The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-10
Mr.. BRYAN TO MIR. BELMONT
THE SILVER ORATOR ANSWERS THE
BANK ER,S LAST LETTER.

mocracy"-The Nebraskan Says "the
Chicago Platform is the --latest Au-
Existing Conditions"
Lincoln, Neb., April 9.-Colonel w. j.
Bryan to-day mailed his answer to the
last letter received from Hon. Perry
Belmont some weeks ago. The CORE
spondence thus far has dealt large
ly with the rival Jeffersonian din
ners to be held in New York, but Mr..
Bryan ignores that matter and devotes
his attention to the differences exist
ing between himself and Mr. Belmont
on the democratic party policy. His
letter in part follows:
Lincoln, Neb., April s.
Hon. Perry Belmont, New York:
Dear sir: Upon my return to Lin
coin l found your letter containing the
original letter and prostscript given to
the press some days before. I cannot
find anything in my letter to which you
can consistently object. You began your
speech in Madison Square Garden on
August 8, 1896, by saying 1t was time
for plain speaking and proceeded to
accuse the Chicago convention of be
trayal" of the democratic party. In
your Brooklyn speech Of September is,
1896, you spoke Of the Chicago platform
as "The strange doctrines born In Chi
cago of a coalition between the un-
thinking element of the old party and
the socialists, who masquerade as popu-
lists" 1t seems that in using the words
''betrayal' and "masquerading" I un-
consciously fell into the style which you
employed in 1896. but I did not reflect
upon the intelligence of the gold stand
ard advocates by characterizing them
as an "unthinking element"
You ask, first, that point out where
in your utterances are "unpatriotic, un-
democratic, un-American and in con-
fiict with the democratic creed as set
forth in Jefferson's first inaugural ad-
dress" We have no accepted standard
by which to determine whether a given
opinion is patriotic or American, but
we have means of determining whether
an opinion is democratic and in accord
with the teachings of Jefferson I
presume you use the word democratic
in the party sense, otherwise that term
riotic" or american" The right to de-
termine what is democratic in party
sense belongs to the democratic party.
The Chicago convention was more pure
1y representative than any other con-
vention held in recent years because the
rank and file of the party spoke on pub
lie questions through instructed dele
gates The Chicago platform is the
II. Ct 20 IA.~
racy as applied to existing conditions.
If a minority of the delegates to
national convention representing mi
nority of the members of the democrat
ic party has a right to determine what
is democratic then each member of the
party has a right to define democracy
for himself and to assert that he is
better democrat than any one else.
Let me apply this principle to three
questions upon which you have taken
a position in the volumes sent me:
First standard money; second, paper
money third, income tax.
Jefferson favored the double standard
as against the single gold standard, and
during his administration our nation
had the free and unlimited coinage of
gold and silver at the legal ratio of Is
to l. The ration was changed to 16 to
1 without waiting for the aid or con-
sent of any other nation. AS delegate
to the Chicago convention you voted for
minority report which declared against
independent free coinage on the ground
that 1t would not only imperil your
finances. "but would retard or entirely (
prevent international bimetallsm TO
which the effort Of the government |
should be steadily directed" AS del !
egate to the Indianapolis convention |
two months later you supported plat
form which declared in favor of the gold
standard without any declaration in ia
vor of international bimetallism. You
may be able to explain why the minor
ity rejected at indianapolis the plank
for which It fought at Chicago.
Mr.. Mckinley in 1891, charged in
public speech that Mr.. Cleveland dur
ing his first administration was dishon-
oring one of the pecunious metals, dis
crediting silver, and enhancing the price
of gold. He insisted that Mr.. Cleveland
was trying to make money scarce and
therefore dear" and added: HE would
have increased the value of money and
diminished the value of everything else.
Money the master and everything else
the servant" If Mr. Mckinley then un-
derstood the real purpose of the gold
standard, as l believe he did, who could
think Jefferson capable of advocating a
policy which instead of securing equal
and exact justice for all, ''makes money
the master and everything else the SER
want"
Mr. Carlisle in speech in 1878 said:
'The conspiracy to destroy by legisla-
ton and otherwise from three-sevenths
to one-half of the metallic money of the
world is the most gigantic crime or this
or any other ago. If Mr.. Carlisle was
then right, as I believe he was, in his
denunciation of the gold standard, who
can believe Jefferson capable Of being
a party to such a crime. After the
election Mr.. Mckinley sent a commits
sion to Europe to secure international
aid in getting rid OF the gold standard
and a republican congress appropriated
money to pay the expenses OF the COM
mission. The commission failed because
Of English opposition and English oppo-
sition was due to the opposition of Eng
lish financiers. Jeffersonian democrats
must have a better reason for submit