Having briefly sketched the causes which led up to the organization of the original Ku Klux Klan, and to some extent the actual work accomplished by that Order, and having shown in detail the rules and regulations governing it in the form of its “Revised and Amended Prescript,” we can easily see by a comparison of the old and new organizations that the claim of the latter that it is “the genuine and original Klan” is a historical fraud. The modern system, while appropriating to itself the name, regalia, and some of the nomenclature of the original Klan, is different in conception, organization and purpose.
In certain respects the character of the two organizations is about the same. General Forrest when called before a Congressional investigating committee in 1872, stated that the Ku Klux Klan was a political-military organization with branches in every voting place in the South, and that, in addition to its work as a regulator of the peace, it was also engaged in the task of fighting the Republican Party at the polls. The modern organization states in its secret constitution that it is a military organization, and astudy of its oath and its literature as herein presented proves conclusively that it is also a political organization, which intends, when it develops the necessary strength, to drive from public office in the United States every Jew, Catholic, and foreign-born citizen.
The original Klan presents in its defense that it policed and enforced law in a badly demoralized country, brought order out of chaos, and protected the widow and the orphan. The new Klan has at times given out a few charities, largely for advertising purposes, and whenever this has been done has sought as much publicity as possible from its work. It has announced that it intends to protect the womanhood of the country, and one Klan in Texas has issued a warning that “husbands must spend more time with their own wives,” without, however, consulting the wishes of either of the parties to ascertain if the same was agreeable. As far as has been printed in the newspapers, however, the Klan in its eagerness to protect womanhood has not discovered and punished the masked and white-robed people who stripped Mrs. Beulah Brown of her clothing at Tenasha, Tex., whipped her and covered her body with tar and feathers.
The two organizations have something in common in the proven cases of violence that have been reported in the public prints. According to the statements of writers, who were members of the old Klan, there were men in theorganization who acted unwisely and selfishly, and who committed acts of violence that were impossible to control. Precisely the same situation has already developed in the United States today and the “Emperor” of the “Invisible Empire” has had to discipline three of his chartered Klans for proven acts of lawlessness. There is another point of similarity in the two systems. The old Klan had hardly started its work of wearing disguises to regulate public affairs when there sprang up imitators who used similar disguises to aid them in performing acts of viciousness and crime. These men were not members of the Klan and did things that had neither the sanction nor approval of the Klan, yet their acts showed that the wearing of disguises by the old Klan tended to promote lawlessness and crime in others. As will be shown later there has been, since the modern Klan was organized, an epidemic of crime in the South, usually committed by men wearing disguises. Whether these acts have actually been done by Klansmen or by imitators, it shows nevertheless that the admitted right of one class to go about disguised puts the community at the mercy of any class that chooses to employ similar tactics.
In spite of these resemblances, however, the difference between the old Ku Klux Klan and the new is appalling. One of the first questions that presents itself is, “What is the necessity at the present time for such an organization?”The student of American history—in view of the abnormal political situation in the Southern States during the Reconstruction Period—can readily understand how and why such an organization should have come into existence, and its justification lies solely in the necessity of some agency to cope with the social upheaval of that time. Public opinion in America today, as reflected by the editorial comments of a vast majority of the leading newspapers, is practically unanimous in the view that there is absolutely nothing in our present system of government that would justify the existence of any kind of extra-legal Ku Klux organization. Every state in the Union has a constitution which provides for the creation and maintenance of legislative, judicial, and executive branches, and in every State these branches are performing their regularly constituted functions. None of them is perfect; none of them ever will be. At the same time, the machinery is there, is being handled well, and there are but few complaints against non-enforcement of the law, except in some Southern States where men are going about in disguise terrorizing the community. The Southern States are every one governed by white men. White men make their laws; white men enforce their laws; and white men sit upon the bench and interpret their laws. There is no danger in the South of a repetition of the scenes of the Reconstruction, and no danger whatever of the “White Supremacy”of the South being destroyed or set aside unless the same is done by white men, who, under the false pretense of “pure Americanism,” seek to array white men against white men by the stirring up of religious and racial hatred and prejudice. Where then, is the necessity either in the South or anywhere else in America for this modern Ku Klux monstrosity? From a standpoint of necessity, neither the facts of history nor modern conditions offer the remotest excuse for its existence.
It is, however, the comparison of theorganizationof the old Klan and the new which refutes absolutely the claim of the latter to any “genuineness” whatever. The “Prescript” of the old Klan reads: “The Grand Wizard shall be elected biennially by the Grand Dragons of Realms.” In the secret constitution of the new Klan it is provided that the Imperial Wizard shall hold his office for life, and can only be removed by theunanimousvote of his hand-picked Imperial Kloncilium.
Another important and interesting comparison is that of the personalities of the two heads of the organizations. When the convention was held at Nashville, Tenn., in 1867, for the purpose of choosing a Grand Wizard, it selected Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the most distinguished and capable officers in the late Confederate army, and recognized today among military students as one of the foremost cavalry leaders of all times. General Forrestwas selected for his ability, his integrity, his unselfish devotion to the Southern people, and his desire to aid them in a great crisis. A careful search of every available record fails to reveal that he ever received one penny as compensation for his labors, or that his office as Grand Wizard ever brought him any gifts, perquisites, or emoluments. His military title was unimpeached, his last commission being that of lieutenant-general. He never called himself “Emperor,” never signed any of his official orders as “His Majesty,” and never assumed any of the titles or styles of royalty. He was a plain, unassuming soldier and gentleman, who, having a great task to perform, did his work gratuitously and from motives of patriotism only, and then, the work having been completed, disbanded his organization and retired.
