The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-08-18
S'TEWARTS SPECI0USSNEERS
DOES NOg DENY THAT BRYAN VAS
 IN EMPLOY OF SILPEIs KINGS.

DOES NOg DENT THAT BRYAN W-aS
 IN EMPLOY OF sILYER KINGS. He Answers scnator rhurston's Charge by
 Dealing in Evusion-Tke Accusation He
 Does Not Recute-Says the Charge Was
 Made by Irresponsible Newspaper, But
 Does Not Explain Why 1t Has Never
 Been Hefutod-Says That Senator Thurs
 ton is Eciterating a Malicious Slandcr,
 But Does Not Prove 1t.
 Washington, Aug l7.--This afternoon senator w. M. Stewart of Nevada gave out for publication reply to Senator Thurston's letter to him published this morning, regarding the charge that MT. Bryan had been a paid lecturer in the employ of silver mine owners. The letter quotes MT. Thurston's statement that he did rot assail MT. Bryan's character in any instance or by any word, and MT. Stewart asks MT. Thurston how he can reconcile that statement with the following language used by him in the speech which gave rise to the controversy:
 The proprietors of the big bonanzas have found it profitable to keep large number of lecturers and other speakers on the road preaching to the people. Among the many who have thus been employed and carried on the payrolls of the big bonanzas for number of years is William J. Bryan of Nebraska, a paid agent and spokesman of the free silver combine"
 The letter then continues: Your disclaimer in connection with the fore going statement requires explanation, provided you consider your reputation for truth and veracity valuable. But your disclaimer that you would be the last man to assail the character of MT. Bryan reflects either upon your verac- ity of your knowledge of the law of libel. If you are a lawyer, and the fact that you have been retained by the Union Pacific for so many years indicates that you are useful in some way to that institution, you ought to know that repeating q islander or libel Is equally slanderous or libelous, as the original matter.
 You assume that you are not assail- ing MT. Bryan when you are quoting what irresponsible newspapers say of him and giving to such statements all the credit your high official position can confer You belittle your under standing when you say that it is the duty of MT Bryan to enter into per- sonal controversy with every hirellng newspaper scribbler, who is employed to islander or defame him. The people understand the animus of partisan newspapers and make proper allow ance for their assertions, but when you clothe their islanders with your official robes it is a lame and cowardly de- fence on your part to protect yourself by sl1ulking behind miserable newspa- per scribblers.
 T called your attention to the in justice of your charges, not the charge of newspapers, which have again qto- ted for the purpose of calling vour att tention to the charge you made, sup posing that you were an honorable man and would retract the charges at once, if you were unable to prove ttem. Instead of doing so you repeated ether stale islanders against MT. Bryan, n.y. self, Senator sharon, Governor S'an- ford and others, which, if true, do not prove your charge against MT. Bry-n.
 q shall nor reiterate in kind, and quote what venal newspapers or even reputable men say of you, because it is not pertinent to the issue. The issue is whether you have unjustly and with out proof assailed the character of MT. Bryan. You cannot avoid that issue by pretending you only repeated $ falsehood. which somebody else origin ated. Do you not fear repeating a falsehood and attributing it to irre- sponsible parties will impair your in- f1uence in favor of the cause you are advocating? You must remember, my dear senator, that there is sense of public justice which is outraged by islander and libel, which you cannot justify by claiming you have right to repeat it because yau had not the courage to originate it. If you have no case against Mir. Bryan, which you have already virtually admitted by citing irrelevant incompetent hearsay to prove your charge your islanders will be harmless so far as he is concerned, but can you afford to be published to tha world as a Deddler of islanders which you cannot proye"'