Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1865-03-22

dence, 1t Is necessary to know uHuef "iitil
circumstances it was made. w When Bloom
was arrested he was first taken before Capt.
Kerr at Curwensville He there made
statement substantially the same as that
which he swore to at Philipsburg, two days
LATER Lieut.. Rawllns, gentleman OF I'M
impeachable veracity, who reduced his state
ment to writing, testifes IN regard to it, as
follows: ''When Bloom came before me to
make his statement, he said 1t was OF his
own free will and accord. | reduced 1t to
writing, and he signed and swore to it be-
fore me. | told him when | was taking
down his words that / did not want him to
tell anything but the truth, and what he
could conscientiously stand up and swear to
before the men he accused. Hereplied that
he knew what he was doing as he was a JUS
tice of the Peace Major Goebel stated
that when Bloom was brought to his office,
be took his promise to report, and permit
ted him to go and stay at the hotel-and that
the statement was made the next day, with
out threats or inducements of any kind, of
Blooms own free will and accord. 1t is
difficult to conceive that man under such
circumstances, should deliberately swear to
tissue of falsehoods, make himself amena-
bic to a prosecution for perjury, and involve
no less than seventeen of his innocent fellow
citizens and neighbors, by name, IN an ac-
cusation of conspiracy to resist the draft. 1t
is still more difficult 10 believe that Gainor
| =. Bloom would be able, in so brief a period,
to devise and plan a complicated Organlza-
ton, with 81 gns, passwords, and symbols,
giving every particular of time and place,
the number Of meetings, the name of Off
GERS, and detailing the practical working of
the system. IF he did, Re is possessed of an
amount of ingenuity and originality for
which neither he, nor any member of his
family, has ever received credit. The inter
nal evidence of the truth Of his statement,
is alone conclusive.
If any doubt of its credibiiity remained,
a very slight examination of the extrinsic
| evidence would forever set it at rest. 1t
will be observed that Bloom says he organ
lied Castle in Brady township, of which
| Samuel Miles was President. Some time
after Bloom was sent to Fort Mifflin, this
man Miles was arrested in Brush Valley,
| Centre county, where he had removed.
| When he was brought to Philipsburg, he
also desired to make statement. He knew
nothing about what Bloom had sworn, and
made his affidavit of his own volition. He
stated that in October last a secret society
called ''The Democratic Castle, was form
ed in Brady township, for t e purpose Of re-
sisting the draft that he was elected Presi-
dent-that it was organized by Gamer 2.
Bloom, that they were Socofw to stand by
each other and resist any attempt on the
part Of the officers to enforce the draft
that they were directed to keep on hand
| fire arms and ammunition for that purpose
that some of the members did do so-that
they actually did rescue from the Deputy
Marshal two deserters-that John Ham was
one of the deserters rescued by the members
of THE Democratic Castle'-that they had
signs and pass words-that he, Miles, was a
delegate to the Division Castle" at Clear
field, and that a tax was paid to support it.
| Here we have Bloom statement fully cor
roborated IN every particular.
George Korb, of Brady township, was
examined as a witness on the trial of Bloom.
He testified that be belonged to ''The Dem
ocratic Castle that the members were
sworn-that Bloom administered tt oath
to him-that he instructed the members in
the signs and pass-words-that they were to
rescue each other if arrested-that Miles
was President-that the object was to resist
the draft-and that they actually did rescue
from the Marshal, two deserters.
This testimony is sufficient to convince
any man that the sworn statement of
Bloom, which by the advice of certain disin-
terested (?) parties be subsequently denied,
was true in every particular. And when we
find the very same organization-with the
same oath, the same pass words, and the
same signs existing in Graham township,
thirty miles distant from the scene of Bloom S
operations, his subsequent denial could i'm
pose upon no man but an idiot The evi-
dence published in another column, shows
that IN Graham township the members were
saoorm to stick together and help one another
that the Society was called 1.-The Demo-
cratic Castle that the drafted men were
4 to stay at home and not go to the army, &c.
Patrick Curley, who was one of the officers,
plead guilty, and admitted that the Or
ganization was for the purpose of resisting
the draft. Moreover in pursuance of their
instructions, the drafted men who were
1