What a marked contrast to the gallant Forrest is “Colonel” (?) William Joseph Simmons, Imperial Wizard, “Emperor” of the “Invisible Empire,” Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc. I can find no record of any military service that gives him privilege to use the honorable title of “Colonel,” a title that has been won by American soldiers by virtue of hard service in the army and by desperate deeds of valor on the field of battle. Where then did “His Majesty” get the right to use this military title? According to theLiterary Digest, “his friends bestowed it upon him.”
Forrest, as far as can be ascertained, served hiscountry for patriotism; “Emperor” Simmons, on the other hand, is promoting the cause of “pure Americanism” for cash. Prior to his elevation to the responsible position of “Emperor” of the whole United States he was, among other activities, a professor of history at Lanier College in the good state of Georgia. He is also said to have been a Methodist exhorter earlier in his career. So far as the general public is informed, the remuneration of professors in our colleges and universities, even the greatest, is not particularly high. As Lanier College is a small institution that has had to struggle along in the face of more or less poor circumstances, it is not unreasonable to suppose that it is no exception to the general rule. In August, 1921, the newspapers reported that it had been taken over by the Ku Klux Klan, and that “Emperor” Simmons, “in addition to his other duties” would be its President. It is reasonably safe to say that the average income of “His Majesty” during his career as an educator could not have exceeded $2500 a year. Behold, however, the great change that comes with elevation to the Imperial Throne: “Friends of ‘Colonel(?)’ Simmons,” at the Klonklave of the Klan which was held in Atlanta, in May, 1921, presented him with a $25,000 home on Peachtree Street—Atlanta’s fashionable thoroughfare—together with handsome furniture.
In addition to this wonderful munificence of his “friends”—whoever they were—he is alsopaid a salary, which according to the “Emperor” himself is $1000 a month, and recently his hand-picked Kloncilium voted him $25,000 back pay. This stipend is augmented by the fact that the secret constitution provides that the “Imperial Wizard” shall also be the “Supreme Kleagle,” and that he shall be entitled to “appropriate to himself” the entire ten-dollar “donations” paid by any members he may choose to solicit. Since the ordinary garden variety of Kleagle, with only four dollars “rake-off,” can make a very tidy sum by selling memberships, the reader can draw his own conclusions as to the possible selling ability of the chief monarch. There is also the Gate City Manufacturing Company with its enormous revenue from the sale of robes, the Searchlight Publishing Company, the Clarke Realty Company, and Lanier College, which are interlocking corporations or business concerns conducted by persons connected with the Ku Klux Klan. Where the revenue derived from these enterprises goes has not been reported in the newspapers. The only thing made public in connection with them was the statement that the “Emperor” had been elected President of Lanier College. College presidents are usually paid salaries. When one thinks of the unpaid Forrest and the trying problems he solved, one can scarcely suppress a feeling of disgust in the effrontery of this man of modern times, who declares that this “is the genuine original Klan,” and that he is engagedin the work of “pure Americanism.” Why, the man doesn’t know what pure Americanism is!
The most important differentiation, however, between the old Ku Klux Klan and its spurious successor is the character of their membership. It will be recalled upon a study of both systems that in each candidates were required to answer satisfactorily ten qualifying interrogatories before being finally accepted for membership. Let us compare these together.
A careful reading of these requisites for membership in the two organizations fails to show, except as to the matter of “white supremacy,” that there is the remotest resemblance between them. Nowhere in the “Prescript” of the original Klan, or in any printed publication relating to it, can there be discovered any restriction whatever against the Jew, the Catholic, or the foreign-born American citizen. On the contrary, old men, who claim to have been members of the original movement, state that Jews, Catholics and foreigners were members. The fact that the modern movement is anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic and is opposed to the admission of foreign-born citizens of the country brands itipso factoas a historical fraud.
Another link in the chain of evidence against the modern organization lies in the provisions governing eligibility for membership. Article VII of the old “Prescript” reads:
“No one shall be presented for membership into the Order until he shall have first been recommended by some friend or intimate who is a member, to the Investigating Committee (which shall be composed of the Grand Cyclops, the Grand Magi, and the Grand Monk), andwho shall have investigated his antecedents and his past and present standing and connections, and after such investigation, shall have pronounced him competent and worthy to become a member.”
“No one shall be presented for membership into the Order until he shall have first been recommended by some friend or intimate who is a member, to the Investigating Committee (which shall be composed of the Grand Cyclops, the Grand Magi, and the Grand Monk), andwho shall have investigated his antecedents and his past and present standing and connections, and after such investigation, shall have pronounced him competent and worthy to become a member.”
It is here observed that in the selection of members the old Klan exercised the utmost care and scrutiny, and endeavored to throw around the organization every possible safeguard against the admission of undesirable characters. Even with precautions like those, men who were members of the Klan and left behind them written testimony declare that many men of bad character became connected with the order. How utterly different is the modern system with its indiscriminate solicitation of membership, with its advertising methods, its open and notorious canvassing, and its selling campaigns by means of literature, letters, motion pictures, agents and speakers.
