PROPAGATION NEWS-LETTERS
In order to keep the various units in touch with each other, the
Propagation Department sends out each week a "News-letter" filled with
extracts from reports of different workers. These letters are supposed to
be read at the meetings of the Klans, and I found that they were listened
to with great attention. It is quite likely that many hundreds of reports
are received each week from all over the United States, and the fact that
the Propagation Department selects for distribution these special extracts
must indicate what the leaders wish Klansmen as a whole to believe about
the movement, and what should be the objects they are to work for. It is
also to be noted how well the letters reflect the extent to which the
Klans have absorbed the moral and political poison of Ku Kluxism under the
sugar coating of "social purity," "one hundred per cent Americanism,"
"motherhood," and all the other _et ceteras_. This sugar coating is
especially evident in the following extract of June 18, 1921:
"At eight o'clock one hundred Klansmen in robes marched down the main
street to the park. They carried banners, the first about the head of
the procession, bearing the inscription, 'The Invisible Empire, here
yesterday, here today, here forever.' The second banner about the
middle of the procession stated, 'Rockmart Must Be Clean for Our
Mothers, for Our Wives, for Our Daughters--The Guilty Must Pay.' Then
came the third and last banner reading, 'White Supremacy,' and on the
reverse side, 'Grafters, Gamblers and Thieves Must Go.' There were
about twelve hundred gathered around the speakers' stand and the old
citizens say it was about the biggest gathering ever held in
Rockmart.
"The meeting was opened with singing 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee,' by
the entire gathering. This was followed by prayer led by Rev. F. J.
Mashburn. Then the Reverend Mashburn made the introductory speech, in
which he paid his respect to those who tried to dissuade him from
having anything to do with the meeting. Doctor Mashburn paid eloquent
tribute to the men in robes. He said that his father was one of the
members of the original Ku Klux Klan and that he felt he had been
singularly honored when requested to introduce the chief speaker of
the evening, Col. J. Q. Nolan of Atlanta. Colonel Nolan followed
Doctor Mashburn with an eloquent address, in which he clearly and
forcefully explained the aims and purposes of the order. His hold on
the audience was absolute and he was frequently interrupted with
applause. His tribute to motherhood was one of the sublimest word
paintings ever uttered. On the platform with the speakers were Hon.
J. A. Fambro, mayor of Rockmart, members of the City Council and two
members of the Klan."
In another letter from an Exalted Cyclops the sugar coating has largely
disappeared. The author has lost sight of the small town "purity"
reflected in the above letter, but feels that he will soon be called upon
to march as a crusader against the foe. He writes:
"Long live the Klan and those noble spirits who are inculcating its
creed into the hearts of slumbering America! This organization
happened just at the right psychological time; a little later perhaps
would have been too late; it stepped into the breach at the proper
moment and no other kind of organization on earth could have possibly
met the issue. You know and I know and every other thinking man
realizes and will admit the perils that menace this republic of ours.
The trouble is, too few people are given to thinking--people nowadays
are educated to every damn thing under the sun except think. It is up
to us to fill the void and I believe we can put the world to
thinking. It is not only the thinking man's duty to think, but to
have the moral courage to teach. In due course of time I feel no
doubt but that the influence of this Invisible Empire of thinkers
will be reflected in the destiny of this nation. I am a Mason, a
Rotarian and several other things, all of which I am proud, but first
of all I am proudest of the fact that I am a native-born, white
Gentile Klansman. What kind of country would this be with no lines
drawn between the Caucasian blood and the African race? It is too
awful to contemplate. I solemnly believe that we are facing another
crisis in our history; it is slowly, gradually, inevitably and surely
approaching. The foreign political and labor class fanatic; the
negro; the Jap and Romanism are threatening, if I can read the signs
of the times. The new, the reincarnated Ku Klux Klan is, as I
understand it, dedicated to the proposition of saving our flag and
forever maintaining this government as a _white man's_ government. No
nobler or grander cause was ever espoused by the brain and heart of
man."
"Emperor" Simmons claims that the "Invisible Empire" is increasing at the
rate of five thousand a week, and several extracts from the "News-letters"
might seem to prove his point; if not that they might serve the purpose of
the leaders of inspiring members to believe that they have the honor of
belonging to the great national movement of the century.
