The morning times., 1896-10-24

| letter: r-trH 10 s-s--
Washington, D. c., oct. %, 1886.
My Dear SIR: livery much regret tiiat
yourself and other FRIENDS TO visit Missouri
and participate in Lie present campaign
ks issues se the SsS tlen
ZION OF tue people. The very short tlne
| intervening between my appointment as
Secretary of the Interior and the lliins
OF the annual report of the department. ls
not suIricient To, enable me to faniliarizc
myself as'thorouEhy as should with the
| Important matters Commanding attention.
NO TINE FOR -DRONEs.
This is time, however, when no man
can afford to remain silent. Tie survival
| OF tue Democratic party is threatened
The welfare OF the country is irnperlied'
the perpetuity of the Republic Is at stake:
l believe the sober second thoughJ oi
the people Will Condemn and repudlate
| those who are trying to array classes
against each other and incite the discoh-
tented to violations of obligations, II not
To lawlcssness And deny tharthose OF
| us who raise a voice against the reNered
| name OF Democracy being used Tor ends
SO based, have departed from the faltn
| or have weakened IN devotion 10 thc efcdo
| principles of government by the people.
III the organization calling Itself the
| regular democracy he successful al lIe
coming election, commercial disaster, imam
| cial misery, social discomfort, national uls-
honor would ensue, and the party respon-
slble Tor such conditions would lie cursed
| by an outraged people for a generation 10
| come. Shall Mr.. Bryan pass Judgment on
our democracy? on what hath he fed That
he should presume to formulate tests OF
our party fealty?
| A list OF the prominent Democrats through
| out the country who decline TO support
| Mr.. Bryan and his platform would embrace
| nearly all the Democratic leaders or this
| generation.
HE SCORES BRYAN.
Those who have bed us III past contests,
and who are now enlisted under the banner,
| are giving him but "A lukewarm or per
functory support We should not he sur
| priseu tliereat, as he. intoxicated with the
| belief of the divinity Of his own mission,
credit to their councils. places no value
ON their wisdom or experience His con
victions are POpulistic. He has been preach
ing the tenets of the party for months or
| years past. He voted the POpulist ticket
at the last Presidential election. He Is
| the nominee OF that party Tor President,
and its leaders aver that he would have
been their standard bearer whether the
| Chicago convention would have named
him or not.
He announced before that convention
| was held that he would not support its
| Nominee If a free coinage plank, at the
| ration of 16 to l. was not adopted. and
has stated since the convention that lie
| Would have bOted the nomination II the
platform had not So declared. Time and
| agatn. in speeches made since bis Nominal
tion, he has said that he did not desire nor
expect the support OF those who do not
| favor the free coinage Of silver. at l6
| to 1. He declares that to be the paramount
issue OF this campaign. In accepting the
nomination OF the free silver protection,
tariff, Republicans" he said:
know something of party ties, because
| was in position where | looked for
ward to possible like action on my part
and can appreciate the depth of the CON
| vittion that led them to place the in
terests OF their country above the wei
fare of their party"
m Iatrn t,,fJ,
abiest and most Jealous supporters of MI
Bryan, he writes. :. Had the Chicago con-
yention been favorable to Your view.
should have adopted the course which
You have choseny ami ! know You would
have regarded my action as do yours
IL exhibits an Integrity of. purpose which
everyy man must respect and appreciate
| THINKS IT A SLIP Up.
Mr.. Bryan and, his friends had agreed
upon a rule or ruin policy before the CON
yention was held. The bolt OF the silver
Republicans from the St Louis convention
was an iinportart move in their plans
which. in my judgment, contem plated the
noinination of Senator II NJ. Teller. a life
long, unconprcnhsing Republican, by the
Chicago convention.
Furthermore, it is not a Democratic
electoral ticket we are asked To vote for
in Missouri. 1t is fusiouist ticket. coin
posed of PopuliSts and Bryan Democrats.
Who gave the State Democratic committee
authority to fill vacancies on the ticket by
naming Populsts: The authority to fill
u
the convention WIS unGuestionably hedged
about by the cardinal principals of the
party, that Il canliiate of the Democratic
party must be a Democrat.
The convention never thought for a
moment that the power it delegated to
the State committee Would be used To sub
vert the great principles Of the party to
nearly. a degrading scramble for spoils.
This dickering OF the Democrats With
Populists does not blind Democrats Who
believe in regularity. The ticket of the
Bryan men should not be headed Regular
Democratic" as that is deceptive and mis-
leading TO voters but its proper caption is
| 'Populist Democratic fusion ticket" Call
us not boilers when we refuse TO sanction
such an unholy alliance.
WHAT FREE COINAGE MEANS
| Free silver coinage at the ratio of 16
to i must inevitably be followed by one me
of two results-ether reputation of honest
| obligations. public and private, or the en-
actment of such law would make 16
ounces of silver the commercial equivalent
OF one ounce of gold thruugho II the W orld.
think the latter is impossible
History and our own recent experience
demonstrates that law cannot make value
Feeling so. and preferring to be honest,
wecannot be eNpectedto support Mr.. Bryan
or the platform upon which he stands.
But the platform has many other oh
jectiunable features 1t advocates fiat
money; it declares against the right of
private contract: il attacks the purity and
| Independence of the Supreme Court: il
| virtually condemns Democratic President
for suppressing lawlessness, for enforcing
| Federal statutes and protecting govern
ment and private property. as we'll rs
human life, at time and in a State
| WIZ. nn where the ncal authorities were
unwilling or IoweIless to do SO. notwith
Standing a House of Representatives and
a Democratic Senate, to say nothing of an
almost unanim Gus public opinion, had
approved and applauded such a course
IMPAIRS THE GOVERNMENT.
1t denies the right of the federal govern
ment to enforce federal statutes without
! the consent of the executive OF the State
in which they are violated; it indorses.
yea. it champions notification which Jack
son denounced and stamped out many years
ago. That convention, led by Tlllman and
Altgeld and their associates. refused TO
commend the patriotism. honesty, economy
and fidelity of Grover Cleveland, the only
| President our party has been able to elect
and Inaugurate in thirty-siX, years.
1t pains me deeply 10 differ with many
good men of Missouri who have been my
personal and political friends and CO.
workers. l do not question their sincerity
and am sure they will accord me the
same honesty of conviction.
| ] shall surely he ut home to ca st my
vote for Palmer and Buckner and Trimble
and regret I cannot leave here in time Ia
| make Several speeches in Missouri