So was J. N. Jacobi. He was a prominent synagogue leader who could be counted on to promote the Democratic ticket. Jacobi profited from a record boom in gun sales in the late summer of 1898 at his hardware store, which normally relied on sales of paint, lumber, and tools. Like his fellow white gun merchants, Jacobi refused to sell weapons to blacks. Nor did he sell a single shotgun or rifle or pistol to a white Republican during the campaign. He restricted his gun sales to white Democrats.