Also, as far as the records show, there was no propagation department in the old Klan, no system of Kleagles, King Kleagles, Goblins, or Imperial Kleagle. All that is a Simmons innovation, designed to gather in large sums of money from a large number of people, money that goes mostly into the pockets of paid workers whose chief interest in the “noble cause” is that of plunder and not of patriotism. The initiation fee of the old Klan was the paltry sum of one dollar. The new Klan, in its great piety and altruism denies that it has an initiation fee at all. It claims that “citizenship” inthe “Invisible Empire” cannot be bought. Accordingly it requires that before attaining this delectable privilege, the “alien” must make a “donation” of ten dollars. A “donation” covers a multitude of sins. Where a victim makes a free-will offering to a “noble cause” he can hardly claim afterwards that his money has been taken from him under false pretenses.
In August, 1921, it was announced that “the Invisible Empire” had amended its constitution so that women would be eligible for membership. This is a further point of dissimilarity between the two organizations, for while women were of great assistance to the original Klansmen in making robes and in giving information, the more serious work was done by the actual members who were men. In announcing that women were to be admitted to membership the “Emperor” said:
“First.The influence of women over the youth of the land shapes the destiny of the nation, and it is in the cradles of the American homes where the principles and ideals of Americanism should first be instilled into the minds and hearts of the young. To the preservation of these principles the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is dedicated.“Second.The loyalty of the women to the original Klan of the Reconstruction period convinces us that as members of the Klan today there will be equal loyalty and devotion to the fundamental principles underlying the Order.“Third.We know women can keep a secret, because they made with their fingers 160,000 robes for membersof the old Klan and not one of them ever disclosed the identity of any man who wore one of those robes.“It is through the influence of women today that we have some of the strongest men in the Order. And the time has come to give the women recognition and to allow them to partake of the honor and glory of membership in the organization.”
“First.The influence of women over the youth of the land shapes the destiny of the nation, and it is in the cradles of the American homes where the principles and ideals of Americanism should first be instilled into the minds and hearts of the young. To the preservation of these principles the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is dedicated.
“Second.The loyalty of the women to the original Klan of the Reconstruction period convinces us that as members of the Klan today there will be equal loyalty and devotion to the fundamental principles underlying the Order.
“Third.We know women can keep a secret, because they made with their fingers 160,000 robes for membersof the old Klan and not one of them ever disclosed the identity of any man who wore one of those robes.
“It is through the influence of women today that we have some of the strongest men in the Order. And the time has come to give the women recognition and to allow them to partake of the honor and glory of membership in the organization.”
In his statement, however, the “Emperor” failed to elucidate point Number Four, which was no doubt the principal incentive that caused the admission of women. Each lady Ku Klux will be required to donate ten dollars to the “noble cause,” and the admission of women doubles the number of “prospects” to whom the Ku Klux “gold brick” can be peddled. It is doubtful if the effort to “work” this new field will prove successful, as the women of the South are more or less antagonistic to the movement. The Daughters of the Confederacy of Virginia, at a convention held in the spring of 1921, passed a resolution condemning the organization, and asking the Virginia authorities to suppress it. It is hardly likely that the daughters of the women who “made with their fingers 160,000 robes for the old Klan” would care to become associated with the Gate City Manufacturing Company, which is selling robes to all members at $6.50 a robe, with a handsome profit on the side. Women, as a rule, are good buyers, and it is hardly probable that they will look upon membership in the “Invisible Empire” as a bargain even at ten dollars. Women are also the chief supporters of thechurches of the country, and it is doubtful if they would care to go through a “Naturalization” ceremony that is a blasphemous and sacriligious parody on the sacred and Holy rite of baptism.
Another point of comparison between the two organizations lies in the attitude of the old Klan and the new in reference to allowing members to study their constitutions. We find, in the case of the original Klan, the following edict:
“Every Grand Cyclops shall read, or cause to be read, this Prescript and these Edicts to his Den, at least once in every month; and shall read them to each new member when he is initiated, or present the same to him for his personal perusal.”
“Every Grand Cyclops shall read, or cause to be read, this Prescript and these Edicts to his Den, at least once in every month; and shall read them to each new member when he is initiated, or present the same to him for his personal perusal.”
Here we have openness, frankness, and a disposition to take every member into the confidence of the Order, so that each Klansman, at all times, would have an opportunity to study and to understand the laws of the organization under which he was working. During the time I was an active member and worker in the modern Ku Klux Klan, the constitution was a secret document. Members under me repeatedly asked for a copy of it, and I transmitted their requests to my immediate superior who could not comply with it for the reason that he had never seen a copy of it himself. It was only after he had served as King Kleagle of Tennessee for six months that he was permitted to have one copy for which he had to give an iron-cladreceipt. I was allowed to glance through the booklet comprising the document, which afforded me the opportunity of noting a few salient points, but this happened just as I was leaving the work. The officials of the organization dare not permit the booklet I saw to be generally circulated among their members.
As a final comparison of the two organizations it is interesting to note that the leader of the old Klan recognized that it was brought into being for the accomplishment of a specific, a definite and a concrete purpose. It fulfilled its mission, and as soon as it became evident that this was the case General Forrest ordered its disbandment. He stated that with the courts properly functioning and the government properly established, there was no longer any need for the Klan’s existence. The new Klan, on the other hand, aside from taking money away from the public, has not made any public statement as to its real intentions. In some of the pronouncements printed in the official organ, there is an indication that the “citizens” of the “Invisible Empire” generally understand that the movement has a definite national mission. It is a matter of serious conjecture as to what kind of mission a secret, military, “Invisible Empire” can have in the United States. That there is no intention of disbanding the organization is evident by the fact that every attack made upon the system has so far resulted in a redoubling of efforts by the propagationagents. Statements reiterating the idea of “pure Americanism” and giving expression to high-sounding and sanctimonious platitudes come in unending streams from the pen of the “Emperor,” who brazenly insists that his organization intends to enforce law and order.
