"What are we going to do, mother?" asked little ten-year-old Grace
Armstrong. Mrs. Armstrong wiped away a tear and answered, "I don't know
what, but I think God will help us find a way."
Mrs. Armstrong was a widow; her husband had died three years before and
left her with three small children. When the doctor bills and funeral
expenses were paid there was very little of the thousand dollars of
insurance left, and she found herself confronted with the problem of
earning a living and caring for the three small children. She went
heroically to work taking in washing and succeeded fairly well until
one of the children became ill and, after a lingering illness of
four months, died. During the time of the illness of the child Mrs.
Armstrong's earnings were considerably decreased, as a great portion of
her time and energy must be given to the nursing of the little invalid.
Doctor bills and funeral expenses and decreased earnings were
responsible for the piling up of considerable debts.
Grace was the oldest of the children, and the mother often talked
things over with her as she had no older person with whom to counsel.
This question was occasioned by a letter which notified Mrs. Armstrong
that unless the house rent were paid by the first of the next month
she must move out.
"We might find another house, although vacant houses are scarce, but
everybody would want a month's rent in advance. We have only three
dollars in the house, and we must keep that to buy bread. You know
I had to give up two of the family washings during little Jimmy's
sickness, and I have only been able to get one in place of them. I'll
go down to the bank and explain to Mr. Stover why I haven't paid the
rent."
"Do you think if you explain it to him he will let us stay?"
"Yes, I think so. You peel the potatoes for dinner while I finish this
washing, and then after dinner I'll go see him."
That afternoon Mrs. Armstrong called at the Central State Bank and
asked for the president. She was informed that he was busy. "Would she
wait?"
She sat down on the bench and watched the people coming and going; some
to deposit and others to draw out. Some with large sacks bearing many
coins, others with only a few dollars to add to their accounts. She had
neither money to deposit nor money to withdraw. She noticed the large
stacks of money behind barred windows and thought of the inequalities
of life, and wondered not a little why it should be so.
After a wait of half an hour she was informed that Mr. Stover could
see her. It was with a great deal of trepidation that she entered the
president's office.
"I am Mrs. Armstrong," she explained. "I have come to talk with you
about the rent."
"Yes, let's see, I sent you a notice, didn't I?"
"Yes, you told me to pay by the first or get out. I thought if I
explained to you why I was behind with the rent you might let me stay,
and I will pay."
He opened his desk and took out a large book and turned to his list of
tenants. He owned ten business houses and fifty residences which he
rented. "I find," he said, "that you will be three months behind the
first of next month."
"I am very sorry that I am so much behind. My little boy was ill
so long that I couldn't earn much and then there were the funeral
expenses."
"I am very sorry, Mrs. Armstrong. I would like to let you remain in
the house regardless of whether you could pay any rent or not if I
consulted my feelings alone," the banker rubbed his hands together
and smiled benignly, "but the fact is, Mrs. Armstrong, that if I get
fifteen dollars a month, which is the amount you have been paying,
after paying taxes and paying for the upkeep of the property, I am
losing money. I would like to give you the free use of this house if I
could afford to do so, but I simply can't afford to let you have it any
cheaper, as I am now renting it to you at less than cost, if I figure
any interest on my investment."
"I am not asking you to rent it any cheaper. All I am asking is that
you give me a little more time to catch up. I will pay you every cent I
owe you if you will just give me time. It's pretty slow work catching
up when you have a family to support and no way to make money except by
taking in washing."
"I am very sorry, Mrs. Armstrong, but really believe that for your
own interest you should get a cheaper house. I really feel that I am
advising you for your own benefit when I tell you that if you find that
you can't raise the back rent I will have to insist on your vacating.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Armstrong. I am always glad to advise you. When
you wish to consult me, feel free to call." He bowed her out.
She must try to find another house, as there was no possibility of her
earning the amount of money necessary to pay the back rent by the first
of the month.
