The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-24
IS THE TEST
Perry Belmont in Reply to w. j.
Bryan.
THE CHICAGO PLATFORM
A Preposterous, Agrarian, Centralizlne,
Socialistic Interpretation of the
Constitution - A Campaign
Born of Depression.

New York, April 23.-Perry Belmont
has replied to w. ]. Bryan's last letter.
The rejoinder is under the date of April
20 and is, in part, as follows:
The dispute we are in over the Chi
cago platform was not begun by any
word or wish of mine. You We're in
vited to dine with the Democratic club
on the anniversary of Jeffersons birth
day, which the club has heretofore cele-
brated. Instead of accepting or decln-
ing the invitation, you asked my pres
ent opinion of the Chicago platform of
three years ago. 1 replied for the club
that individual opinions had nothing to
do with the invitation. Thereupon you
sent to me a personal letter describing
me as republican masquerading as a
democrat, as unfit to celebrate the an
niversary of Jefferson's birthday be-
cause l condemned the Chicago plat
form and your candidacy, and alto
gether displaying an undisguised inten-
ton to be offensive While ostensibly an
sWering 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.
Influence of populism over the demo-
cratic party is to be condemned, be-
cause the populists promote repudia-
ton of debts by advocating the issue
of government unlimited loo,
full 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 INSCRIPTIONS, corrupt and oppres-
sive But populsm goes further; it as
sails wealth in the hands of individuals
honorably acquired and used, salaries
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 20 keep the promise to pay and |
cancel greenbacks, and by refusal made
thShi VI SloISlllS value III lllt
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, which tax was not laid for rev. |
enue, 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 |
1892 urged the repeal of that tax.
Republicans in congress put an end
in 1878 to free bimetallic coinage.
Republicans, led by Sherman in the
treasury and Allison in the senate in
1878, substituted for BANDS restoration
of free bimetallic coinage, which had
passed the house, the Allison law au-
thorizing the treasury to purchase sill
Yer bullion in limited quantity and to
coin it only for the government into
full legal tender silver dollars. Under
this influence silver parted company
with gold. Then the gold price of silver
bullion was $l15; 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 there
by to absorb the whole American prod
uct and lift the price of silver. Then
silver was $1.05 an ounce.
In your unwarranted letter to me of
March 16 you arraign my political opin-
ions because, as you assert, they are
hostile to those of jefferson, who stood
for sacred, we'll defined principles JEFF
ferson was by you made the standard
and the test. In order to crafty your
desire to know my opinions | mailed
to you correct record of all / had
said or written on the Chicago platform
1.
you wrote in your letter of the Sth inst.
to which l am now replying. ask you to
point out objections. l said: You are
at liberty to indicate and expose any
portion that is unpatriotic, un-demo-
cratic, un-American or in conflict with |
the democratic creed as set forth in
Jefferson's first inaugural address. You
reply that you have not a standard by
which to determine whether a given
opinion is patriotic or American. I had
suspected as much.
ION the issue raised by yourself over
Jefferson you endeavor to make not
his state papers the test of democracy.
but the innovations of your co-conspra-
tors, chiefly republicans, inserted in the
Chicago platform. You complain of our
first democratic platform, which was
JefferSon'S inaugural address, that it
dealt only with general principles OF
course it did. 1t is the function of a
platform, in the American sense to deal
with questions the conditions of which
are permanent. Jefferson did. however,
insist 'on honest payment of our debts
and sacred preservation of the public
faith which you ignore in your I'M
reasoning spite against creditors. In
your hatred of creditors you ignore the
public credit.
Again shifting your position, you
forget to apply Jefferson's platform to
these three topics on which, you say,
have taken a position First, stand
ard money; second, paper money; third,
the income tax.
LAS to the first, you affirm that JEFF
ferson favored the double standard
but the Chicago platform declared
that the first coinage law of 1892 set
up single standard which was the
silver dollar, and insisted that alone
was democratic.