1880, it was believed that all members of the committee were supporters of president Grant, with the exception of Cannady, who was widely known to be a fervent supporter of Secretary Sherman. However, by the day of the committee meeting, when delegates would be elected, 5 new members had shifted their allegiances to Sherman. Among those five, were Darius Starbuck, along with Grandy, Harris, Mott, and Rollins. It was revealed, according to a nationally syndicated newspaper account which ran in The New York Times, that Cannady, after having been privy to a personal conference with Sherman, had agreed to secure other committee members' loyalties by promising favors and government office appointments. If a majority of committee members sided with Sherman, the delegate selection could be packed with Sherman supporters. According to the article, originally published in a Raleigh newspaper on February 3, "Cannady, casting around for the next capture, fixed his eye upon D. H. Starbuck, of Winston." — "[He] has been in very comfortable worldly circumstances ever since [his time as US Attorney], for such an office can be made profitable." — "It was not known that Starbuck still had any hard feelings about [Grant's choice not to reappoint Starbuck as US Attorney], but Cannady knew his man. To [Starbuck] was sent [former] Senator Joseph C. Abbott, now a Special Agent of the Treasury at $6 per day, with duties to secure Sherman delegates. Abbott approached Starbuck on the sore side of the lost District Attorneyship; he vividly portrayed to him his injuries in being so unjustly displaced, and insinuated that it would be the easiest thing in the world to get back again, especially as the term of Mr. Lusk, the present United States District Attorney, expired in May next. All he had to do was come out for Sherman. Starbuck came out." The author went on to write that two days before the committee was to meet, "[Starbuck] declared his conviction that the interests of [himself] and the Republican Party demanded the election of Sherman delegates to the National Convention — Mr. Starbuck to be one of them." To be stated more clearly, Starbuck chose to nominate himself as one of his state's delegates at the Republican National Convention. In a follow-up to that report, first published on March 10, it was said that, "There [had] been so much disgust at the action of the State Committee