New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-27
A LETTER FROM MR.. DAVIS.
THE AUTHOR OF "GALLEGHER" PROCLAlMS
HIS LOYALTY TO JOURNALISM.

HIS LOYALTY TO JOURNALISM.
From The Critic.
To the Editor OF The Critic.
~ vomr 5ener 70 DENY that have ever expressed
myself as l am said to have done In the following
newspaper paragraph-a paragraph which explains
''Mr. Richard Harding Davis is possessed either
of some ingenious and persistent enemy Wno u e.
bring Mr. Davis into contempt, or of most re-
markable capacity for making an ass OF hmsef fo IN
weeks there appears In the public press a report
Of to haye or sn o% e
and shaver lips OF RICHARD that makes makes men Mr
aHs is is sens n Forth that he is y tired
Of being pointed out as the man who wrote yete
veal u has s and
zation about 1t that have now scared far beyond.
ps%naicketed a free-iunched hack reporter on its
pages. want to forget that part OF my existence.
life / will sacrifice Gallagher and the royalties
thereon. II people will only forget that was once
'af ound this in my NAH last week on my
to New-York after an absence OF six months. ana
with It other clippings In which the remarks ahat
mented upon. Had been In this country when the
thing appeared doubt would So have ave SogSi
that the motive was too obvious and the invention
se p But fnd that number of people have
considered it at least with sufficient seriousness 10
means Of the newspaper press The fact that it is
necessary to deny that ever made such silly
and contemplate speech this Is so humatng
in itself that do not know but that 1t would be
better 20 say nothing about IT. 1t Is difhcult to
know Just what should do | cannot deny
every invention that see printed concerning my
self, Is 1t pleasant TO keep silent, as l have
a afRs another epf has been
/ know be untrue: while speeches of the most
most famous conceit have been put into my mouth;
and while people who do not know me In any way
generally accepted by those. who have no other
means Of learning anything about me. Last winter
of denying them in block: but have hesitated
hoping that some friend would do this for me. or
that there would be a show OF fair play eventually
when the inventors grew tired of amusing them
selves and their readers at my expense ! had also
year would cause the inventors to cease for lack
Of material. but find that they get on even better
As to this particular speech, 1t should stand to
reason that / would not hold the work OF re-
porter in contempt when have been reporter
always remain one; or that should abuse the par
ticular story which, though my first. is am afraid
the best l have done or shall do If ] wanted tc
wipe the newspaper-shop part out or my exist
continued In that business up to the present day
to have reported football matches and coronaions
Viewed Gr " John Hays Hammond for The New-Yorl
Sun and other papers o. the sned rfess SoSa
Newspaper on az work used to report fires and The
Tombs Police Court and the Gutenberg races foi
a aetS Say a Rd1e' instead of escrb,
The DERBY and the Grand Prix the condition OF
the Panama Canal, English election; but IT Il
ain reportng have considered II anything
else Publishing what ! write In the magazines
does not make II literature. nor me a literary man
but II | can obtain larger audience and more
money by reporting for the magazines than ior tnt
newspapers prefer 10 ,Sa ioho o' HAYS Hammond
story / have something which wish to go TO a
greater distance and to reach many different xmas
of people. -, 49,, ,.,,,, mar,
ner in which treat my former comrades OF the
press should be glad TO learn the names OF ,hess
Comrades. for. from what know OF them. ! an
quite sure had been silly enough TO have acted
SO they would have let me know OF II by method
more direct than that OF writing anonymous para
era mis- about me In the papers. That Is not the
way to advance the dignity or the Interest OF our
professionalism one reporter TO write unnecessary
and untrue stories about a fellow worker. The
game seems to me to he hardly worth the candle
and II Is not fair game. For one man stands nc
chance against anonymous majority, II they
continue inventing and creating character Tor hin
which prejudces every decent reader against his
lis work OF any possible weight It might have. and