SIMMONS FORCED TO ACT
The cases of lawlessness set forth in the foregoing chapter have been laid
at the door of the "Invisible Empire," but "Emperor" Simmons has denied
that the acts involved were committed by members of his organization.
There have been, however, three specific cases where outrages have been
_proven_ to have been committed by members of the "Invisible Empire," and
in these cases the "Emperor" has been forced to take action against his
own Klans, revoking charters in two instances and suspending the charter
of the third. This action on the part of the "Emperor" has been
extensively advertised by him as a guarantee of good faith that he intends
to keep his "Invisible Empire" free from the control of lawless
characters; but, public opinion, in the shape of widespread editorial
comment of leading newspapers, does not agree with his point of view.
Editors agree that no matter how altruistic may be the claims of the
"Invisible Empire," a movement of secret government, acting extra-legally
cannot be held in control; and it having been demonstrated in three
specific instances that the Ku Klux Klan has been guilty of lawlessness,
thus necessitating the "Emperor's" summary action, it follows that the
whole system has no place in American affairs.
Believing that these developments in the Ku Klux situation fully sustain
my position that the "Invisible Empire" is not a fraternal order, but a
combination seeking to govern the American people by intimidation and
force, I shall take up these cases in detail, the facts in each instance
having been fully verified by the _New York World_ in its investigations.
The first instance of lawlessness developed in Mobile, Ala., when people
of that city awoke one morning in the spring of 1921, to find Ku Klux
warnings on many billboards, trees, and telephone poles, and in other
public places. Most of them laughed, but some of the negroes took the
signs seriously and prepared to leave the city. A Northern exodus was
threatened, but with all the excitement the newspapers of the city
remained silent, not even printing the notice found stuck up about the
place, although a New Orleans paper carried the story which was read by
the negroes of Mobile. Fearing the action of public opinion, "Emperor"
Simmons revoked the charter of the Mobile Klan.
The warning read:
"Law violators! This is the first and last time that we will warn
you! You must either heed this warning or take the consequences, for
if you have any doubts in your mind that you will not be able to
comply with the laws of this city and county then you had better
leave at once; 'for be ye well assured' that we will attend to you
without fear or favor.
"This warning is for the taxi drivers, street smashers, bad women,
shinny dealers, gamblers, thieves, loafers, and any and all violators
of the law. We know you and have your names, and should you violate
one of the laws after receiving this warning be ye assured that we
will attend to you without hesitation, as the laws of this county
must be complied with.
"No law-abiding citizens need fear anything from this organization
for we stand back of the laws and see that they are enforced
regardless. This is no negro whipping organization, but should
occasion arise, be ye assured that we will not hesitate.
"This warning also applies to colored doctors. Seventy-two hours
after this notice you must have the word 'colored' posted on your
sign. This waiting on white patients must be stopped. We know you,
and the next case that you attend don't blame us, as you have been
warned.
"Bad women, you must obey the laws or then you must leave the city.
This county shall be clean. Married men, you must look after your
families and quit carousing; violation of this warning means
unhealthy steps for you.
"We stand for the chastity of womanhood, peace and harmony in the
home, law enforcement and protection of our homes and our families.
Mobile County must be clean. Law violators, this means you.
"We are one hundred per cent Americans, and stand back of law
enforcement, regardless.
"We do not fight anyone on account of their religious scruples nor
will we tolerate same regardless.
"This warning is for those living in the jurisdiction of the Klan,
and we are here twenty-five hundred strong to see that these warnings
are carried out. Your next warning will be in person.
"(Signed) The Ku Klux Klan, Mobile City and County."
If the Mobile Klan really had twenty-five hundred members at the time its
charter was revoked, it means that it had paid $25,000 into the coffers of
the Ku Klux agents, to say nothing of some $16,000 paid to the Atlanta
office for robes. It seems rather unkind of the "Emperor" not to have
allowed the Mobile outfit something in return for its heavy outlay. Had it
been permitted to continue, it could easily have beaten and tarred and
feathered a few helpless women, driven out of town some of the taxi
drivers and gamblers, and mutilated a few negro men. As it turned out, the
Klansmen suddenly found themselves "all dressed up and no place to go,"
and in pretty much the same position as a lot of little boys who have been
playing pirate and whose stern parents ordered them to come home.
The second instance of admitted lawlessness on the part of the national
organization occurred at Pensacola, Fla., and was a particularly brazen
attempt on the part of secret mob government to assume to enforce its own
laws. About half past eight o'clock on the night of July 8, 1921, a
delegation of the local Ku Klux Klan drove in automobiles up to the cafe
of Chris Lochas, three cars loaded with Klansmen, wearing white robes and
helmets, while other cars, similarly filled, stopped on the corner of the
street. Three members of the Klan walked into the cafe and handed a letter
in an envelope to Lochas. The message read:
"You are an undesirable citizen. You violate the Federal prohibition
laws, the laws of decency, and you are a running sore on society.
