ittee, and directed the withdrawal of the orders which had been
given the Secretary of War and the Attorney-General in that matter.

This statement, I confess, surprised me very much.

"Can it be possible," I asked, "that there is such a prevailing
sentiment in any State in the North, East or West as renders it
necessary for a Republican President to virtually give his sanction to
what is equivalent to a suspension of the Constitution and laws of the
land to insure Republican success in such a State? I cannot believe this
to be true, the opinion of the Republican committee from Ohio to the
contrary notwithstanding. What surprises me more, Mr. President, is that
you yielded and granted this remarkable request. That is not like you.
It is the first time I have ever known you to show the white feather.
Instead of granting the request of that committee, you should have
rebuked the men,--told them that it is your duty as chief magistrate of
the country to enforce the Constitution and laws of the land, and to
protect American citizens in the exercise and enjoyment of their rights,
let the consequences be what they may; and that if by doing this Ohio
should be lost to the Republicans it ought to be lost. In other words,
no victory is worth having if it is to be brought about upon such
conditions as those,--if it is to be purchased at such a fearful cost as
was paid in this case."

"Yes," said the President, "I admit that you are right. I should not
have yielded. I believed at the time that I was making a grave mistake.
But as presented, it was duty on one side, and party obligation on the
other. Between the two I hesitated, but finally yielded to what was
believed to be party obligation. If a mistake was made, it was one of
the head and not of the heart. That my heart was right and my intentions
good, no one who knows me will question. If I had believed that any
effort on my part would have saved Mississippi I would have made it,
even if I had been convinced that it would have resulted in the loss of
Ohio to the Republicans. But I was satisfied then, as I am now, that
Mississippi could not have been saved to the party in any event and I
wanted to avoid the responsibility of the loss of Ohio, in addition.
This was the turning-point in the case.

"And while on this subject," the President went on, "let us look more
closely into the significance of this situation. I am very much
concerned about the future of our country. When