
ances would have to be abandoned. Without
expressing any desire whatever to arranSe
compromise or to ask any favors from the
church, he at once wrote out the notice of
abandonment and gave it to the sexton to
post upon the door. l waited about the
church until the arriva, OF Mr. Herbert, ac-
compauied by two prominent local musl-
clans, and. being assured by one of the latter
that no arrangement was at all likely 10 be
made with the performers. 1 came away. !
had no intimation that a compromise had
been effected with any of the musicians.
saw Mr. Hastings published statement to
that effect on Monday morning following. g
These are the facts in the matter. and they
need no comment ir