She went to Charles Wilson's office to inquire about a house. The fat
real estate man was so jovial and at the same time so sympathetic that
(though she had intended to tell him only of her inability to pay but
a part of the month's rent in advance, in case she could find a house)
she told him of her financial difficulties and of the notice from
Stover to vacate.
"You say that Stover told you that you must pay up by the first of the
month or vacate?"
"Yes, he said that he would like to let me have the free use of the
house if he could afford it, but he could not afford it as he was
losing money on it at fifteen dollars. To be sure I do not want the
free use of his house or any house. All I want is a little time until I
can catch up."
"Did he say he was losing money on that house you are living in?"
"Yes, he said he was if he figured any interest on the capital
invested."
"Well, you know Stover is used to figuring a pretty high rate of
interest on the money he has invested. Let's see, are there three or
four rooms in that house?"
"Three."
"It isn't modern, is it?"
"No."
"I didn't think the water had been put in on that street."
"The closest city water is on Sixteenth Street, three blocks away."
"Mrs. Armstrong, I have a little three-room house listed here on Maple
Street--a much better residence district than where you are living. I
can rent you this house for twelve dollars a month and it is modern."
"That will be fine."
"If I were you I wouldn't wait until the first of the month to take
this house, as it will not stand vacant long at that price."
"I want it but I can't raise even half of a month's rent before the
first of the month."
"If you want the house, that part can be arranged all right."
"Thank you. I certainly want it and I will move right away. I intend to
pay Mr. Stover just as soon as I can."
* * * * *
"Klansmen, you have all read of the alleged Klansmen who threatened the
life of the negro, Rastus Jones. We know that they were not Klansmen."
(Judge Rider, the Exalted Cyclops, spoke with earnestness.) "True
Klansmen do not take the law into their own hands. The man who does,
not only violates his oath as a Klansman but acts contrary to the
purpose and spirit of our organization. If it is proven that any member
of this organization takes part in an affair such as was narrated in
the Journal (you can't believe half that's in the Journal, someone
interposed) he can expect to leave this Klan as Tom Glynn left it. I
would like to see how many of you endorse this sentiment."
He paused while they voted their approval. The vote was unanimous.
"I feel confident that no one who has taken the sacred and binding
obligation of a Klansman took part in that affair, yet it is going
to hurt the organization. Let me remind each of you that the mask is
only to be worn in regular Klan ceremonies, when in peaceful parades
and when doing charitable deeds. It may be that occasionally some
misinformed, or misguided Klansman may think it his duty to check some
unlawful act by the commission of some other unlawful act. We cannot
expect three million men all to keep implicitly the rules of the
organization. Breaches of the peace are sometimes committed by soldiers
in the army, by members of fraternal orders and churches. Even Peter
denied his Master thrice, and there was a Judas among the twelve. But
you who are strong must help to strengthen the weak, and when you see
a brother acting in a manner unworthy of a Klansman remind him of his
obligation.
"Fortunately, selected as our members are from the best citizens of the
community, we have a right to expect only a small amount of misconduct."
When Judge Rider had finished his talk, he asked if there were anything
to bring before the Klan.
"I have a matter to present," said Charles Wilson. "There is a widow
in this town whose family is in need." He then told them how Mrs.
Armstrong had been left a widow without means, how she had labored to
support her children; of the death of her little boy; and that she had
gotten behind and could not pay her rent and unless it was paid up in
full, Stover had ordered her out of the house.
"What do you wish to do in this matter?" the Exalted Cyclops asked.
A Klansman moved that a special collection be taken for the relief of
Mrs. Armstrong and her children.
When the collection was taken Judge Rider remarked: "Klansmen, we can
do no better work than this. I believe it was the Apostle James who
said: 'Pure religion and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:
to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep
himself unspotted from the world.'"
* * * * *
Mrs. Armstrong had risen early to get an early start at the washing.
