The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1899-04-14
BRYAN TO BELMONT.


LESoOLS, Neb., April Col.
W. j. Bryan to-day mailed MS an
swer 10 the last letter received from
the Hon Perry Belmont some weeks
ago The correspondence thus FAR
has dealt largely with the rival jeff
ersOn dinners TO De held in New
York, but Mr. Bryan ignores that
matter and devOtes MS attention TO
the differences existing between
himself and Mr. Belmont on ques-
tiOns Of the democratic party policy
His letter In part, follows:
LINCOLN, Neb-, April ;, 1899.
Hon Perry Belmont, New York:
Dear Sir-Upon my return to
Lincoln found your letter contain
ing the original letts and postscript
given to the press some days before.
| cannot find anything IN my letter
To which yOl can consistently OBJ
lect
You began your speech in Madi-
son square Garden on Aug Is, 1896,
by saving that it WAS time for plain
speaking, and proceeded to accuse
the Chicago convention OF betray-
al OF the democratic party. In
your Brooklyn speech on sept 10,
1895. You spoke of the Chicago
platform a. the strange doctrines
born In Chicago Of q coalition be-
tween the unthinking element OF
the old party andthe socialists, who
masquerade a. populists- 1t seems
that in using the words betrayal
and masquerade, / uncOnsciously
fell INTO the style which YOU em-
pl0yed in 1896, but did not reflect
upon the intelligence Of the gold
standard advocates by characteriz-
ing them a an -unthInklng ele
ment.
You ask first. that | point out
wherein your utterances are 'un-
patriotic, un-demOcratic, un-AmerI-
csn and In conflict with the demo
cratic creed a. set fJurth IN Jeffer-
sons first inaugural address
WHAT L DENOcRATIC2
We have no accepted standard by
which 10 determine whether glver
opinion i patriotic or American
but we have means of determining
whether an opinion i democratic
and I'm accord with the teachings OF
jefferson | presume you use the
word dem Dcratic in the party sense
OtherwIse that term would be a
difficult to define a. patriotic OF
American
The right to determine what is
democratic in a party sense belongs
TO the democratic party The Chi
czgO convention WAS more purely
representative than ary other con
venrIOn held In recent years, be-
cause the rank and tile of the party
spoke on public questions through
Instructed delegates. Tire CEicagC
platform l. the latest authoritative
definition Of democracy a. applied
TO existing conditions. IL a minor
ity Of the delegates to a national
convention, representing a mino-i -ity
OF the members OF the democratic
party, ha- a right to determine what
i dem Scratic, then each member
Of the party has a right to define
democracy for himself, and to assert
that he l. a batter democrat than
any one else
Let me apply this principle to
three questions upon which you
havetaken a position in the volu mes
sent me: (i) Standard money; (2)
paper money Cd income tax
JEFFER-ON's STANDARD.
Jefferson favored the double
standard as against the single gold
standard, and during his admins
tratIon our nation had the free and
unlimited coinage of gold and silver
at the legal ratio Of Is to one. The
ratio was changed to l6 to | during
JacksOn's administration. The
Chicago platform pronounced
against the gold standard and in
favor OF the return To the free and
unlimited coinage Of gold and silver
at the ratio Of 10 to 1, without wait
ing for the aid or consent Of any
other nation. As a delegate to the
Chicago convention you voted for a
minority report, which declared
against independent free coinage,
on the ground that ii would not on
" impenI our finances, but would