The daily gazette., 1876-09-23
ANOTHER RADICAL PLOT,
THAT SOLDIERS REUNioN-How 1T WAS
THE EXCUSE FOR THE COLONIZATION
OF VOTERS.

THAT SOLDIHRS REUNfON-HOW 1T WAS
THE EXCUSE FOR THE COLONIZATION
OF VOTERS.
Extracts from the Louisville Courier
Journals sAccount.-The agents of the
Republican party in Indiana have been
busy both in Tennessee and Kentucky
forming companies, under the pretense
OF adding members to the "Boys in
Blue" organization, but whose real OBJ
ject Is to get the voters in Indiana, and
once there, to keep them until after
both the October and November elec-
tions. Every day negroes pass through
this city from Tennessee and interior
Kentucky, on their way to Indiana,
where they are to get work as long as
their votes are needed in the State.
For over week past there has been a
commotion among the negroes in this
city, and anybody with half an eye
can perceive that something has occur
red to cause all this excitement. Get
into a crowd of negroes and all that you
will hear them talk about is that they
want to go to Indianapolis, and expect
to go there and stay there fol- some
time. Some weeks ago an excursion
OF about one thousand five hundred
negroes from southern Kentucky STOP
PED here on its way to Indiana. OF
the l,5OO who went not over five or
six hundred have returned. This
statement is made without hesitation
and can be proven. The fact was so
stated by one of the officers connected
with the j.. M. and I. road over which
the excursion went. The remainder
have since, doubtless, been scattered
through Indiana, at convenient points.
to vote when election day comes.
Friday night, the Sth instant. after
several preliminary meetings previous
ly held. about one thousand negroes,
with bakers dozen white men, as
sembled at the Court. House for the
purpose of forming "Boys in Blue'
organization in this city. Between
!, five and six hundred negroes signed
/ their names to paper signifying their
Willingness to go there. No definite
information was given them as to what
was wanted, but committee were ap-
pointed in each ward to form companies
of ex-Union soldiers. A Courier Joun.
nal reporter, after circulating quietly
but pretty extensively among them.
has discovered some facts which NAV
open peoples eyes. 1t appears that It
is contemplated to have sixty-days'
enlistment of the ''Boys in Blue. +"
Every ex Union soldier who joins and
goes to Indianapolis is to receive 81
per day for his services. The vast
majority of ex,Union soldiers in this
city are negroes. They say, that they
are led to understand that they are not
expected to come home within two or
three days, as publicly announced. but
to stay for several weeks, exactly how
long they do not know. Some negroes
say they are asked to join the army for
six months, under the special act OF
Congress, and in that case are to stop
in Indianapolis or some place in Indiana
forabout sixty days. William Stone, a
negro, living ON Eleventh street, told
C0unier.Jouanal reporter that few
days ago he was stopped in front of
the Louisville tobacco warehouse, on
Main street, by a rather heavy set,
mediumssized man, with freckled face,
who asked him if he did not want to
go to Indiana. The negro asked what
was to be done there. The man told
him that if he went his expenses would
be paid while there, and that he would,
in:addition. be paid $5 for his vote.
The negro did not know to whom he
was speaking when he related this.
In one house on Eleventh street there
are nine negroes, all of whom are pre-
pared to go to Indianapolis. While
together the other evening, one of them
Gabe Brannin, was heard to remark
that he knew that he was going to
Indianapolis to vote the Republican
ticket. Geo. Mase is one OF this crowd.
George is somewhat of the war,l poll.
tician in the Tenth Ward. A certain
white man, whose name could be given
if necessary, came to him and asked
him to join company and come
to the meeting at the Custom
House. He wasplainly given to under>
stand that he was wanted to go to
Indianapolis for some other purpose
than to join in big procession, and
that purpose, it was intjmated, was
to vote: He was told to be cautious
in what he said and did. And he was
so cautious that a reporter managed
to squeeze it all out of him. A negro
named Harris; who has been trying to
organize company in the Ninth
w aidt lCHl9ihCo Al thO piC5ChCC VI
several other negroes that the COM
panies were to be enlisted in lhe
"Boys in Blue" Association for sixty
days. and that he did not know how
long they were to stay in indianapolis.
tits easy enough to take $500 negroes
away from Louisville and let the major
portion stay away without its particu-
larly being noticed here. But others
beside the Boys in Blue" will be made
available for campaign purposes. The
colored Masons and Odd fellows of
the city are invited to take part in the
reunion of the Goth inst. About sixty
members of these secret societies left
the city on Thursday for indianapolis
John Hayes; who works on the levee,
an ex. Union soldier, says he received
invitation to join the Boys in Blue.
Jack proceeded to do SO. He was
offered 81 per day for sixty days if he
enlisted for the length of time. But
he wanted to know what it was all
for. The answer was that he was to
he was to 60 to indianapolis and camp
there, or in the vicinity, for sixty