The children were asleep. She liked to let them sleep as long as
possible of a morning. She hoped to get an extra washing during the
week as she would have the added expense of moving.
There was a knock at the door. Who could her early caller be, she
wondered. She slipped a clean apron on over her dress and hurried to
the door, but not until the impatient visitor had knocked the second
time.
When she reached the door she found a stranger there waiting. Another
man whom she did not know was waiting in a car in the street.
"Is this Mrs. Armstrong?" the man at the door asked.
"Yes, I am Mrs. Armstrong."
"Here is an envelope that I was requested to hand you." He gave her
a large envelope and without another word hurried to the car. Mrs.
Armstrong, wondering at his brevity and haste, watched them drive out
of sight around the corner before she opened the envelope which he
had handed her. Imagine her surprise when she found that it contained
bills. She looked at it carefully--yes it was real money. There was
some mistake. They must have been mistaken in the address where they
were to take the envelope. She counted the money. There was two hundred
dollars. "If this money were really mine," she thought, "how much it
would help me. Sixty or seventy dollars would pay all my debts, and I
could go right to town and buy some school clothes for the children,
which they are needing so badly." She happened to look into the
envelope and saw a piece of paper on which was written in a large bold
hand:
"The Wilford Springs Ku Klux Klan commends you for keeping your
children in the public schools and Sunday School and for all your
efforts to raise them to become good citizens. In appreciation of your
services to your family and community we send you a little gift which
we trust will be accepted in the same spirit in which it is sent.
"Wilford Springs Ku Klux Klan."
"Thank the Lord for the Klan!" exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong and then
hurried to call the children that they might share the joy with her.
When the morning meal was over and the washing on the line she went
down to the Central State Bank and asked for Mr. Stover. The bank
president was surprised when she told him that she had come to settle
the back rent. When he saw her he supposed of course that she had come
to beg for more time. When she said, "I have come to settle with you,"
he could scarcely believe his ears.
"Are you ready to pay all?" he asked.
"Yes. I will settle with you and move out tomorrow."
"If you settle, Mrs. Armstrong," he said, smiling, "you don't need to
move out."
"I want to move out. I have found a modern three-roomed house for
twelve dollars a month."
"There must be something wrong if you get a modern, three-roomed
house for twelve dollars. You had better be careful. It must be in an
undesirable locality, and you know, Mrs. Armstrong, you can't afford to
take your children into an undesirable neighborhood."
"This house is on Maple Street."
"There must be something wrong."
"I am going to move out of your house tomorrow. I owe you for two and a
half months."
"You owe for three months. When you remain in a house you owe for the
entire month."
"Very well, Mr. Stover. Here is your money. I was visited this morning
by a stranger who gave me an envelope containing two hundred dollars--a
gift from the Wilford Springs Ku Klux Klan."
Stover's countenance fell when he received this information.
"That's a very bad organization," he said gravely. "Didn't you read in
the paper how they mistreated my janitor?"
"I don't know anything about what they did to your janitor, but I do
know they helped me and that I am thankful," she said, smiling.
That afternoon Stover rented his residence which Mrs. Armstrong was
to vacate the next day and secured a month's rent in advance. He did
not deduct to the new tenant the half month's rent the widow had paid,
neither did he give it back to her. He was at a loss to know why within
a week from this time two hundred thousand dollars were withdrawn by
depositors.
Mrs. Armstrong went directly from the bank to the home of the Reverend
Earl Benton.
"Reverend Benton," she said, "I have heard that you are a member of the
Ku Klux Klan."
"I am," he replied. "I do not hesitate to let the public know that I am
a member of this great organization, as my work for the organization
is in the lecture field, but if the membership as a whole would permit
their identity to become known it would destroy in a large measure
the efficiency of the organization. Nothing would please law violators
better than to know the identity of these men who are assisting
officers as special detectives."