The old Ku Klux Klan has a very deep place in the hearts of the Southern people, and it holds the added glamour of being an organization about which little was known by the public up to a few years ago. Knowing this feeling, the promoters of the modern organization have worked overtime upon the sympathies of the South in fostering an entirely different proposition. No matter what may be the ultimate objects of this organization, its claims to “genuineness” are fraudulent. Some of the leading men of the South and most of the newspapers have detected the fraud, but a great many unthinking men have joined the new movement under the impression that they were becoming members of the old organization. These men, when they have learned the truth, and have taken the trouble to study for themselves what I have discovered, will, I believe, withdraw from the organization and denounce it for what it is—an historical fraud.
Before presenting, for the thoughtful consideration of the reader, the facts to be set forth in this chapter, I submit for comparison certain portions of the Constitution of the United States, and the concluding portion of the “oath of allegiance” of the “Invisible Empire,” Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
The former consists of what is known as the “Bill of Rights,” and read:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”4th Amendment.“No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”5th Amendment.“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which districts shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence.”6th Amendment.“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”8th Amendment.
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
4th Amendment.
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”
5th Amendment.
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which districts shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence.”
6th Amendment.
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed,nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
8th Amendment.
Having thoroughly studied the above portions of the Constitution of the United States, I now ask the reader to again study the concluding section of the Ku Klux oath:
“I swear that I willmost zealously and valiantlyshield and preserve,by any and all justifiable means and methods, the sacred constitutional rights and privileges of free public schools, free speech, free press, separation of church and state,liberty,white supremacy, just laws, and thepursuit of happiness, against any encroachment, of any nature, by any person or persons, political party or parties,religious sect or people,native, naturalized or foreign,of any race, color, creed, lineage, or tongue whatsoever.”
“I swear that I willmost zealously and valiantlyshield and preserve,by any and all justifiable means and methods, the sacred constitutional rights and privileges of free public schools, free speech, free press, separation of church and state,liberty,white supremacy, just laws, and thepursuit of happiness, against any encroachment, of any nature, by any person or persons, political party or parties,religious sect or people,native, naturalized or foreign,of any race, color, creed, lineage, or tongue whatsoever.”
Without comment, I merely offer the above extracts for study and comparison, and let the reader draw his own conclusions at the end of the chapter.
A large number of outrages, consisting of lawless acts of various kinds, have been reported in the newspapers as having been committed in the Southern States since early in 1921. Men have been taken from their homes andconveyed to lonely spots where they have been beaten, tarred, and feathered; women have been stripped of their clothing and covered with tar and feathers; some men have been boldly kidnapped in broad daylight and driven in automobiles to obscure places and there flogged; others have been whipped and mutilated for alleged immorality; a sixty-eight year old farmer was taken from his bed at night and beaten; an Episcopal clergyman was given a coat of tar and feathers; a New Yorker was shot and beaten; and, numerous “warnings” have been given both publicly and privately of “secret law enforcement” and of dire threats to “lay off” investigating the perpetrators.
In practically every instance of physical violence the criminal acts—committed in the name of “law and order”—have been perpetrated by men wearing disguises, described as white robes and masks.
In several cases of violence the white caps, after finishing their work, have left on the bodies of their victims the letters, “K. K. K.” either burned on the body with acid, or printed on placards tied to the person maltreated. In cases where private warnings have been sent through the mails the same letters have been used, and in public warnings placards have been posted conspicuously bearing the actual name of the “Ku Klux Klan.” Taking these facts into consideration, the evidence shows that the outrages were committed by men actuatedwith the spirit of Ku Kluxism, whether they were all committed officially by Klans in Simmons’ organization or not. That remains to be determined, but one salient fact stands out very suspiciously and it is this: outrages committed in this fashion have only been epidemic since the “Invisible Empire” began its propagation in the States affected. In this connection, it might be well to recall the conversation I had with the King Kleagle of Tennessee in May, 1921.
Charters were about to be granted to three Klans in upper East Tennessee. I asked the King Kleagle this question:
“My people want to know what to do when they get their charters. What shall I tell them?”
“Tell them to clean up their towns,” he replied.
Among the first reported cases of violence on the part of masked men occurred in Atlanta, Ga., the headquarters of Ku Kluxism, the home of the “Invisible Empire.” J. C. Thomas, a white man, received an anonymous letter advising him to “leave alone” a certain woman named Myers, upon penalty of action, but paid no attention to the warning. One night Thomas was enticed into entering a motor car in which were several strangers, the false representation being made that the “Chief of Police wanted to see him about some bad checks.” The car was driven to Lakewood, an amusement park, and Thomas was ordered to get out. He refused to obey the order, drew his knife, and put upa fight, killing Fred Thompson, one of his abductors and wounding another. The Grand Jury of Fulton County failed to indict Thomas, but did indict two of his captors.
Simmons admitted that Thompson was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Numerous cases have been reported in Atlanta where threatening letters have been sent and received. A young Scotchman was threatened for making improper remarks about social equality, while a physician was warned on account of alleged neglect of his family. According to J. H. Leavitt, an Atlanta lawyer, who was himself threatened, not only was he himself marked for violence but included in the same category were Dr. C. B. Wilmer, the Episcopal clergyman and Ex-Senator Hoke Smith.
