The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1899-10-21
That Bryan Letter.

known as ''the talking member of
Mr.. Cleveland's cabinet, is a bitter
political enemy of William !. Bryan
and at the present time IS engaged
in Il game of peanut politics IN Ne
braska, tine purpose Of which is to
discredit Bryan and prevent his
nomination to the Presidency by
the Democratic National Conven-
ton next year. 1t appears that ten
years ago when Mr.. Bryan was
struggling young lawyer in Ne
braska, he was a candidate for the
office of Secretary of the State
Board Of transportation. In a
letter to J. Sterling Morton, who
then claimed to be his personal and
political friend, he said: at is the
money in the office and not the
honor that attracts me" At that
time Mr.. Bryan needed money for
and the very limited amount of
honor in the position, if any at all,
was secondary consideration.
Believing Morton to be his friend
and needing the assistance of the
f:.rmer to yet lhe. office, not for the
glory. but for the peCuniary aid it
would render him, he wrote the fol-
lowing letter:
J. Sterling Morton, Nebraska City, Neb:-
Dear Friend: Your kind letter to Mr..
Lease was received and noted. l think it
we'll received. The p. S. was judi
your endorsement. Had hesita:ed to write
you because dislike soliciting aid. I as
sure you that 1t is the money that is in the
Office, not the honor, that attracts me. If
beginning here With regard to ladies', I
am yours very truly.
ssW. ]. BRYAN"
An Omaha dispatch says that
during the present campaign in Me-
braska the statement has been fire.
quently made that J. Sterling
Morton had in his possession a let
ter written by VIM. ]. Bryan, saying
t,at i: is :he money in office and
Morton himself made the positive
statement in his newspaper "The
Conservative that he held such
letter A few days ago Mr..
Br> an was interviewed by a cores
pendent of the Omaha Bee as to
whether he had made such an as
sertion and he said:
81 am willing to stand on my record and
let the people Judge whether I ever made
such statement. l positively deny the
sertion: but do not care to be quoted
saying If | took occasion to deny all of
the false statements made about me I would
be kept busy all the time. l do not propose
to travel around the country denying all of
Mr.. Morton's Statements
The Washington Post, which is
an advocate Of the gold standard
and expansion. and therefore can
not be classed as supporter r ad-
mirer of Mr.. Bryan, has this to say
of the letter which J. Sterling
Norton is endeavoring to use as a
weapon for the political destruction
of the present leader of the Ma
tional Democratic party:
.s'rhere is a world wide difference oe-
tween the statement made in the letter and
Bryan. One applies Office in the general
meaning of the word. MIR. Bryan, in the
face of the letter, published with flourish
of campaign trumpets as if it were intended
to prove that he had he'd, still honestly
adhere to his denial. He did not say. 1T
is the money that is in Office, and not the
honor that attracts me- He said that of
one particular office, and for a good reason.
To dig up and garble that ten year old letter
written to friend: to attempt to place Mr..
Bryan, as he stands to-day, the leader of
great party, in the attitude of seeking The
Presidency of the United States tor the
money there is in it, is to adopt tactics which
cannot win.
ssYesterday the Omaha Bee and MIR.
Morton's paper, the Conservative published
fac SMILES of the Bryan letter of January
II, 1850, in order to prove that William J.
Bryan, the leader of the great combination
of 1906 and predestined leader of the Dem
ocratic party and its allies in 1900, admits
that it is not honor, but pelf he is pursuing.
1t is the smallest variety of peanut politics.
There is not word in that letter which is,
in the slightest degree, discreditable to the
man who wrote it. The worst that it proves
is lack of liberal supply of cash. The
Post has found frequent occasion dissent
from Mr.. Bryan's utterances, and has no
sympathy with his views many questions;
but it sees nothing that calls for condemna-
nation in that letter to Mr. Morton, nor
does it find in his reported denial any de-
parture from strict veracity.''
See the elegant line Of pattern
and trimmed hats. also new style