The Sauk Centre herald., 1930-04-24
Red LeWis Refuses to Accept Kan
sas City Preachers Recent Apology

what scorn large part Of the
church world will hold me for do
ing it-but I mean to go through
with it until you are satisfied that
have been fair and true and square
You are the one want to feel sat-
isfied.
81 love you, and I am happy in
your new books. particularly like
Dodsworth-,and am happy with
you in your new home-making.
II do not expect you to enter the
ministry yourself-nor do expect
you to sprout wings for a few
aeons, but do know that you are
a good scout-that you and feel
so much alike in our hatred of
bunk and a lot of things for which
my profession stands. And, Incl
dentally, so far as I can feel around
the shoulders where wings ought to
begin to sprout I cannot feel any
coming out of me, either.
'I want to see you and have a
good talk some day-and do my
part at least-if that is possible,
to wipe out this strange interlude
in our friendship. Don't expect me
to come to you chewing tobacco,
or even smoking Cubebs, or drink
ing highballs. They would make me
sick at the tummy, if tried-but
I'll come as a true friend if I get
a chance, and-as of. old-I'H not
come judging or condemning or
with a holier than thou attitude
God knows I don't fel that way,
ever.
Here's my hand and here's my
heart.
"Fraternally and faithfully,
(Signed) BILL"
Lewis's reply to DR.. Stidger, dat
ed January 1S, 1880: ...
Dear Mr.. Stidger: Your letter of
January IA shows such persistence
that I must answer it, though I
have never answered the numerous
attacks you have made on me, and
though I have thrown into the
waste basket the several letters by
which, in the last year, you have
endeavored to regain my friend
ship.
"Your apology for having said,
noisly and publicly, that I was
drunk all the time I was writing
Elmer Gantry,' is of no value, for
four reasons. First, it comes nearly
three years too late. Second, it is
insincere. This judge from the
fact that you follow it by saying, I
do not want you to think that Bill
Stidger would do an unjust thing
and not remedy it, when he saw
that he had done so.' You really
can't expect any credit for nobility
when you have taken over two
years to see that you have done
so.'
Third, at the time when you
were in an orgy of vilifying me, you
presented me as drunk all the
time, yet said Elmer Gantry' was
written in three months-or it may
have been in two months; I forget
which. Now aside from the fact
that you knew perfectly well the
writing of the book took me nearly
a year, it was obvious even to the
semi-illiterate that no one could
write a carefully documented, care,
fully revised book of 200 thousand
words in three months and be
drunk all the time. So these two
lies cancelled each other, and there
is no need of apologizing for either
of them.
Fourth, you made so many 9th
er false accusations about me and
my book that this one alone isn't
really important.
"How many of these there were,
I don't know. I was abroad, and
heard of them only from letters
and clippings; and after nearly
three years, have forgotten many
of those that did reach me. But
even so, I know of AN astonishing
number-of which I shall give ex-
amples.
"You said-and if I remember
rightly you said it in your own
sacred pulpit-that when I first
came to Kansas City, you were
loath to invite me to your house
to stay, but that insisted on your
doing so, and you consented regret
fully.
GAS you know, the opposite is
the truth, I had planned to stay at
a hotel, but you insisted on my
staying with you, and while I was
there, you got every ounce of pub
licity for yourself that you could
out of the fact.
"This particular lie was far
meaner and pettier than an accusa-