Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-26
DENIED BY BELMONT
THE PRESIDENT DECLARED NOT
TO BE A DEMOCRAT.
Claimed That He Has Surrendered to
the Railroads in the
Rate Bill Fight.

A special to the New York Times from
washington says that Perry Belmont, who
is spending the winter here, has made pub
nc letter he has sent to William Pitt
Mitchell chairman Of the special commit
tee named by President Fox of the Demo-
cratic Club of New York to prepare an
address to the members on the plan to ma
tlonalize the organization and rename It
the National Democratic Club
This committee turned it's work over to
subcommittee, and the latter, in it's
draft Of a report to the full committee
of which Mr.. Belmont Is a member
praised President Roosevelt for his stand
on railroad rate legislation and called him
a born democrat" 1t is this reference
to the President that has called forth Mr..
Belmonts letter. The special Committee
meets tonight at the Democratic Club in
New York to consider the subcommittee
report.
Mr.. Belmont's Letter.
Mr.. Belmonts letter follows:
Washington, February %.
ITO William Pitt Mitchell, Esq, Chairman
Committee on Address to Members of
the Democratic Club, New York:
My Dear Sir: The fact that there has
been publication in the press that / OBJ
tected to the reference to President Roose-
welt which our committee might have in
IN It's proposed ADDRESS TO the
members of the Democratic Club has con-
strained me to state my reasons for that
objection. 1t did not seem to me neces-
sary that the Presidents name be men,
toned at ALL and to describe him as a
born democrat was q departure from the
accuracy as well from the propriety
of such document
President Roosevelt's father was an
honored officeholder under a republican
administration, and the President himself
has always been an active and bitter re-
publican partisan, unwavering in his hos
tility to democratic principles and unspar-
ing in his criticism of all democratic lead
ers from Thomas Jefferson to the present
day. including Mr.. Cleveland and Mr..
Bryan. The President and his cabinet
officers for him proclaim upon every suit
able occasion that he is an orthodox or
ganization republican. Therefore, any
democratic committee would stultify itself
in the eyes of the country by asserting
that the President is in reality a democrat
Always Republican.
He has always voted the republican
ticket, he has sought and accepted repub-
lican nominations for various offices; there
fore, to assert that he is democrat is to
imply against him very serious charge;
1t must necessarily mean that he is without
political convictions and Is insincere in his
professions of party principle, or that
he does not understand the principles of
the party to which he belongs, else that
lie Is n IueIIlDtT Oh the party IOT
the sake Of the advantages which he can
derive from a membership in 1t.
President Roosevelt does not cherish a
single principle of this government which
the founders of the democratic party
taught. He always has been and is now a
ture and consistent disciple of Alexander
Hamilton. His present apparent and par
tial agreement with the democratic party
upon the rate question, so far as he does
agree with 1t, is merely an agreement upon
a policy, not upon principle. While we
may accept his cooperation in this i'm
portant matter, we do not expect it on all
other matters.
Surrendered to Railroads.
Although the President may seem to go
further In his advocacy of rate regulation
than some of the republican leaders are
willing to go, 1t does not mean that he 10
even now supporting the proper kind of bill
to regulate railroad charges. Indeed, he
surrendered one of the most via. points II
the whole controversy when he assisted the
railroads to insert in the bill the provision
for a maximum instead of an absolute rate
THE President has made other conccs-
sions to the railroad interests which a
democratic president would not have made
at this time and this fact Is well under
stood by observers here In Washington who
are watching this struggle
Indeed II Is absolutely impossible to be-
lieve In the President as a defender of pop
ular rights against the aggressions of rail-
road or other corporate powers, in view Of
the indisputable fact that his official adj
yisers are headed by Mr.. Root, his Secre-
tary of State who is well known to all of
us in New York as the ablest and most
skillful defender of corporate interests
The Presidents most enthusiastic, earnest
persistent and effective supporters not
holding official positions have been and are
today at this very moment men who rep
resent and are in control of great railroad
systems of the country, to whom are added
international bankers of wide influence in
our own country and in the centers Of the
money power of Europe.
Very truly yours,
PERRY BELMONT