"What I wanted, Reverend Benton, is to ask you to thank the Wilford
Springs Klan for the wonderful present they sent me. Tell them I
certainly appreciate it. It came at a time when I was in dire need."
The day following the gift of the two hundred dollars to Mrs.
Armstrong, Willard Jackson, who owned a large clothing store and was
considered one of the most conservative men in town, met Springer, the
editor of the Journal.
"Say, Jackson," said Springer, "wasn't that incident that happened the
other night a disgrace to our city?"
"To what affair do you refer?"
"The mobbing of that negro by members of the Ku Klux Klan."
"If the facts were as stated in your paper it was an incident to
be regretted, and if the Klan is responsible for it, it is to be
condemned."
"There's no question about the facts as reported in the Journal, and no
question but what it was done by the Kluxers."
"Did they say they were Kluxers?" Mr. Jackson asked.
"No; they didn't say so, but the one who threatened the negro with the
gun wore the Ku Klux robe and mask."
"Springer, I do not consider that any proof at all. Anyone could have
put on a white robe and mask."
"Well, when the Klan insists on wearing those masks they should be
willing to take the blame for all damage done by masked parties. If
they are not directly responsible for all the depredations committed by
masked ruffians they should take the blame for wearing the masks."
"Did you ever stop to think that there were more whippings and
applications of tar and feathers by masked men before the Klan came
into existence than there has been since? Reverend Benton stated in his
lecture that it is the purpose of the Klan to prevent lynchings."
"That's not true," said Springer, getting excited. "The Klan practices
lynching and encourages mob violence."
"I noticed in the Eagle that the Klan gave the Union Avenue Colored
Church a two hundred fifty dollar donation to apply on the church debt
and the pastor a donation of fifty dollars, but I never saw any mention
of it in your paper."
"I heard something about it, but it was not officially reported to me.
It is the policy of the Journal not to print rumors. We only print
news from reliable sources."
"I heard today that the Klan gave the Widow Armstrong a donation of two
hundred dollars. Now if that is true, it sounds mighty good to me. I
don't belong to the Klan or know much about it, but I am in favor of
giving everybody a square deal."
"The Klan never gave anybody anything. If the Widow Armstrong got
a donation it is safe to say it wasn't from the Klan. The gifts to
charity that are reputed to be from the Klan are not from the Klan at
all."
"Who gives them, then?"
"The organizer does it for advertising purposes."
"I shouldn't think that he could afford to make so many gifts."
"This Klan business is a great money-making scheme. You see the
organizer makes ten dollars on every member he secures."
"How much does it cost to get into this organization?" Jackson asked.
"Twenty-five dollars," the newspaper man replied.
"That's news to me."
"I can tell you something else that perhaps you do not know. The Klan
oath is in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States.
The Klan members are obligated to support the Klan regardless of how
the interests of the Klan may clash with the government of the United
States."
"How do you know, Springer, did you ever take this oath?"
"No."
"Did you ever see it?"
"No."
"How do you know, then?"
"I am in the newspaper business, and I have ways of getting information
that the ordinary person does not have," declared Springer with an air
and tone of great importance.
Two Klansmen, standing near, heard this conversation. Each one had
contributed to the funds for the colored Baptist Church and the Widow
Armstrong donations; they had each paid only ten dollars initiation
fee and knew that the organizer received only a small part of that;
they had each taken the solemn obligation of a Klansman binding himself
to support to the full extent of his ability the Constitution of the
United States. As they moved away one remarked, "Springer is certainly
a malicious liar or an ignoramus."
"'Verily, he hath his reward,'" the other remarked.
"Pray tell me what it is."
"I have heard that Aesop once said that there is a compensation for
everything. A friend said, 'You are wrong! What compensation hath the
fool?'
"Aesop replied, 'The fool has the joy of being wise in his own
conceit.' If Aesop is correct, Springer should experience a great deal
of joy."
The two men laughed heartily.