The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-17

ten weeks; so successful was it that
at the termination of that time a new
agreement was entered into whereby
the season was to continue as long as
profitable On the final night, last Sat
urday, there was standing room only
four and five rows deep. Miss Bate
mans success could not have been
more genuine or gratifying.
Anent the visit of some members of
the tabernacle choir to Durrant, that
mole hill and mountain event is cor
rectly hit on the head in the following
communication:
Salt Lake City. Utah, May 16. 1896.
Editor Dramatic and Lyric:
am one of the members of the choir
who visited Durrant on our recent trip
to San Francisco, and would like to
tell you my view of this much talked
OF subject.
The visit was made through the
courtesy of a newspaper representa-
tive. We went for the express purpose
of seeing Durrant. Our party con-
sisted of about twenty-five ladies and
gentlemen-that is. we were ladies and
gentlemen up to the time of this visit,
the date of our fall. I was glad we
went until 1 read The Herald Of to-
day, when 1 became aware that a
crime had been committed, and was
sorry.
Our little party went to see Durrant-
We shook off all moral reStraint-for-
got duty, family, home and friends,
and took the downward path
Durrant'S cell was one of forty or
fifty like it, in the main corridor of
the Jail. These cells were all occupied,
and after seeing Durrant we wandered
up and down the corridor, just about
as people who are hardened and sin in
this way usually do. The warden of
the jail asked us to give the prison
ers a song" This was not any more
for Durrant than for any of the other
prisoners, many of whom are perhaps
no worse than the ones in our own
penitentiary for whom Professor
Stephens and his singers-much to
their credit-have sung time and time
again. We did sing, and this was the
fatal step.
1 regret it more than any (musicaD
thing done on the whole trip. WE
HAD BUT ONE TENOR. I think this
fact hurt Professor Stephens more
than any moral scruples he has, and
1 take his defense of the choir in good
part on that account. We sang in
one part of the corridor and then in
another. You see, our audience could
not get away, so we could do as we
pleased with them; and L then ceased
to wonder why criminals chose death
to Imprisonment for life, if visits like
ours are of frequent occurrence. We
came away, conscious of no stain or
blemish on our spotless regulations,
excepting having attempted "Oh, My
Father with but one tenor. Not
until today did l realize the heinous-
ness of our crime. After reading the
comments of Professor Stephens, ''B.
Flat" and that other member whose
interview is given, 1 resolved never
again to look my fellow men in the
face. "B Flat who, by the way.
should never write another letter like
that over his own name-thinks 1t
was the only thing to mar the trip
the other fiat" is sorry the mistake
was made" etc What rot. Why, the
only sorrow expressed was by those
who couldn't go. and as for 'marring
the trip" that visit was no worse or
no more to the discredit of that little
party than the visit to Chinatown by
the whole choir, and 1 for one have
no regrets. The trip was a success in
every way. You can't expect a big
crowd like that to be made up en-
tirely of big people. 1t is a pity that
some of the little ones couldn't go to
see Durrant, as they wanted to do.
and thus avoided all this talk
1 hope we car all take just another
/ such trip-Durrant, Chinatown and all.
A SINNER.
/ LONDON, May 16.-The opera season
opened with what claimed to be the
largest subscription ever known in the
history of Italian opera. All the pro-
minent Americans in town were pres
ent ait the opening performance Of