Year: 1876

1hE INDIANA ELBCTiON FRAUDS.


STORIES OF EFFORTS ON FOOT TO IMPORT VOTERS


FROM neutrality-suspicious. OF THE DEMO-


CRATs-LoosE ELECTION LAws-DECEPIIoN OF


GREENBACK MEN.


TRRoM srAFF CORRESPONDENT oy rtH rRIBuxsI


NEw-AI.BANY, Ind, Sept. 24.-Each party pro-
fesses to believe that its antagonists intend to
commit wholesale frands upon the suffrage by i'm
porting voters from Kentucky. To some extent
such frauds have unquestionably been practiced in
the close contests of former years. The election law
of Indiana appears to be wide-open door for illegal
voting, and the fact that the Democrats have
always opposed all propositions for surrounding the
ballot with safeguards, deemed essential in most
other states, would seem to be conclusive evidence
that their party profits most, If not alone by the
present loose system There is registry of voters
nor is any previous residence required of man in
the town where he offers his vote. If =, he
has lived six months in the State and
has just arrived in the town or ward
the day of election, he can vote and if challenged
has only TO that he intends TO make the place
his residence His half years domicile in the State
is also established like his intended residence in the
locality where he presents himself at the polls by
his own oath II he swears in his vote and dsap-
pears the next day, nobody is likely to go to the





State and having him arrested. brought back and
tried There is practically nothing to prevent the
whole adult male population of Kentucky from
crossing the river and voting in Indiana if so dis
posed The limitations on these Importation frauds
are first, the difficulty of getting any considerable
number of men who willing to hire out to do
false swearing and illegal voting; second the ex-
Pense and third the unwilhngness of decent poll
ticans of both paTteg to go into the business of inn
porting the men. In some localities where a raid of
imported voters takes place the party that is going
to lose by their operations puts forward "Omni-
bus affidavit maker" who swears that he knows
that the first of the list who offer tleir votes
live somewhere else, and procurcs their arrest
After two three have been lodged in the eaaboose
the rest are usually frightened off.


good deal of illegal voting will, no doubt, be
done this year. but il viii be only small fraction
of the amount would apprehend if he placed en-
tire faith in the statements of the party organs
both Sides The Democratic newspapers charge the
Republicans with cOlonizing thousands Of negroes
from Kentucky into Indianapolis and other large
towns and the Republican journals allege that the
Democrats are preparing for Wholesale importatiDns
of another color from the same furnishing establish
ment for ready-made voters. How much truth
there may be in these charges | cannot soy, but if
temptation comes with opportunity, the Democrats
are certainly more to be suspected than their op-
ponents, for they control the counties along the
Ohio near enough TO Louisville for the easy
and inexpensive operations of imported "strikers7
and bummers" from that city; while IL the Re-
publicans do bring in negroes which doubt, they
must take them long distances, and they
could not bring large number, for their
color would make them suspected. Besides
the Democrats have outside of the city
of Louisville, force that is always available
if they wish to make OF IT. in the reckless young
fellows of the border counties, who are about ar
ready TO the river and vote as 10 go to horse
race or a circus and ask only that their expenses
shall be paid and whisky enough provided TO make
the frolic lively one. The Republicans along the
border do their best to guard against these raids
from Kentucky, but with the election boards in the
hands of the Democrats a good many imported votes
are always got In. So great is the interest taken by
the Kentucky Democrats in the contest here this
Fall that there seems TO be good reason for the ap
prehensions felt of an unusually large influx of bogus
voters Public sentiment in the Democratic party
south of the Ohio il it did not sustain would
tanly not condemn very severely the enterprise of
men who should 30 the border to vote with tho
friends of the SOUTH" Among a certain class they
would pass for heroes who had made q successful
foray into the enemys country.


This was the home of Michael C. Kerr who during
the war and the reconstruction epoch was the most
bitter "Copperhead" in Congress. In this region
the Knights of the Golden Circle organized their
reasonable conspiracy. While the rebellion lasted
the Democrats here sympathized more or less openly
with the South, and since it ended they have
always been OH the ultra Southern side Of every
national question. Nowhere in the United States
can there be found more bitter and bigOted Bour-
bon element On the other hand, there is no section
where the Republicans are more earnest and active
As they are in hopeless minority, there are no
spois of local Office to stimulate operations, and their
vigor and vigilance, occasioned only by their deVo
ton to Republican ideas are worthy of much praise
This county gives a Democratic majority OF abont
1000, but the Republicans are as we'll organized
and work as bard as though they expected to carry
il. / hear of O few Greenback third party men, not
many, but enough to sustain my previous esti-
mate Of tho strength of the movement IN
the State The Republicans hero think that
about as many Democrats as former members oil
their party are in the new organization, but they
apprehend that most of these Democrats, when it
comes to voting will quietly put in Williams tickets
Some they know arc only keeping along with the
new party to dupe the Republican converts into the
belief that it is drawing equally from both OF the old
parties. good deal of this sort of deception will
no doubt be practced wherever the Greenbackers
have an organization. Democrats are very untrnst-
worthy bolters and very apt to return to their
old allegiance at the last moment, and leave in the
Iurch all who depend upon their fidelity


While the Republicans in these Democratic strong
holds in this part of the State thus wde-awake
their opponents appear to be animated by the same
zeal and enthusiasm which they display in the close
counties Their meetings are immense, but they


make no accession to their ranks, as far as can be
rrt.o,- loa1oro bova insnirpd the rank and