The record-union., 1899-04-24

" NC
Claims That He Was Misrepre-
sented and That Bryan Has
Evaded Questions Asked by
Him and Capable of Affirmative
or Negative Reply.
NEW YORK, April 24-Following is
the full text of the letter written by
Perry Belmont to William ]. Bryan in
relation to the controversy that has
| arisen between them:
New York, April Goth
Hon. w. j. Bryan-Dear Sir: The
dispute we are in over the Chicago
platform was not begun by any word ON
wish of mine. YoG were invited to dine
with the Democratic Club on the ami
versary of Jeffersons birthday, which
the club has heretofore celebrated. In
stead of accepting or declining the inyi-
tation, you asked my present opinion
of the Chicago platform of three years
ago. l replied for the club that indi-
vidua1 opinions had nothing to do with
the invitation. Thereupon you sent to
me a personal letter describing me as q
Republican masquerading as a Demo-
crat, as unfit to celebrate the anniyer-
| sary of Jefferson's birthday because I
condemned the Chicago platform and
your candidacy, and altogether display
ing an undisguised intention to be Of
fensive while ostensibly answering a.
dinner invitation.
Had more consideration been given
to your accusation you would have seen
that those who endeavor to persuade
the Democracy to use the more or less
discarded inventions of Republicans are
the masqueraders, and not those who
stand in the old paths hallowed by the
footsteps of Jefferson, Madison and
Jackson.
POPULISM ONCE EREPUBLICANISM
Influence of Populism over the DEM
ocratic party is to be condemned. be-
cause the Populists promote repudia-
t1on of debts by advocating the issue
of Government unlimited, unredeemabIe
fun legal tender paper dollars. Popu-
! lism assails not only wealth organized
in the hands of corporations, syndicates
and trusts, which when so held is too
often unscrupulous, corrupt and oppres
! siye. But Populism goes farther; it
assails wealth in the hands of individ-
ua1s honorably acquired and used, SAL
aries and wages.
Republicans invented the full legal
tender greenback, put the invention on
the statute books in 1862 against a
| united Democratic vote, packed the Su-
preme Court with Republican Judges
to reverse previous condemnation Of
the legislation by a Democratic bench.
1t was by Democratic conventions
throughout the country that this enact
ment was denounced
Republicans in Congress later on re-
fused to keep the promise to pay and
| cancel greenbacks, and by refusal made
them of changing value in the markets
and in payment of debts as the Demo-
cratic platform of 1876 declared.
! Republicans created the national
banking system and by a 10 per cent.
tax ON the circulation of notes of State
banks, drove out of existence all State
! institutions issuing bank notes. which
issue Democratic Supreme Court had
decided was their constitutional right.
The Democratic national convention of
loD2 urged the repeal of that tax
| Republicans in Congress put an end
in 1913 to free bimetallic coinage
| Republicans, led by Sherman in the
| Treasury and Allison in the Senate. in
| 1878 substituted for BlanG's restoration
OF free bimetallic coinage, which had
passed the House, the Allison law au-
| thorlz1ng the Treasury to purchase sill
yer bullion in limited quantity and to
| coin ii only for the Government into
full legal tender silver dollars. Under
this influence silver parted company
with gold. Then the gold price of sill
yer bullion was 81 10; now it is less
than 60 cents
Republicans. led by President Harri-
son, in 1890 reopened the silver ques-
ton, doubled the quantity of the Treas
ury silver purchases, intending thereby
to absorb the whole American product
and lift the price Of silver. Then sill
YER was $1.0J an ounce
BIMETALLISM AND INTRINSIC
PARITY THE DEMOCRATIC
POLICY IN 1892.
1t was the Democracy of New York
which denounced the Sherman silver
J legislation as "cowardly makeshift.'
phrase so apt and true that it was
adopted by the Democratic national
convention which made the goal of
Democratic effort:
| L. Repeal of the Sherman silver law
of 1890, which repeal you resisted in
Congress by speech and vote
! 2. The use of both gold and silver as
standard money.
| 3. Coinage of both metals without
| discrimination against either
| 4. The dollar units of coinage equal
in intrinsic and exchangeable value.
| 3. That value to be adjusted in one
of two ways. to-wit: either by interna-
tional agreement or by such safe
guards of congressional legislation as
will insure
| 6. The maintenance of the parity Of
the two metals, and the equal power of
every dollar at all times in the markets
and in the payment of debts
In the law repeating the Sherman sill
yer enactment Congress inserted the
| substance and legal effect of the Demo-
cratic platform of 1892 "A safe sys-
tenn of bimetallism' was thus proclaim-
ed by Congress to be the object of the
United States, and the only essential
change from the Democratic platform
of 1892 was substitution of parity
in the value of the coins of the two
metals" for parity of the two metals"
Parity" always parity" was thel test
THE ORIGIN OF THE REVERSAL