Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-04-10
COL. BRYAN REPLIES
To the Last Letter from Hon. Perry
Belmont.

~ tuu Last AcltcI iI0lu HUI. IoIiy
Belmont.
MR. BRYAN IGNORES THE RIVAL
JEFF'ERSONIAN DINNERS AND
DEyOTES HIMSELF TO THE
DIFFERENCES TXISTING BE-
TWEEN HIMSELF AND MR.. BEL
MONT. ON QUESTIONS OF DEM
OCRATIC POLICY.
Lincoln, Neb., April 9.-Col. ". 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 with the
rival Jeffersonian dinners TO be held in
New York. but Mr.. Bryan ignores that
matter and devotes himself TO the dir
ferenceS existing between himself ard
Mr.. Belmont ON questions of Demo-
cratic party policy. His letter in part
follows:
Lincoln, Neb., April s.. 1899.
"Hon. Perry BELMONT, New York.
Dear Sir:-upon my return TO Linz
coin, 1 found your letter containing
the original letter and postscript given
to the press some days before. | can
not find anything in my letter to which
you can consistently object
'You began your speech in Madison
Square Garden ON Aug Is. 1896. by
saying that it was tirSs for plain
speaking and proceeded to accuse the
Chicago convention of O betrayal OF
the Democratic party. In your Brock
lyn speech on September Is, 1896, YOU
spoke of the Chicago platform US tho
strange doctrines born in Chicago, OF
a coalition between the unihinking ele-
ment of the old party and the socialists
who masquerade as populists. IL
seems that in using the words betrayal
and masquerade | unconsciousiy fell
into the style which you employed in
1896, but l did not reflect upon tho
intelligence of the gold standard adve-
Gates by characterizing them as IN un-
thinking element
.'You ask, first, that l point out
wherein your utterances are unpatrot-
ic, undemocratic, un-AmeTican and in
conflict with the Democratic creed as
set forth in Jefferson's
FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS
! "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, ard
in accord with the teachings OF Jet
ferson. I presume you use The wore.
Democratic in the party sense. other.
wise that term would be as difficult to
define as patriotic or American
'The right to determine what is
Democratic in a party sense belonss
to the Democratic party. The Chicago
convention was more purely represent
tative than any other convention held
in recent years, because the rank aLd
file of the party spoke on public ques-
tions through instructed delegates.
The Chicago platform is the latest
AUTHORITATIVE DEFINITION
of Democracy as applied to existing
conditions. If minority of the dele
gates to a national convention repre-
senting minority of the members OF
the Democratic party has right 10 de-
termine what is Democratic, then each
member of the party has right to de-
fine Democracy for himself and 10 as
sert that he is better Democrat than
any one else.
"To 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 stand-
ard as against the single gold standard
and during his administration our ma
tion had the free and unlimited coin
age of gold and silver at the legal ratio
of Is to /. The ratio was changed 10
16 to / during Jackson's administers
ton.
"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 Is TO /, without wa ting for the aid
or consent of any other nation AS a
delegate to the Chicago convention, you
voted for a minority report, which de-
clared against independent free COIN
age on the ground that it would not
only
IMPERIL OUR FINANCES.
but would retard or entirely prevent
international bimerallism, TO which the
effort of the government should be
steadily directed
.As a delegate to the Indianapolis
convention two months later, you sup
ported a platform which declared in
favor of the gold standard without any