In Durham, North Carolina, a Greek restaurant proprietor received an anonymous warning signed “K. K. K.” ordering him to leave town. It appeared that he had permitted the intermingling of the races in his place of business. The Greek refused to take the matter seriously, employed a lawyer and laughed the incident out of town. Nothing came of it.
After a careful and searching investigation made by theNew York World, there have been disclosed a large number of cases of violence and lawlessness in the South, and a study of the synopsis of these cases is interesting. It will be noted that the majority of outrages have occurred in the State of Texas, where the maskedregulators have been extremely active, and where the Ku Klux Klan is strongly organized. These outrages have been so numerous in Texas as to attract the attention of the entire country, and have caused an upheaval in the Lone Star State. Some of the really law-abiding Texas people, who do not believe in “invisible government” and irresponsible censorship of morals, have attempted to secure some sort of action at the hands of the Texas legislature. Their efforts in the summer of 1921 were not successful, one legislator even going so far as publicly to defend the Ku Klux Klan. Other indignant citizens announced that they would band themselves secretly together and wage war on Ku Kluxism.
A chronological summary of the published cases of lawlessness in the South, indicating the methods of Ku Kluxism, is as follows:
February 5, 1921.—In Houston, Texas, B. I. Hobbs, a lawyer, was seized, had his hair clipped and was ordered to leave town, the charge against him being “too close fraternization” with negroes. Hobbs then went to Alvin, Texas, a short distance away, and on February 8, 1921, was run out of that town by eight masked men.March 3, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. La Fayette Cockrell, a negro dentist, was mutilated by masked men for alleged association with white women. A race riot nearly resulted from this attack.March 7, 1921.—A. V. Hopkins, a merchant of Houston, Texas, was mutilated, tarred, and feathered for annoying high school girls.April 1, 1921.—Alexander Johnson, a negro bell boy, of Dallas, Texas, was taken out by masked men, whipped,and the letters “K. K. K.” burned on his forehead with acid. He was said to have associated with white women.April 10, 1921.—Gus Beck, stock man, of Webster, Texas, was tied to a telegraph pole by masked men, beaten and left there all night.April 10, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. S. Allen, prominent attorney, was seized in a crowded downtown street by masked men, and conveyed to the country in an automobile. He was there tarred and feathered. He was then returned to the city, and was dumped from a car into the middle of a street in the most prominent business section, in a nude condition except for the coating of tar and feathers. In the reports of the case there is no record of police interference.April 15, 1921.—Bill Harris, negro bell boy, at Dallas, Texas, was beaten by masked men for alleged insult of white women.April 26, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. W. McGee, an automobile salesman, was whipped by masked men for annoying high school girls.May 1, 1921.—“Red” Kemp, a jitney driver, was whipped, tarred and feathered by twelve masked men at Goose Creek, Texas.May 4, 1921.—Sam King, Marshal at Brenham, Texas, was tarred and feathered. He then resigned his office.May 7, 1921.—At Beaumont, Texas, Dr. J. S. Paul was seized by fifteen masked men, whipped, tarred, and feathered and given forty-eight hours in which to leave the city. At the same time R. F. Scott, a Marine Corps veteran of Deweyville was given the same treatment. These two acts were publicly admitted by the Beaumont Klan, and their charter was revoked by “Emperor” Simmons.May 20, 1921.—One thousand men marched through the streets of Dallas, Texas, at night, mounted and unmounted, all of them attired in the Ku Klux regalia. They carried a fiery cross, and several banners bearing these words: “The Invisible Empire,” “White Supremacy,”“Pure Womanhood,” “Dallas Must Be Clean,” “Our Little Girls Must Be Protected,” “All Native Born,” “The Guilty Must Pay.” They rode and marched through the streets silently and without interference from the authorities. Announcements of the purposes and objects of the Klan had previously been accepted and printed by the Dallas papers.May 21, 1921.—At Sour Lake, Texas, Joe J. Devere, a justice of the peace, was tarred and feathered.May 23, 1921.—Ku Klux Klan paid $10 fine in police court at Dallas, Texas, for tacking signs on telegraph poles.May 23, 1921.—At Dallas, Texas, John Moore, white, was seized in his home by masked men, taken to the out-skirts of the city, stripped of his clothing and lashed with a horsewhip. He was accused of attacking a twelve-year-old girl. He fled town.May 23, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, Ira McKeown, taxi driver, was beaten.May 24, 1921.—At Dallas, Texas, John Parks was flogged by masked men.May 25, 1921.—Jack Morgan, of Shreveport, was tarred and feathered by masked men.June 8, 1921.—Dr. R. H. Lenert, at Brenham, Texas, was whipped, tarred, and feathered by eight masked men. He was charged with “disloyalty during the war” and with “speaking German.”June 8, 1921.—At Waco, Texas, K. Cummings was taken from his home by masked men, but escaped from his abductors.June 8, 1921.—At Sea Breeze, Fla., Thomas L. Reynolds, a New Yorker, was assaulted while in his hotel by masked men, and beaten and shot.June 13, 1921.—At Dallas, Texas, Edward Engers, filling station proprietor, was flogged by masked men and ordered out of town.June 14, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. W. Boyd, a lawyer, was taken from his office by masked men andwhipped. He was charged with annoying young girls.June 17, 1921.—At Belton, Texas, James Collins, a negro, was given sixty lashes by masked men, and a placard, “Whipped by Ku Klux Klan,” placed on his back, following his release from jail after a Grand Jury had failed to indict him on the charge of making insulting approaches to white women.June 18, 1921.