impression upon the friends and supporters of Ames, and evidently had
very little effect upon the rank and file of the party; for the fact
became apparent shortly after the announcement of the candidacy of Ames
that his nomination was a foregone conclusion. In fact, Senator Ames had
such a strong hold upon the rank and file of the party throughout the
State that when the convention met there was practically no opposition
to his nomination. The friends and supporters of Governor Powers
realized early in the campaign the hopelessness of the situation, so far
as he was concerned, and therefore made no serious effort in his behalf.

What gave the Ames managers more concern than anything else was the
selection of a suitable man for Lieutenant-Governor. Many of the colored
delegates insisted that three of the seven men to be nominated should
be of that race. The offices they insisted on filling were those of
Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of
Education. Since the colored men had been particularly loyal and
faithful to Senator Ames it was not deemed wise to ignore their demands.
But the question was, Where is there a colored man possessing the
qualifications necessary to one in charge of the executive department of
the state?

After going over the field very carefully it was decided that there was
just one man possessing the necessary qualifications,--B.K. Bruce, of
Bolivar County. He, it was decided, was just the man for the place, and
to him the nomination was to be tendered. A committee was appointed to
wait on Mr. Bruce and inform him of the action of the conference, and
urge him to consent to the use of his name. But Mr. Bruce positively
declined. He could not be induced under any circumstances to change his
mind. He was fixed in his determination not to allow his name to be used
for the office of Lieutenant-Governor, and from that determination he