In the weekly "News-letter," dated May 13, 1921, the Exalted Cyclops, of
Vicksburg, Mississippi, writes:
"You gentlemen at headquarters will probably be pleased to know what
rapid strides the K. K. K. is making in this State. It is sweeping
Mississippi like wildfire. We are in hopes of having five hundred
members in our Klan by September 1, 1921. When we get our Klan up to
one thousand members we have perfected a scheme whereby, while we
will retain only one Klan here in Warren County, we will have all the
members from each separate district meet once a week and then have a
general meeting for the whole Klan each month, as it will be too
unwieldy to have such a large body meet frequently. You can readily
appreciate this when at our first meeting, when we had one hundred
and twenty-five charter members, we had thirty-five automobiles in
the grounds of our meeting place in the country.
"The reason why everybody here has taken so keenly to the Klan is due
to the fact that years ago the Jews and Roman Catholics formed a
liaison with the liquor interests and have had politics in this city
throttled, and it is our intention to whip and rout them at the polls
when the next election comes around in 1922. We intend to put these
un-American elements out of office precisely as other communities
have done."
The following letter from Grand Goblin Crippen, of St. Louis is of
interest:
"I am glad to report that word comes from the Realm of Kansas that a
Ku Klux flying squadron has been formed in that State, and I would
also advise that several Klansmen are getting together a large group
of musicians who, they claim, will constitute one of the largest and
best brass bands in America, to be known as the Ku Klux Band."
The "News-letter" of May 27 reveals their claim that Ku Kluxism is making
strong headway outside of the Southern States. I quote at length from it
as follows:
"Additional proof that the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is being
welcomed with enthusiasm by the rank and file of one hundred per cent
American citizens wherever our representatives go is found in the
report of Hugh B. Cobb, one of the Imperial Officers, who has just
returned from a trip to Missouri and other States in that territory.
"Mr. Cobb went to Joplin, Mo., especially to deliver an address by
invitation of the Joplin Klan. He says he found interest in Klankraft
running high and the members of the organization there are among the
highest type of citizens. On his return to Atlanta, Mr. Cobb spent
one day with Grand Goblin Crippen in St. Louis. He was greatly
pleased with Klansman Crippen and the work he is doing for the
organization.
"'It is an inspiration to see the class of citizens who are knocking
at the outer door and applying for citizenship in the Invisible
Empire,' said Mr. Cobb. 'The best publicity or propaganda our
organization can have is the criticism of its enemies. No real
American citizen is deceived for long, if at all, by these critics,
because when he finds out who they are the first question he
naturally asks is: Why are they criticizing? And if he has any brains
at all it doesn't take him long to find out.'
"Mr. Cobb's report is indeed very encouraging since it deals with the
progress we are making in territory outside of the South. The
red-blooded American men of the North and West are accepting the Ku
Klux Klan as an American institution, because it is such, and because
it is the _only_ one hundred per cent American organization in the
whole United States. Think it over.
"Another convincing proof that the Klan is taking hold is found in
the fact that our enemies are so rapidly attacking us. We mean
something to them apparently, although they scoffed at us in the
beginning. There is very little scoffing going on at the present
time, but there is considerable gnashing of teeth. We are glad to
say, however, that the bulk of the opposition with which we are
meeting now comes from those from whom we naturally would expect
opposition and with whom it is impossible for the Ku Klux Klan ever
to have anything in common.
"At the outset we were opposed by many newspapers who had no idea of
our real aims and purposes. _They accepted the word of negro
associations and Catholics, Jews and other foreigners that we were a
lawless gang and criticized us accordingly._"
There is considerable food for thought in the above extract. In the first
place I have never heard, in an experience of nearly twenty years, of a
fraternal order sending out a communication in which it designated the
outside public or any part of it as "enemies."
It will be noted in several of the "News-letters" that one of the points I
am trying to bring out in my argument is confirmed. It is the
classification of the white Catholic and the white Jew with the negro, a
classification that can have but one inevitable effect--the creating of
discord and dissension among members of the white race.
The last "News-letter" I have read was the one dated June 25. It was read
at a meeting I attended in Chattanooga, and was descriptive principally
of the work being done on the Pacific Coast by Grand Goblin Coburn, who
has charge of that Domain. The report indicated that a vigorous
propagation campaign was going on in California and that people were
eagerly joining the Ku Klux Klan in response to its appeal for membership
on the ground of "white supremacy" over the Japanese. I fully believe that
the Pacific Coast will become one of the strongholds of Ku Kluxism, and
would not be surprised at any time to read in the newspapers of some
surface manifestations of the agitation of the race question. That a
movement managed in Atlanta, Ga., has no business meddling in the
international affairs of this country is so obvious that it is quite
unnecessary to comment further upon it.