—At Goose Creek, Texas, E. L. Bloodworth and Olan Jones, oil field workers, were whipped, tarred and feathered by masked men, who charged their victims with being “undesirable citizens.”June 20, 1921.—At Goose Creek, Texas, W. Stewart, a jitney driver, was whipped, tarred, and feathered by twelve men after three passengers had lured him to a lonely spot. He was then ordered to leave town.June 25, 1921.—At West Columbia, Texas, an unknown man was tarred and feathered and ordered to leave town.June 21, 1921.—At Wharton, Texas, Henry Schultz was whipped, tarred and feathered after being kidnapped by masked men.June 26, 1921.—At Yoakum, Texas, a white man, name withheld, citizen of the place for twenty years, was found on a lonely road, tarred, feathered and blindfolded.June 27, 1921.—At Austin, Texas, Ku Klux Klan placards were posted warning against violation of moral codes.July 1, 1921.—At Fort Worth, Texas, a white man whose name was not printed was taken from his home at 9P.M.and given twenty lashes for alleged mistreatment of his wife.July 4, 1921.—At Austin, Texas, Governor Neff, chief executive of the State in an address before the Rotary Club said that a crime wave had struck the State and that “the entire administration of the criminal code had broken down.” On the same day warnings of the Ku Klux Klan were posted on the State Capitol grounds.July 5, 1921,—At Fort Worth, Texas, Benny Pinto wastarred and feathered and ordered out of town. A woman found with him in his automobile was taken home by his abductors.July 8, 1921.—At Glidden, Texas, Harry Adams, a gardener, was beaten and choked by masked armed men. Then found to be the wrong man, he was released.July 12, 1921.—At Enid, Okla., Walter Billings, a motion-picture operator, was given a coating of cotton and crude oil, after being whipped by masked men.July 14, 1921.—One hundred masked men gathered at the jail at Greeneville, Texas, and unsuccessfully attempted to lynch Matt Olizen, negro, charged with killing Orbie Standlee.July 14, 1921.—A delegation from Duncanville, Texas, warned the Dallas authorities that if Archie Holsome, charged with attacking a white woman was released, he would be lynched.July 16, 1921.—At Tenaha, Texas, Mrs. Beulah Johnson, a white woman, was seized from the porch of a hotel, taken to the woods, stripped of her clothing, tarred and feathered preceding which her hair was clipped. Masked men wearing white uniforms attacked her, the woman said. They drove up to the hotel in three automobiles. Mrs. Johnson had been arrested on a charge of bigamy at Center, Texas, and was out on bond when she was seized.July 17, 1921.—At Nacogdoches, Texas, J. M. McKnight was beaten by masked men.July 17, 1921.—At Miami, Fla. At the close of his evening services, eight masked men waylaid the Rev. Philip S. Irwin, archdeacon of the English Episcopal Church, and head of the work of that church among South Florida negroes, carried him into the woods, whipped him, and then applied a coat of tar and feathers to his body. He was placed in a sack and taken in an automobile to a spot in the center of the town and dumped into the street. The following Tuesday, in response to a telegram from Rev. R. T. Phillips, rector of TrinityChurch, Right Reverend Cameron Mann, Bishop of Southern Florida reached Miami and conferred with several officials, also appearing before the Grand Jury in order to make a statement as to Archdeacon Irwin’s work. In his report to the Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, Bishop Mann said:“About the middle of the afternoon, while I was consulting with the mayor and the circuit judge, the commander of the local post of the American Legion came in and stated that he had reliable information that if Archdeacon Irwin remained in the city he would be lynched, and that in all probability church property would be burned and numerous lives lost. He therefore asked that Archdeacon Irwin should agree to leave the city that afternoon.”The charge made by the mob against the clergyman was that he had preached “race equality” and “intermarriage.” Bishop Mann declares unequivocally that Archdeacon Irwin does not hold to social or political equality for negroes in the United States, has never taught it, and in his missionary work has incurred disfavor with some negroes by his opposition to societies and movements which upheld the doctrine.It was reported in the papers that the judge who brought the case to the attention of the Grand Jury told that body that, while the right of free speech is guaranteed, strangers should not defy the sentiments and traditions of the public.July 16, 1921.—At Bay City, Tex., W. M. Hoopengarner, a banker, was tarred and feathered and beaten. The reason alleged was domestic infidelity.July 18, 1921.—G. C. Benson beaten at Dickinson, Tex.July 18, 1921.—E. H. Peters, of Athens, Tex., was dragged from his room, beaten, dumped out of an automobile and seriously hurt.July 19, 1921.—At Tenaha, Tex., J. W. McKnight was seized a second time by masked men.July 19, 1921.—Declaring that he had information that fifty per cent of the members of the Oklahoma City police department belonged to the Ku Klux Klan, Mayor John C. Welton directed Chief Glitsch to investigate and to discharge every police officer who did not resign immediately from the Klan. On July 24, Mayor Welton was called on the telephone, and was told: “We warn you to lay off the Ku Klux Klan, or we will have to wait on you.” The mayor paid no attention to the warning.July 22, 1921.—At Hillsboro, Tex., a note from the Ku Klux Klan was received and published in the local paper as a “warning to some married men who should spend more time with their own wives.”July 26, 1921.—At Topeka, Kan., a warning was sent to Senator Capper’s newspaper to “leave the Ku Klux Klan alone.”July 29, 1921.—Ben Wiley, of Lufkin, Tex., was put into a sack and tarred and feathered.In the State of Missouri, a farmer aged sixty-eight years, was taken from his bed at night, removed out of doors and severely beaten by masked men; and a woman in Birmingham, Ala., was also maltreated by a mob composed of the same sort of individuals.