"Several trains are leaving Pensacola daily. Take your choice, but
don't take too much time.
"Sincerely in earnest."
When the letter was handed to Lochas, Captain Harper of the Police
Department was standing inside the cafe, talking to the proprietor. Lochas
opened the letter, looked at it and put it into his pocket, and thinking
the matter a joke paid no attention to it. A few minutes later some
negroes, who had seen the members of the Klan and recognized them for what
they were, came into the cafe and their stories of the Klan caused Lochas
to examine the letter more carefully and show it to the police. After
delivering the message, the three members of the Klan walked out of the
cafe, entered their automobiles and the three cars drove away into the
night. The street was crowded at the time of the visit and hundreds of
people saw the men in white robes halt their cars in front of the cafe and
on the street corner, saw the messengers enter and leave the cafe and saw
the cars drive away. In addition to the police captain who was on the
inside of the cafe, a uniformed policeman was on duty immediately outside
the door, yet neither the police nor any person present noted the license
numbers of the cars or made any attempt to interfere with the visitors.
The _Pensacola News_ in an editorial printed July 9, 1921, said:
"Good citizens expressed themselves freely today concerning the
occurrence of last night and were unanimous in the opinion that in a
community where the courts are open and where the law is enforced by
officers chosen by the people, there is not the slightest
justification or excuse for any oath-bound secret organization,
setting itself up above the law and usurping the functions of the
duly constituted officers of the Government, meeting in
out-of-the-way places, acting in secret, and moving in disguise,
setting up its own standards of right and wrong, acting as accuser,
witness, judge and executioner, and that the activities of such an
organization will not be tolerated in this community even if it
should become necessary to appeal to Federal authorities and invoke
the aid of the Government secret service men to arrest its
activities.
"The opinion was freely expressed that if one body of men acting in
secret can command a resident to leave the city under a veiled threat
of personal injury, because the organization conceives the idea that
the man is violating the prohibition law, another secret organization
of men has an equal right to invite a young woman to leave town
because perchance she might go in bathing in a bath costume not in
accordance with the views of that organization; and another secret
organization of men might call an employer to his door at midnight
and give him a warning that he must raise the wages of his employees
or grant them shorter working hours, or suffer personal violence.
"The activities of last night have been reported to United States,
State, and county officials, who are considering what steps to take
in the matter. It is made a criminal offense by city ordinance for
any persons to appear in public in disguise, and police officers have
been instructed to arrest any person appearing in public in disguise.
It is made a crime against the United States for two or more persons
to conspire against another to deprive him of his civil rights, and
it is made a criminal offense by the laws of the State for two or
more persons to conspire or confederate to commit a breach of peace,
and the State laws prohibit a rout, which is defined to be the
assembling of three or more persons for any unlawful purpose. It is
believed that the laws of the United States, the State and the city
are ample to arrest the activities of any secret organization of the
character mentioned."
As a result of indignation of the best citizens of Pensacola, Simmons
suspended the charter of the Pensacola Klan, and offered to aid in
discovering the perpetrators of the lawlessness, issuing a long statement
which appeared on the front page of the Pensacola morning paper July 14,
1921, wherein he stated, with his usual sanctimonious whine that his
organization stood for "the supremacy of pure Americanism without fear and
without reproach," and gave expression, in his usual bad English, to his
usual platitudes.
The _Pensacola News_ in an editorial the same day challenged the "Emperor"
to aid the authorities in detecting the criminals by giving the names of
the members of the local Klan so they could be called before the Grand
Jury and be examined under oath, and the names of the guilty parties
thereby ascertained. The _News_ further said:
"'Pure Americanism' stands for equal opportunity, unabridged freedom
within the law, orderly government, and the enforcement of the laws
by the processes ordained by the Constitution. The anonymous
communication, the ganging together of many to attack one, the
affecting of a disguise, and the secret organization of men who took
the law into their own hands in Pensacola on last Friday night, are
the methods of the black hand, the mafia, and the nihilists. These
organizations had their origin in Europe and cannot flourish upon
American soil.
"There is no room beneath the Stars and Stripes for anarchy and
bolshevism, for any organization that cannot afford to give the
prosecuting attorneys of the Federal and State government the names
of its members. The secrets of the organization will not be pried
into, but the criminals will be handed over to the State for
prosecution in the manner provided for by law.
"We repeat, the situation in Pensacola affords the K. K. K. and its
Imperial Wizard an opportunity to show that their organization does
not stand for lawlessness, that its members are law abiding, and that
the organization will not countenance crime or its concealment by its
members."
Simmons, of course, has never complied with this challenge, as far as has
been reported in the newspapers, and it is doubtful if he ever will. He
has issued a long-winded, verbose statement since that time rehashing the
same platitudes that have characterized all his writings and speeches, but
has not turned over to the authorities the names of his local members. The
charter of the Pensacola Klan has merely been suspended, although the
offense committed was far more flagrant and specific than the case of the
Mobile Klan, and it is quite likely that should the matter "blow over" the
Pensacola organization will be reinstated.
The third case in which the "Emperor" found it necessary to take public
action against one of his Klans which had gone too far in publicly
advertising the "noble cause" occurred in Beaumont, Tex., and attracted
newspaper attention on a nation-wide scale in the month of July, 1921. It
was the first time that a Klan openly and publicly admitted its
participation in an overt act of lawlessness. The case was so brazen that
the "Emperor" revoked the Klan's charter.
It appears from an examination of the facts in the case that masked men
entered the office of one Dr. J. S. Paul, in the city of Beaumont, on the
night of May 7, 1921, forced the physician to accompany them to a waiting
automobile, conveyed him to the country, whipped him, tarred and feathered
him and ordered him to leave town. A short time after that, similar
treatment was meted out to one R. F. Scott, described in the dispatches as
a veteran of the Marine Corps. Much excitement prevailed in Beaumont,
until on July 21, 1921, a communication was received by the local
newspapers under seal of "Klan No. 7, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan," of
Beaumont, accompanied by a long statement of alleged facts in the cases of
the two men who had been beaten.
Frankly admitting that its members had attacked Paul and Scott, the
statement went into details as to the characters and conduct of the two
men. It was charged that Paul had, for a long time, been making a business
of criminal operations on women, of the sale of drugs and whiskey, and had
waxed fat and powerful in this alleged illicit business. It was charged
that for the past five years repeated attempts had been made to have him
indicted and convicted, but that on account of wealth and political
influence, he had succeeded in evading the law. The climax of his alleged
practices was reached in the case of a young woman, her name was not given
in the statement, who was brought to Paul for an alleged operation. It
appears from the charges made by the Klan that Scott was involved in the
matter. According to the statements of the Klan, an operation was
performed, from the results of which the woman was caused to suffer severe
consequences, it being claimed that death nearly resulted from her
condition. It appears further from the allegations that the woman called
to see Doctor Paul and demanded financial assistance, asking for $1000 to
reimburse her for her expenses incurred during her illness. This,
according to the statement, Paul refused to pay, offering instead $500,
which was refused, after which the woman was said to have been ordered out
of the office. The rest of the story, told in the exact words of the Klan
reads:
"Following this visit to Doctor Paul the girl visited the county
attorney and related her story to him, but she pleaded that her
father and mother be spared the shame of parading her misfortune to
the world. She was assured by the county attorney that he was
powerless to act unless she herself would file the complaint and
testify against Doctor Paul. This she felt she could not do and left
the court of law in despair. Then followed several days of unceasing
agony the sufferings of the pangs of hunger and the remorselessness
of a conscience that had been violated. The depths of despair were
reached, suicide was the next logical step. The anguish-laden cry of
that poor girl was heard by men who respect the great moral law more
than the technicalities of the legal code. The heavy hand of the Ku
Klux was laid upon Doctor Paul.
"For while the rabble with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingles in selfish strife, Lo! freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting justice sleeps."
(Ku Klux Ritual)
"The eyes of the unknown had seen and observed the wrong to be
redressed. Doctor Paul stood convicted before God and man as the
murderer of unborn babies, the despoiler of little children, the
social leper who sells the life of a human being for a money
consideration. His victim was a poor girl. Doctor Paul was wealthy.
Between the two stood the majesty of the law, draped in the
technicalities of changes of venue, mistrials, appeals,
postponements, eminent counsel skilled in the esoteric art of
protecting crime and interpreting laws involved in a mass of legal
verbiage, the winding and unwinding of red tape, instead of the
sinewy arm of justice, wielding the unerring sword. The law of the
Man is justice.
"Doctor Paul was approached in his office by three men on the night
of May 7, and instructed to go with them. He was placed in a waiting
automobile and escorted a few miles out of town. The judgment of the
Klan was read to him and charges were related to him, none of which
he would deny. In a cowardly, whimpering plea, he plead that others
were as guilty as he. The lash was laid on his back and the tar and
feathers applied to his body. He was then informed that it was the
will of the Klan that he should leave the city within forty-eight
hours. Upon the return of the party to Beaumont, Doctor Paul was
discharged from an automobile at the intersection of two of the main
streets of the city that he might be a warning to all of his ilk that
decent men and women no longer wanted him in the community. Doctor
Paul complied with the instructions of the Klan that he leave the
city and returned for a few days to his former home at Lufkin. During
this time he was under the constant surveillance of the Klan."
