Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-15

| Il Snapshot at Bia..,.
pensste me for the horrible suffering of this
terrible campaign of persecution and in.
| famous slander."
Mrs Blaine has been often represented
as cold, ambitious woman. The reverse
of this is nearer the truth. A more kind.
hearted, truer woman never lived. Her
ambition is that of any woman who wishes
to see her husband succeed in what he un.
dertakes. 1t is not of personal character
| Certainly under the torturing blows that
she has been called upon to endure during
| the last 10 years any personal ambition, if
it had existed, would have been completely
swept away.
Mr.. Blaine's personal pride was deeply
hurt by the result of the campaign of 1884,
and it made him resolve that he would
never go through another campaign except
under conditions, which, from the nature of
things, would be impossible. What he
dreaded more than anything else was that
he should be regarded as posing before the
American public as perpetual candidate.
He knew that if he had remained in this
country during the year preceding the cam
paign of 1888 his position would be misrep-
resented, and SO he went to Europe in the
early summer of 1887 for the sole purpose
of avoiding every possible political compli-
cation.
Blaine's Letter to Chairman Jones.
Only on one condition would Mr.. Blaine
have consented to again become a candi-
date. This was divulged in a conversation
had with him in Paris, just after be had
written the letter of November, 1887 to B.
f. Jones' announcing that he would not be
a candidate under any circumstances Mr..
Blaine said then, in the course of a private
conversation, that he had been elected to
the proud position of the chief of the Re-
publican party by his nomination at Chi
cago In 1854 That was a position which,
after having led his party to defeat, he
could feel justified in retaining only by the
unanimous consent of every other possible
candidate. He said that he would have con-
sented to run again if no one of prominence
in the party had opposed his denomination.
But when he saw that candidate after candi-
date was announced for the next Chicago
Convention he resolved to write the letter
to Mr.. Jones.
This letter was written without any Sec
ond thought 1t was an irrevocable de-
termination based upon feeling of intense
personal pride. Only those who know Mr.
Blaine well can appreciate how intense is
this personal feeling. He felt that he could
not be brought to occupy a more undignifed
position after having been elected leader
than to be obliged to appear before the pub
lie contesting with others for the right to
hold the position OF leader.
Mr.. Blaine had already been given in Eu-
rope foretaste of the possibility of an
other hideous campaign of personality. A
certain editor of what professed to be an
independent newspaper, who had pursued
Mr. Blaine with a personal vindictiveness
hard to explain, sent over to Europe a re-
porter to dog his footsteps and to obtain
everything possible of derogatory charac-
ter with regard to him. This man was ap-
parently as unscrupulous as his employer.
Bounded by an Unscrupulous ScribIer.
He used all the means known to cheap
detectives to gather material which could |
only have one effect-that of annoying Mr.. |
Blaine. He was never permitted to enter |
any house where Mr.. Blaine was stopping. |
Yet, by using money freely, he succeeded in |
scraps of information from SER
wants. He would even wavlay people go
ing In or coming out of Mr.. Blaine's apart
ments SO as to get an apparent basis of fact
for his TRADES of defamation and scandal.
The length TO which this was carried was
shown during Nh. Blaine's stay upon Mr..
Carnegie's estate in Scotland. Here Mr..
Carnegie gave such orders to his various
servants that the man was refused admis-
sion to the grounds But one morning,
disgusting himself as servant, he contriyed
to get IN, and, waylaying the postman, took
the mail from him and went over the letters
and dispatches. Then he dropped them on
the ground, where they were afterward
found. This spy system was elaborated to
such an extent that Mr.. Blaine was Obliged
to warn his friends in America not to use
The cable for the purpose of sending him
any communications of O private character
The persistent following of Mr. Blaine
continued until he wrote his letter of
In Paris. After that the perse-
,ution continued only at intervals. At the
Hotel Binda in Paris the servants were
oribed to report everyone who called upon
Mr.. Blaine. He was obliged to call upon
,he proprietor of the hotel for protection.
number OF servants were discharged, but
,ven the earnest desire of the landlord to
protect him could not secure for Mr., Blaine
reedom from annoyance when he left the
loteL If he went out for q walk the spy
vas at his heels. If he took a cab the spy
ook one also. His most innocent acts were
and made the basis of a
onstant stream of malignity.
Just Like the Present situation.
was then directed from New York to 90
nd see Mr.. Blaine and find out whether he
vas In earnest In writing the letter of dec
ination, and whether he would persistently
efuse to permit his name to be used before
he Chicago Convention. His letter. it ap-
'ears, had had the effect of bringing out so
many candidates that none of them at that
ime were strong. Public opinion in the
republican party waS turned SO much in his
Erection that the report cabled to me from
sew York was that if he would say the
Tord all the other candidates would with
raw and he could bd nominated on the first
allot. This seemed to me to indicate
ondition of affairs which would justify Mr..
Blaine in permitting his name to be used.
started tor Italy one snowy morning in