February 5, 1921.—In Houston, Texas, B. I. Hobbs, a lawyer, was seized, had his hair clipped and was ordered to leave town, the charge against him being “too close fraternization” with negroes. Hobbs then went to Alvin, Texas, a short distance away, and on February 8, 1921, was run out of that town by eight masked men.
March 3, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. La Fayette Cockrell, a negro dentist, was mutilated by masked men for alleged association with white women. A race riot nearly resulted from this attack.
March 7, 1921.—A. V. Hopkins, a merchant of Houston, Texas, was mutilated, tarred, and feathered for annoying high school girls.
April 1, 1921.—Alexander Johnson, a negro bell boy, of Dallas, Texas, was taken out by masked men, whipped,and the letters “K. K. K.” burned on his forehead with acid. He was said to have associated with white women.
April 10, 1921.—Gus Beck, stock man, of Webster, Texas, was tied to a telegraph pole by masked men, beaten and left there all night.
April 10, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. S. Allen, prominent attorney, was seized in a crowded downtown street by masked men, and conveyed to the country in an automobile. He was there tarred and feathered. He was then returned to the city, and was dumped from a car into the middle of a street in the most prominent business section, in a nude condition except for the coating of tar and feathers. In the reports of the case there is no record of police interference.
April 15, 1921.—Bill Harris, negro bell boy, at Dallas, Texas, was beaten by masked men for alleged insult of white women.
April 26, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. W. McGee, an automobile salesman, was whipped by masked men for annoying high school girls.
May 1, 1921.—“Red” Kemp, a jitney driver, was whipped, tarred and feathered by twelve masked men at Goose Creek, Texas.
May 4, 1921.—Sam King, Marshal at Brenham, Texas, was tarred and feathered. He then resigned his office.
May 7, 1921.—At Beaumont, Texas, Dr. J. S. Paul was seized by fifteen masked men, whipped, tarred, and feathered and given forty-eight hours in which to leave the city. At the same time R. F. Scott, a Marine Corps veteran of Deweyville was given the same treatment. These two acts were publicly admitted by the Beaumont Klan, and their charter was revoked by “Emperor” Simmons.
May 20, 1921.—One thousand men marched through the streets of Dallas, Texas, at night, mounted and unmounted, all of them attired in the Ku Klux regalia. They carried a fiery cross, and several banners bearing these words: “The Invisible Empire,” “White Supremacy,”“Pure Womanhood,” “Dallas Must Be Clean,” “Our Little Girls Must Be Protected,” “All Native Born,” “The Guilty Must Pay.” They rode and marched through the streets silently and without interference from the authorities. Announcements of the purposes and objects of the Klan had previously been accepted and printed by the Dallas papers.
May 21, 1921.—At Sour Lake, Texas, Joe J. Devere, a justice of the peace, was tarred and feathered.
May 23, 1921.—Ku Klux Klan paid $10 fine in police court at Dallas, Texas, for tacking signs on telegraph poles.
May 23, 1921.—At Dallas, Texas, John Moore, white, was seized in his home by masked men, taken to the out-skirts of the city, stripped of his clothing and lashed with a horsewhip. He was accused of attacking a twelve-year-old girl. He fled town.
May 23, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, Ira McKeown, taxi driver, was beaten.
May 24, 1921.—At Dallas, Texas, John Parks was flogged by masked men.
May 25, 1921.—Jack Morgan, of Shreveport, was tarred and feathered by masked men.
June 8, 1921.—Dr. R. H. Lenert, at Brenham, Texas, was whipped, tarred, and feathered by eight masked men. He was charged with “disloyalty during the war” and with “speaking German.”
June 8, 1921.—At Waco, Texas, K. Cummings was taken from his home by masked men, but escaped from his abductors.
June 8, 1921.—At Sea Breeze, Fla., Thomas L. Reynolds, a New Yorker, was assaulted while in his hotel by masked men, and beaten and shot.
June 13, 1921.—At Dallas, Texas, Edward Engers, filling station proprietor, was flogged by masked men and ordered out of town.
June 14, 1921.—At Houston, Texas, J. W. Boyd, a lawyer, was taken from his office by masked men andwhipped. He was charged with annoying young girls.
June 17, 1921.—At Belton, Texas, James Collins, a negro, was given sixty lashes by masked men, and a placard, “Whipped by Ku Klux Klan,” placed on his back, following his release from jail after a Grand Jury had failed to indict him on the charge of making insulting approaches to white women.
June 18, 1921.—At Goose Creek, Texas, E. L. Bloodworth and Olan Jones, oil field workers, were whipped, tarred and feathered by masked men, who charged their victims with being “undesirable citizens.”
June 20, 1921.—At Goose Creek, Texas, W. Stewart, a jitney driver, was whipped, tarred, and feathered by twelve men after three passengers had lured him to a lonely spot. He was then ordered to leave town.
June 25, 1921.—At West Columbia, Texas, an unknown man was tarred and feathered and ordered to leave town.
June 21, 1921.—At Wharton, Texas, Henry Schultz was whipped, tarred and feathered after being kidnapped by masked men.
June 26, 1921.—At Yoakum, Texas, a white man, name withheld, citizen of the place for twenty years, was found on a lonely road, tarred, feathered and blindfolded.