The manner in which applications for membership are solicited in
connection with the work of the official lecturers is illustrated in the
following description of a lecture:
"At the regular meeting of the Newport News Klan No. 8, Realm of
Virginia, held in its Klavern, Monday, May 30, a resolution was
introduced and passed by unanimous vote that Your Majesty be
requested if possible to return Col. J. Q. Nolan to Newport News at a
future date to deliver another address. Colonel Nolan spoke at the
Imperial Theater with a seating capacity of eight hundred with the
standing room only sign displayed before he even began speaking.
There were fully as many turned away as were able to hear him. If
possible to have him return we will secure the Academy of Music for
his address and we can promise him a packed house. Colonel Nolan won
the hearts of all who heard him and the request for his return comes
not only from Klansmen but from men and women from all walks of life.
At the meeting following Colonel's Nolan's address, ninety-one
applications were presented and interest has been aroused to fever
heat here. If it can be made possible for Colonel Nolan to return,
please have him do so. At the same time we would like to extend a
warm personal invitation to Your Majesty to come with Colonel Nolan,
for Newport News and our Klan would feel it an honor indeed to
entertain Your Majesty."
Several of the "News-letters" support my claim that the organization is
endeavoring to throw its coils around all public officers. This is seen
for instance in the letter of May 20, 1921, which reads:
"You may state in your weekly letter that in one city in Virginia we
have the chief of police, the commonwealth attorney, the postmaster,
the police court judge, members of the city council and the managing
editor of the leading paper and many other prominent business and
professional men. This is Newport News."
The "News-letter" of June 10, 1921, shows a still more sinister situation.
The Exalted Cyclops of Norfolk, Virginia, writes:
"We have just taken in the chief of police. He is a fine up-standing
fellow, a major in the World War. We had a hard time getting
information regarding him, but when we found that he was eligible we
had no trouble enlisting him in our ranks and when he was initiated
you never saw such a pleased fellow; he radiated it, and when he
learned he was to have our support in upholding the law he was
certainly pleased, especially with our military organization, which
we offered him in case of trouble. He then informed us that the city
is insufficiently protected and that we are sitting on a volcano
regarding the negro question, that there is a great deal of unrest
among them and that we might have a riot at any time and he was very
much worried. He told us that not many months ago there was a riot in
the negro district, caused by negro soldiers attacking a district
police station to release a negro prisoner, but it never got into the
papers--so it was news to all of us. He welcomed us and the military
company is to be trained and two hundred and sixty repeating rifles
will be turned over to us in time of trouble. I asked how many in the
three hundred present at the meeting would be willing to join the
organization to assist the chief, and every one of them stood up. How
is that for one hundred per cent Americanism? They were told they
might have to sacrifice their lives in case of trouble, but they did
not flinch at duty. The chief of police states that any man we select
to head these two hundred and sixty Klansmen will be made by him
assistant director of public safety in charge of these Klansmen."
Imperial Kleagle Clarke, commenting on the above communication, states:
"We call that almighty fine. The Norfolk Klan is working along the right
line and deserves to be highly commended for the steps it has taken in
enforcement of the law and preservation of order."
An examination of the Norfolk communication reveals some interesting
points. In the first place the author of the letter says: "We had a hard
time getting information regarding him, but when we found that he was
eligible we had no trouble enlisting him in our ranks." In other words,
some of the best and most efficient police officers in the United States
are Irish-Catholics, and since, according to the Ku Klux Klan, they are
foreigners and to be classed with the negro, it is highly important, first
of all, to ascertain the religion of the chief of police. As he probably
is not an active churchgoer this task was rather difficult, but when he
was found to be a Protestant, he was eagerly sought after. Now that the
chief has taken the oath of allegiance to the "Invisible Empire," and has
surrounded himself with his two hundred and sixty Ku Kluxes, I would not
give much for the chances of a Catholic to get on the Norfolk police
force. It is also interesting to read the fact that this particular Klan
states that it is military, and that a military company will be trained
and drilled, and that rifles will be issued to this secret organization.
If this is a straw indicating the way in which the Ku Klux wind is
blowing, it is not unreasonable to suppose that in the course of time
there will be a gigantic, secret, national organization drilled as
soldiers, and under the autocratic command of the "Emperor of the
Invisible Empire."