When Doctor Paul returned to Beaumont, according to the statement, he was
invited to appear before the Grand Jury for the purpose of testifying
about his attackers, but upon appearing before that body, he was
confronted with the girl in the case, who, it appears, for some reason not
mentioned in the statement, had decided to make a public complaint against
Doctor Paul in the manner prescribed by law. Why it was any more improper
for the woman to have testified before the Grand Jury in the first place
than in the second the Klan does not mention, but, according to its
explanation, Doctor Paul was indicted on several counts, along with Scott,
the other man involved, and was released on bail. Here follows some very
excellent Ku Klux humor:
"Doctor Paul immediately made bond and was released from custody,
Scott was later arrested and in a few days made bond and released.
Doctor Paul for many days, in company with his hired henchman, openly
paraded the streets of the city armed to the teeth in open defiance
of the law."
Here is Ku Kluxism in all of its glory. "In open defiance of the law,"
utterly repudiating the Bill of Rights of both Federal and State
constitutions, which guarantee a man the right of trial by jury, this
organization had abducted a citizen, tried him secretly, convicted him,
and punished him and then whines because its former victim armed himself
as a protection against further mob violence. Regardless of any and all of
the allegations against Doctor Paul, the assumption of any set of men to
secretly handle the law enforcement of a community is nothing more or less
than anarchy.
It is very interesting and illustrative of the Ku Klux state of mind to
study this remarkable document, for which reason I am giving copious
extracts. It appears that efforts of all kinds according to the Ku Klux,
were made by Paul and Scott to kill the case, and the Klan claims that
Scott was persistent in his efforts to induce the woman in the affair to
leave town. The statement continues:
"Scott was warned that his conduct towards the girl must cease and
that he would be required to stand trial at the appointed time. This
warning served no purpose to him and his annoyances to the girl
continued. Then Scott, who had been constantly watched by the Klan,
whose number is legion, and whose eye is all seeing and whose methods
of gathering information are not known to the alien world, was
apprehended and punished in the same manner Doctor Paul had been
dealt with. He was taken to the woods and guarded until nightfall.
His captors during this time treated him with kindness and
consideration. They provided him with food and fruit to eat and ice
water to drink. During the day he was questioned and admitted all the
charges the Klan had accused him of. The judgment of the Klan was
that he was to be given ten lashes across the bare back and that he
was to be tarred and feathered and brought to Beaumont to deliver two
messages, one to Doctor Paul that he must comply with the decision of
the Klan that he should leave town, but that he must return for trial
at the proper time. The other message was to another person that the
Klan would not allow the technicalities to cheat justice any further
in this case."
The statement concludes by an attack on Scott's army record, and the
allegation that he had served a prison sentence, adding:
"Yet he poses to the gullible public and sensational newspapers as a
patriot and a hero. All these things the eyes of the unknown have
seen and their ears have heard. We cannot be deceived and justice
will no longer be mocked."
Immediately following the publication of this frank statement, "Emperor"
Simmons revoked the charter of the Beaumont Klan, and announced his
intention of sending investigators to Texas for the purpose of looking
into the various cases that had been reported where men in disguise had
taken the law into their own hands. Up to the time that this was written,
however, no such investigations have been made or attempted, so far as the
public has been informed through the press.
The American people should view with alarm the propagation of any
organization, the result of which has been the establishment of _one_ unit
which assumes to itself the secret regulation of law enforcement. Yet,
when one studies the ritual and the oath of the Ku Klux Klan but little
blame can be attached to the men in Beaumont for obeying what seemed to
them the teachings of the "Invisible Empire." They had sworn to "use any
and all justifiable means and methods" and, taking the literal
construction of the oath, they saw what appeared to them a bad condition
existing in their community, which they proceeded to rectify. The prime
responsibility for the Beaumont case rests upon William J. Simmons for
having solicited men to take an obligation that is in itself a violation
of the letter and spirit of the laws of this country. His action in
revoking the charter was forced by the publicity given to the case, and by
the frankness and openness of his followers in assuming the blame for
their acts. Speaking in ordinary street parlance, the action of the
"Emperor" was merely "passing the buck" to his own people who had been
"caught with the goods." When men are given a dangerous explosive to play
with, the blame for the explosion that follows should be placed upon the
person or corporation that gave it to them.