June 27, 1921.—At Austin, Texas, Ku Klux Klan placards were posted warning against violation of moral codes.
July 1, 1921.—At Fort Worth, Texas, a white man whose name was not printed was taken from his home at 9P.M.and given twenty lashes for alleged mistreatment of his wife.
July 4, 1921.—At Austin, Texas, Governor Neff, chief executive of the State in an address before the Rotary Club said that a crime wave had struck the State and that “the entire administration of the criminal code had broken down.” On the same day warnings of the Ku Klux Klan were posted on the State Capitol grounds.
July 5, 1921,—At Fort Worth, Texas, Benny Pinto wastarred and feathered and ordered out of town. A woman found with him in his automobile was taken home by his abductors.
July 8, 1921.—At Glidden, Texas, Harry Adams, a gardener, was beaten and choked by masked armed men. Then found to be the wrong man, he was released.
July 12, 1921.—At Enid, Okla., Walter Billings, a motion-picture operator, was given a coating of cotton and crude oil, after being whipped by masked men.
July 14, 1921.—One hundred masked men gathered at the jail at Greeneville, Texas, and unsuccessfully attempted to lynch Matt Olizen, negro, charged with killing Orbie Standlee.
July 14, 1921.—A delegation from Duncanville, Texas, warned the Dallas authorities that if Archie Holsome, charged with attacking a white woman was released, he would be lynched.
July 16, 1921.—At Tenaha, Texas, Mrs. Beulah Johnson, a white woman, was seized from the porch of a hotel, taken to the woods, stripped of her clothing, tarred and feathered preceding which her hair was clipped. Masked men wearing white uniforms attacked her, the woman said. They drove up to the hotel in three automobiles. Mrs. Johnson had been arrested on a charge of bigamy at Center, Texas, and was out on bond when she was seized.
July 17, 1921.—At Nacogdoches, Texas, J. M. McKnight was beaten by masked men.
July 17, 1921.—At Miami, Fla. At the close of his evening services, eight masked men waylaid the Rev. Philip S. Irwin, archdeacon of the English Episcopal Church, and head of the work of that church among South Florida negroes, carried him into the woods, whipped him, and then applied a coat of tar and feathers to his body. He was placed in a sack and taken in an automobile to a spot in the center of the town and dumped into the street. The following Tuesday, in response to a telegram from Rev. R. T. Phillips, rector of TrinityChurch, Right Reverend Cameron Mann, Bishop of Southern Florida reached Miami and conferred with several officials, also appearing before the Grand Jury in order to make a statement as to Archdeacon Irwin’s work. In his report to the Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, Bishop Mann said:
“About the middle of the afternoon, while I was consulting with the mayor and the circuit judge, the commander of the local post of the American Legion came in and stated that he had reliable information that if Archdeacon Irwin remained in the city he would be lynched, and that in all probability church property would be burned and numerous lives lost. He therefore asked that Archdeacon Irwin should agree to leave the city that afternoon.”
The charge made by the mob against the clergyman was that he had preached “race equality” and “intermarriage.” Bishop Mann declares unequivocally that Archdeacon Irwin does not hold to social or political equality for negroes in the United States, has never taught it, and in his missionary work has incurred disfavor with some negroes by his opposition to societies and movements which upheld the doctrine.
It was reported in the papers that the judge who brought the case to the attention of the Grand Jury told that body that, while the right of free speech is guaranteed, strangers should not defy the sentiments and traditions of the public.
July 16, 1921.—At Bay City, Tex., W. M. Hoopengarner, a banker, was tarred and feathered and beaten. The reason alleged was domestic infidelity.
July 18, 1921.—G. C. Benson beaten at Dickinson, Tex.
July 18, 1921.—E. H. Peters, of Athens, Tex., was dragged from his room, beaten, dumped out of an automobile and seriously hurt.
July 19, 1921.—At Tenaha, Tex., J. W. McKnight was seized a second time by masked men.
July 19, 1921.—Declaring that he had information that fifty per cent of the members of the Oklahoma City police department belonged to the Ku Klux Klan, Mayor John C. Welton directed Chief Glitsch to investigate and to discharge every police officer who did not resign immediately from the Klan. On July 24, Mayor Welton was called on the telephone, and was told: “We warn you to lay off the Ku Klux Klan, or we will have to wait on you.” The mayor paid no attention to the warning.
July 22, 1921.—At Hillsboro, Tex., a note from the Ku Klux Klan was received and published in the local paper as a “warning to some married men who should spend more time with their own wives.”
July 26, 1921.—At Topeka, Kan., a warning was sent to Senator Capper’s newspaper to “leave the Ku Klux Klan alone.”
July 29, 1921.—Ben Wiley, of Lufkin, Tex., was put into a sack and tarred and feathered.
In the State of Missouri, a farmer aged sixty-eight years, was taken from his bed at night, removed out of doors and severely beaten by masked men; and a woman in Birmingham, Ala., was also maltreated by a mob composed of the same sort of individuals.
In most cases local sentiment appears to have been strongly with the perpetrators of the outrages, this being especially true at Waco, Tex. A man was assaulted by masked men at that place, but the victim succeeded in escaping from his attackers, recognizing three of the men who had seized him. He had them arrested, and they were bound over to await the session of the Grand Jury. Five preachers and the President of a Texas University signed the bonds of the men accused of mob violence.
In some parts of Texas, however, the depredationsof masked individuals brought into being a counter movement, and theDallas Newsnotes the receipt of the following anonymous communication: