Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-23
Letter From Members of
Democratic Club.
THE NEW YORK DINNER
To be Given the Nebraska Man StirS
up Some TrOuble-The Reasons
That Are Set Forth in the Com
municatiOn.

New York. IAN. 22.-The following
letter, signed by John Fox. a former
president of the Democratic club and
now a member of the board of COVER
nors, Robert B. Roosevelt and John F.
Doyle. was sent tonight to John w. KEEL
lar. president of the Democratic club:
"It is with the most kindly greeting
and certainly with no desire to criticize
acts that we take the liberty, as
membes of the Democratic club, to ad-
dress you. We are credibly informed
you have invited William J. Bryan
to become your guest at the Democratic
club and take dinner with you and a
party of friends. In other words, MI.
is to be entertained by you, and
the place Of such entertainment is at the
club. While it is your un-
questionable right. or the right of n
other member, to invite any gentleman
who may choose to become his guest at
the club. vet Under existing conditions
we greatly ear that your act will be-
come construed by the public as the act
Of the club. should you give such a din
.er to this distinguished guest without
disclaiming such intention
on the part Of the club.
w ourselves can fully distinguish be-
tween an official act and individual opin-
ion.' We want it understood, too. that
we have no personal objections to Mr..
nor do we object in the slightest
degree to your giving him q dinner at
club, in your Individual capacity as
one of it's members. We should much
however, If what you propose to
should be construed throughout the
country as a political Endorsement. by
the Democratic club Of the presidential
candidacy al this time of Mr.. Bryan.
The Democratic club is essentially a
democratic political organization, and OF
it's 5000 members none blu democrats
to it. You are now it's president.
and in the absence of a disclaimer on
your part to the contrary, your course
in anything that pertains to the club
or it's affairs might be construed and
not unreasonably 6. as the act of he
club. 1t will not do to say that such a
construction would only be placed upon
your acts by the ignorant or misinformed
because Mr.. Bryan his himself estab-
lished a precedent which Is applicable
to the case now in point. We desire to
CdH yOOl " o. "a lAAS
correspondence which took place be-
tween your immediate predecessor as
president of the club and the distin-
guished gentleman whom you have in
vited to be your guest at the club. You
will remember that Mr.. Bryan now
stands before the nation as an avowed
aspirant seeking the democratic presi-
Dental nomination."
Here tt. letter cites the acrimonious
correspondence between Mr.. Bryan and
Perry Belmont, growing out Of Mr.. Bry-
ans declining the Democratic clubs in
vitation last April. in which he con-
demned political communion between
Jefferson democrats, who stood upon the
Chicago platform, and the republican
allies who masquerade as democrats be-
tween campaigns in order to give more
principles on election day."
The letter continues:
1T may be fairly inferred from all OF
the foregoing that if you were not con-
sidered by Mr.. Bryan as an avowed be-
lever in his doctrine Of free n unlimit-
ed silver coinage at the ratio of 16 to 1,
he would also have declined your invita-
ton on the ground that no party ad-
vantage is to be derived from political
communion with you at the Democratic
club. We do not believe in the wisdom
of free coinage at hat ratio. We dc
know, however, that We are democrats
and are interested in the success of the
democratic party in the state and nation
"This being true, we sincerely but re.
specially urge upon you, occupying as
you do the position of president of the
club, not to do anything which would
Tend to forestall the action Of the, next
democratic national convention.
LAS individuals. we insist upon thu
right to express our opinion in regard tt
the future policy of u party and thu
! selection of it's nominees. We believe i
unwise to permit the opinion to &c broad
cast throughout the and that the Demo
cratic club of this city or the democratic
party of this state, SO far in advance o
the convention. are irrevocably commit
ted to the Endorsement of the principles
of the last national platform or of thu
! views Of the last presidential nominee.
w are painfully aware of the fac
that in 1896 we lost the state of New
York by 1853, 400. and the city by NOR,
than 10000. It is our desire, II possible
to prevent a repetition of another isucl
democratic political disappointment.
I'm conclusion, let us again repeat tina
we take this course in good feeling a n,
to prevent. If possible, a misconstruc
ton of your individual act as being tn
act of the Democratic club"
John w. Kellar a not seen the let
ter until a reporter gave him a copy o
1t. He read 1t carefully and then said:
II will say that these gentlemen hav
not understood my intentions, despit
all that q been published, and although
not a single newspaper has misrepre
sented the case, I have said again an
again that my dinner to Mr.. Bryan |
that of one private gentleman to an
other. There is not the slightest chang
in my plans possible because of this let
ter. No. l don't think that the west an
south will understand the dinner to mea
that the Democratic club accepts M
Bryan's silver views
Mr.. kellar said he would pay no al
! tPntiOn whHtavar Tn the letter nj nrr