Blaine would be, in spite of his declination in his Florence
and Paris letters. Among others, this was asserted by Judge West,
of Ohio. Governor Foraker, who was at the head of the Ohio delegation
to Chicago, was reported to have said in reply to West:

"I do not attach much importance to Judge West's recent speech.
He is not a delegate this year, and he only speaks for himself.
Mr. Sherman will have the united and hearty support of the delegates
from this state, and I think his nomination is reasonably assured.
I received a letter from him yesterday in which he expressed himself
as being very confident of getting the nomination. It certainly
looks that way to me."

"How do you account for the circulation of the reports that you
are not entirely loyal to Sherman?"

"I suppose they originated in the breasts of mischief-makers who
would like to make trouble. There never was the slightest foundation
for them. I have paid no heed to them, for if my character is not
sufficiently established in this state to make my attitude towards
Mr. Sherman perfectly clear, nothing I could say would alter the
situation. It has been practically settled that General Hastings,
the adjutant general of Pennsylvania, will present Mr. Sherman's
name to the convention. He is an excellent speaker, and will, no
doubt, acquit himself with credit. Yes, I shall probably make the
speech seconding his nomination from this state. It is customary,
I believe, to have a candidate presented by a delegate from some
other state than his own, and in Sherman's case it seems eminently
proper that he should be presented in this way, as he is in such
a broad sense a national candidate."

There was a common opinion prevailing that the relations of Blaine
and myself were not friendly. This was a grave mistake. We had
never had any controversy of a personal character. He had spoken
of me in terms of the highest eulogy in his book "Twenty Years of
Congress," in this manner:

"It seldom happens that the promoter of a policy in Congress has
an opportunity to carry it out in an executive department. But
Mr. Sherman was the principal advocate of the resumption bill in
the Senate, and during the two critical years preceding the day
for coin payment he was at the head of the treasury department.
He established a financial reputation not second to that of any
man in our history."

Prior to our state convention, while Mr. Blaine was abroad, I wrote
to a f