refore, he turned a deaf ear. But
it was not long before he was obliged to yield to the pressure. The fact
was soon made plain to him that, if he allowed his name to remain on
that ticket, the probabilities were that he would be financially
ruined. He would soon find that his boat would be without either
passengers or freight; his oil mill would probably be obliged to close
because there would be no owners of the raw material of whom he could
make purchases at any price, and even his children at school would, no
doubt, be subjected to taunts and insults, to say nothing of the social
cuts to which his family might be subjected. He was, therefore, brought
to a painful realization of the fact that he was confronted with
conditions which he had not fully anticipated. He could then see, as he
had never seen before, that he had been brought face to face with a
condition and not a theory. He was thus obliged to make his choice
between accepting those conditions upon the one hand, and on the other
the empty and temporary honor of serving as an elector on the Blaine
Republican ticket. His convictions, his manhood and his self-respect
were on one side; his material interests and family obligations were on
the other. His mental condition during that period can better be
imagined than described. After giving thoughtful consideration and
sleepless nights to the matter, he at length decided to yield to the
pressure and decline the use of his name. He informed me of his decision
through the medium of a private letter which he said he had written with
great reluctance and sincere regret. The committee thereupon named Dr.
Jackson, of Amite County, an old line Republican, to fill the vacancy.

It will thus be seen that in pursuing a course that Mr. Blaine thought
would place southern Democrats under obligations to him he placed a
weapon in the hands of his own personal and political enemies by which
they were enabled to crush and silence his friends and supporters; for
after all it is not so much the love of fair play, as it is the fear of
punishment, that actuates the average man in obeying the laws and
respecting the rights and privileges of others. Mr. Blaine's friends and
supporters at the South were the very people who stood most in need of
that security and protection which can come only through a thorough and
impartial enforcement of laws for the protection of citizens in the
exercise and enjoyment of their civil and political righ