Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1899-03-20
MONDAY EVENING. MAR. 90 1899.


on the 18th of April. True, the 18Th
of April is the birthday of Thomas JET
ferson, the patron saint OF the demo
cratic calendar, and true also, that the
club in question purports to be demo
cratic club; but it is also true that the
leading spirits of the club are Mess7s.
Perry Belmont, its president, and Mr.
Croker, OF whom the country knows
something, and far too much. In the
great struggle Of 1896 between the
forces of democracy led by VIM ).
BRYAN and the forces of corruption and
plutocracy led by Mckinley and Mark
Hanna. it was rot difficult to locate
both DIR. Perry Belmont and NJ
Croker. They both lent sid and comfor'
to the republicans. Mr. Perry Belmont
was an avowed bolter from the demo
cratic party organization, its platform
and its candidates Mr. Croker acted
less squarely. He did not proclaim his
hostility in words. He took the steam.
er for Europe and copsorted there a.
far as he was permitted to 60, with the
British patrons of the turf. He owed
all he had whether of influence or of
large fortune to the favor Of the demo
cratic party and in the hour OF It's peril
he left it to struggle on while ne
struggled for social recognition in Eng
land. Mr.. Bryan is democrat OF the
democrats. He is no tuft-hunter,
but 8 man Of the common peo-
pie. AS guest OF Belmont
and of Croker, or OF any OF the men
who betrayed the democratic cause in
1896, Mr.. Bryan would be out OF place.
The man vino ought to have that seat
at the Belmont ten-dollar-a
plate banquet is Mr.. Grover Cleveland,
or MIR. Bynum of Indiana, or Mr.. Pier
pont Morgan, or better still, perhaps,
Mr.. Mark Hanna. The banquet on
the 18th of April is especially political.
Nominally, it is in honor of Jefferson,
but it is intended to dishonor all his
teachings and to uphold the interests
and schemes of Wall street and the re-
publican party. Mr.. Hanna may not
attend, nor Mr.. Mckinley, nor Mr..
Pierpont Morgan, nor any leading re-
publican: but they are ali in sympathy
with it and would subscribe money, if
necessary, to make it splendid sue
cess. Any true democrat caught at it
ought to be "cut for the simples," to
borrow good phrase of Mr.. Thos. N.
Benton. 1t would be far better for him
to eat the "embalmed best" of the War
Department than to partake OF this
hell broth of traitors, tricksters and
conspirators. New York has given
birth to many honored and able demo-
crets, but she has also produced some
of the men who have proved the most
signal OF traitors. The names OF Aaron
Burr, Martin Van Buren, and Cleveland
need hardly to be recalled in this con-
nection. After the civil war New
York welded great and undue intu-
ence in the democratic party. Untor-
tunately the leaders were making
money in Wall street, aud the aid OF
the Cleveland administration, the
schemes of the money kings, the mon
ey lenders and the spectators who
aimed to use the powers Of government
to transfer to their own pockets the
earnings of labor and production, were
served as efectually as they were un-
der the republicans. The voice Of the
democratic party was stifed, but in
1896, at Chicago, the honest sentiment
of the party found expression in an
honest platform, an honest candidate
and o bold fight for the rights of the
people. The money of the money
kings was of no avail to bride the con-
vention, and New York walked out
The so.called democratic politicians OF
Wall street greatly preferred the re-
CINE OF Hanna TO the rule of Bryan
and honesty, and from that time they
set themselves to work to defeat the
democracy. Now, they want to rule
and disgrace the party as they did for
years prior to 1896. Despite the
treachery of Cleveland, Belmont, Hill
and Croker, Mr.. Bryan received 6,491,- !
977 votes. This was 949,626 more
votes than Mr.. Cleveland received in
1892. MIR. Bryan was indeed defeated
by Mckinley, but deducting from Nc
Kinley his negro vote, fully one mil
lion strong, Mr.. Bryan would have had
plurality of about four hundred thou
sand, on the popular vote. Deduct also
the fraudulent vote of Mckinley and
tie votes of workingmen who were in
timiGsted, Bryan's popular majority
would lave been a million and half
of votes aGd his election the most
signal triumph OF American history.
MIR. Bryan at any rats received ma
jority of the white voters of the land,
and it is not for the boilers and traitors
who conspired with the republicans to
defeat them, to attempt now to dictate
the democratic platform or candidate
r. To- ~