The Portland daily press., 1900-01-23
Says Dinner to Him VIII BE
Construed as Such.

New York, January 29.-Ths following
letter signed by John BOX, q former pre-
sident of ths Democratic club and now q
member OF the board of governors; X. b.
Roosevelt and John Il. Eoyle, was sent
tonight to Hon. John W. Keller, prssi-
dent of the Demo cratic club:
at is with the most kindly feeling and
certainly with no desire TO criticize your
acts that we take the liberty, as members
of this Den ocratio club. TO address you.
We are cssdIbly Informed that you have
Invited Hon. William Jennings Bryan TO
become your guest at the Democratic club
and take dinner with you and u party OF
friends. In other words, Mir. Bryan is to
be entertained by you and that the place
of such entertainment 10 at the Democra-
tic club. While 1t Is your unquestioned
right. or tho right Of any ether member
to invite any gentleman whom he may
choose to become his guest at the club
yst under existing conditions, we great
ly fear that your act win become con
strusd by the public as the act OF the
club, should you give suoh dinner to this
distinguished guest without affirmatively
disclaiming such intention on the part of
the club.
"We ourselves, can fully distinguish
between an official act and individual
opinions. We want 1t under stood, too.
that we have no personal objections 90
MIR. Bryan, nor do we object In the
slightest degree to your giving him din
ner at the club In your individual
~ ka. Ia
should much regret, however, II what yon
propose to do should be construed
throughout this country a. political en-
doIsement by the Democratic club Of the
presidential candidacy at this time of NJ.
Bryan.
"lhe Democratic club 10 essen TALLY q
Demo cratic political organization and Of
Its three Thousand members none but
Democrats telong to 1t. You are now Its
president and, in the absercs OF dis
olaimer on your part, to the contrary,
your course in any thing that pertains to
the CLUB or Its affairs might be construed,
and not unreasonably so, as the act of the
club.
1t will not do TO say that suoh con-
struction would only be placed upon your
acts by the ignorant or misinformed, te-
cause Mr. Bryan himself has est sblished
a preced, Mt which Is applicable to the
olse now in point. We deiire to call your
attention to a portion of tho correspond
ence which took place between your i'm
mediat3 predecessor, as president Of the
club and tho distinguished gentleman
waom you have invited to be your guest.
You will remember that MIR. Bryan now
stands before the nation as an avowed
aspirapt seeking the Democratic presi-
DENTAL nominations; that on April 10
l,st and for q long time prior thereto he
has maintained the same attitude; that "a
banquet Was about TO be given by the
club on said date In homer Of the birth
day of Thomas jefferson; that MIR. Bryan
W q ven q most cordial and considerable
in iitation to attend such banquet, ana
thai the invitation was signed by Perry
Belmont, president and Richard Croker
chairman. You will further remember
that on the receipt of this invitation Mr..
Bryan, on March 81, made to the presi =
dent of the club the following reply:
"a Invitation received. Remem berlng
thst you openly repudiated the Demo-
= &c platform in the last campaign.
dssiIe to know before answering
suah Invitation whether you have sinos
. elect ion publicly announced our con-
v5rsion to the principles sst forth in that
platform
''To this answer the president made the
following reply;
The invitation extended to you Is on
bel alt Of the Democr club. Individual
opinions have not been considered In is
suing the invitation to celebrate the
birthday Of Thomas Jefferson
Notwithstanding the fact that Mr..
] elmont's fiirmative declaration that
ths invitation WAS on hshaf Of the Demo-
cratic club and that individual opinions
bad not been considered In issuing the
invitation, Mr.. B-ysu was not content to
send polite decnnatisn Of the invitation
but saw fit to enlarge upon the subject In
the following languages