The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-12
Colonel Rattray'. Letter.

Tray, Ala, Nday lV, lSV'. Editor The Advertiser:
 I desire as briefly as pcssible to answer few statements made in the two column letter of Colonel Rattray' addressed to John W. Tomlinson. chai- Ienging ~sateiiites'' of Bryan to answer and published in The Advertiser or May S. I submit that it IS a dlttl- cult matter to reply in a parliamentary way to such a letter. So abounding in disturbed facts and uncomplimentary
 Colonel Rattray challenges refuta.. tion of a so-called history by him or MT. Bryan and this is the way ne words 1t: You will pardon me If present to you brief history or t1e man you are so anxi9QSs xtQs.t to a thrust ,nss republic, which history. neither you nor the other satellites of Bryanism Will deny, passing said claim on your repu. tations for truth and veracity. want to ask Colonel Rattray if he docs not think on a second perusal of the above statement, that he Is not onty unfair but positively intolerant? If SSnx the truth of his fnr spth ana veracity is gone. But there is court of appeal--the Judgment of an inteln. gent reading public-to whom l shall briefly submit my defense of untrutn- fulness and at the same time prose- cute the colonel for packing his Jury and distorting the plain facts in hts history
 In the first chapter of his history the Colonel states: Tn 1892 Mir. Bryan played second fiddle for Mir. Weaver. the Populist candidate. who ran against MT. Cleveland. and did everything m m nominee" unhesltatingly and un- equivocally deny the truth of this statement. Tn 1892 there were three yer Cleveland. Benjamin Harrison ana General Weaver. The latter was \ Ne' braskan. Nebraska had large Popu' list vote. drawn principally from the served a term in Congress. elected from Nebraska a Democrat Clevelands ; friends and the Democratic National Committee knew that Cleveland coulo Nebraska, therefore Dan Lamont. cleveland's closest friend, and William F. Harrity, chairman of the Democratic Bryan to take the stump in Nebraska for Weaver in order to divert the electoral vote of Nebraska from liar rison. the Republican candidate. MT Bryan did as they. requested and Weav- CT carried Nebraska. Grover Cleveland himself will vouch for the correctness of this statement. and am surprised litical history for a decade does not know the facts as here stated.
 Colonel Rattrays chapter In his his tory" on the Chicago convention ot loOO lo Just us TGCklCSS dS lHN above statement. He says they seated the contested delegations in order to get a two-thirds vote to nominate Mir Bryan. It Is hardly necessary to an knows that at the close of lsryhns great speech in reply to Villas and Hill there was a complete stampede anu he was almost unanimously nominated for President.
 Colonel Rattray would perhaps DC more accurate if he did not depend or The World and Sun of New York Tor his information. There arc some of uS who are increduleus enough to douor a real heart breaking interest in hehaIr of the Democratic party by the mouth piece and official organ of Wall streeT or so bitter Republican sheet as The Sun.
 In reply to Colonel Rattray's his. tory" of Bryans inability to get votes stronger opposition in 1898 than CIevc. land had in 1892 he would have almost mado clean sweep of the electoral college; Mir. Cleveland carried Iilinois 1ses received 57, so0 more votes than Mir. Cleveland and lost the State. MT. Cleveland was beaten in Ohio by 1.o7l votes by MT. Harrison. MT, 3ryan re- MT. Cleveland did and yet Major Me Kinley carried the State by over 5l .U0U votes; hut this Is all history officially prtnted in The world's almanac,
 discussion with Colonel Rattray on the silver question for don't suppose any body but he is interested Tn SO deau an issue but in passing will state thai his charge that Mir. Bryan never trIcd to explain the meaning of bimetalIsm or ls to 1. and that not ten in one hundred of those who voted for Bryan krew what 1t meant. My friend Rat tray again does violence to the real facts. MT. Bryan explained tho mean ing of coinage very satisfactorily 70 those who wanted to know. but those who already know moro than the Great Mill hmself were. not in re- have not yet found out the meaning. Colonel Rattray says 1t means: TWO metallic currcncics. the commercial or At what ratio Colonel RattrayI