Blocks of Five

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In the United States history, this phrase acquired notoriety during the United States presidential election, 1888 when William Wade Dudley, Republican campaign treasurer, issued a circular on October 24, to Indiana followers that they "divide the floaters into blocks of five" each in charge of a trusted leader with the necessary bribes who would insure the proper delivery of the vote. Dudley promised adequate funding. His preemptive strike backfired when Democrats obtained the letter and distributed hundreds of thousands of copies in the last days of the campaign. Given Dudley's unsavory reputation, few people believed his denials.

A few thousand "floaters" did exist in Indiana—men who would sell their vote for $2. They always divided 50-50 (or perhaps, $5,000-$5,000) and had no visible impact on the vote. The attack on “blocs of five” with the suggestion that pious Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison was trying to buy the election did enliven the Democratic campaign, and stimulated the nationwide movement to replace ballots printed and distributed by the parties with the secret Australian ballot.

[edit] Source

• Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940