The "News-letter" above quoted again makes an extract from the report of
the Exalted Cyclops of the Norfolk Klan, which is really more dangerous to
the United States than the one previously discussed. It is more dangerous
for the reason that it reflects the insane light of religious fervor and
fanaticism in connection with this movement, and shows how the attempt of
Simmons to build a secret Empire on the religious idea is bearing its
fruit. I bespeak for this effusion a careful reading:
"I did not think it possible that my enthusiasm for our noble order
could be increased, but your letter of the fourteenth instant, has
filled me with added inspiration. Having been offered an opportunity
for service in the field in Missouri, I am resigning my position with
the government here and hope soon to be among the chosen disciples of
our great Emperor proclaiming his inspired doctrine of new freedom to
the world. Beyond the simple office of treasurer in my home county I
have never sought public honors nor craved political preference, but
in the glorious work of this God-inspired order every ounce of my
energy will strive for excellence. I shall never seek the honor or
preferment of office except wherein I may contribute to the honor and
preferment of my Klan. My fellow Klansmen have here seen fit to
confer upon me the highest honor within their power, and God being my
witness, I would not barter it for any other honor that life may
hold. My only consolation in leaving my faithful Klan for a time is
that I may aid in the promulgation of the glorious institutions of
freedom which my sons battled for beneath the Stars and Stripes for
which I have pledged my blood beneath the flaming symbol of an
unconquered race of men."
These "News-letters" are valuable as showing the mental attitude of the
workers and members of the Ku Klux Klan. They show that wherever it is
possible the national organization desires to throw its net around the
officers of the law, and enroll them in the system. Under the guise of
assisting the authorities to enforce the law this is done, and to my
personal knowledge many conscientious and capable officers of the law
believe that the idea is a good one. At the same time it is an alarming
situation when police officers and sheriffs who have already taken one
oath to the States in which they reside, take another--a vicious and
illegal obligation--to an "Invisible Empire," ruled autocratically by one
man who has in mind plans he does not reveal to his followers. What is to
happen when the chief of police of a city swears to obey "unconditionally"
all laws, regulations, decrees and edicts of the Ku Klux Klan "which have
been or which may be hereafter enacted."
Whatever excuse the original Ku Klux Klan may have had for its existence,
it is impossible to conceive any situation arising in this country at the
present time that calls for any extra-judicial organization, functioning
in secret, and composed of men wearing robes and masks to conceal their
identities. And along this line, I want to call attention to a historical
fact. The original Klan was organized and functioned at a time when the
courts and law-enforcing machinery of the South were paralyzed, but, as
soon as the courts began to administer justice, General Forrest, the Grand
Wizard, of the Ku Klux Klan, issued an order disbanding the organization
on the ground that it was no longer needed. Surely, if the original Klan,
having functioned as an enormous "vigilance committee" in several States,
found that its services were not required, what real excuse can be
advanced for the continuance of an extra-judicial organization in these
days of ample courts, able officers of the law and the administration of
justice? It seems to me that there are more than enough law-enforcement
agencies in the United States.
If the system of judicature in the United States is so helpless that a
secret, masked, "Invisible Empire" is necessary to enforce the law, then
the cold truth is that the Federal and State governments are abject
failures. This then, being the case, it should be the duty of the people
to devise ways and means to create and maintain a new system. In the face
of the fact that this country has grown from a few small colonies to one
of the greatest of world powers, and that the Constitution of the United
States has been the basic law under which this has been done, and that our
system of law enforcement is entirely adequate, the attempt on the part of
any organization whatever to take upon itself the enforcement of the law
is a piece of presumptuous impudence. All laws are made and enforced by
representatives of the whole people. They are not enacted by or for the
benefit of a class and they cannot be enforced by a class.
The "News-letters" also indicate that the teachings of Simmons are taking
firm root in the minds of the religious element of the country. While I
may be disputed on this point, I believe, from my observations in various
sections of the country which I have visited, that the people of the
South as a whole take their churches and their religions more seriously
than do people elsewhere. The whole structure of modern Ku Kluxism is an
attempt to clothe its real purposes and intentions in the garb of the
backwoods religious revival. Its ritualism is of the camp-meeting order,
and all its ceremonies, as I shall show later, tend to awaken the emotions
of provincial Protestantism. History has shown in numerous instances that
where this religious fervor is aroused, it produces a blind fanaticism
that is one of the most dangerous forces in the body politic when it is
turned loose. The inability of the fanatic to differentiate between the
political activities of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and the Roman
Catholic Church as a great religious institution is one of the greatest
menaces of the Ku Klux movement.
The "News-letters" show further that already the fanatical "citizens" of
the "Invisible Empire" are catching hold of the idea of autocracy, and
that the "subjects" are addressing their rulers as "Your Majesty."
Were the situation not so serious and of such vital moment to the American
people, this "Empire" of Ku Kluxism would be one of the greatest pieces of
humor ever perpetrated upon the American public.