SUGGESTED LEGAL REMEDIES
The task of ridding the United States of the "Invisible Empire" will not
be an easy matter. The people are prone to wait until the horse has
completely disappeared before they begin to look after the security of the
barn door. Until public sentiment is thoroughly aroused over the dangerous
possibilities of an "Invisible Empire," such as is now being developed, it
is unlikely that even the first steps will be taken toward suppressing it.
The idea is so foreign to all the established order in this country that
people will be slow in realizing what it is all about. Appreciating this
fact and knowing that I possessed but limited facilities for bringing the
matter to public attention, I felt prompted to turn over to the _New York
World_ all the information I possessed, and have that great newspaper
inaugurate a nation-wide investigation followed by a publicity campaign
that would make the "Invisible Empire" visible.
Exposure of a system, however, marks but the first step in eliminating
that system. Publicity must be followed up by official action aimed at the
accomplishment of concrete results, for unless this is done, the public
mind is soon diverted from the subject, and the exposure becomes merely a
newspaper episode. In the present instance, exposure of the "Invisible
Empire," without legal action, will have the effect of advertising it
without harming it in the slightest degree--and swelling its ranks with
thousands of new recruits.
In my opinion, the authorities of this country should use every available
piece of legal machinery to stop the propaganda, and new laws should be
immediately enacted rendering it impossible to promote such a scheme in
this country in the future. It must be remembered that the men who have
launched this proposition have built up a large organization, many of the
members of which are fanatics. The promoters have already seen the
possibilities of the scheme as a business proposition; they have the names
of the present members, which can be used again; they have a fully
equipped plant for future operations; and in the event the Ku Klux scheme
fails, they will probably try another one along similar lines. The system
itself must be destroyed and prohibited from further action, either in its
present costume or in any other. Several lines of action suggest
themselves, but they may be broadly classified under the two heads:
Federal and State. There should be concurrent action on the part of these
two governments.
I believe that Congress should enact legislation directed specifically at
organizations of the character of the "Invisible Empire." It should be
provided that all organizations, secret or open, engaged in promoting
racial or religious discord, should be prevented from sending their
literature through the mails. The statute should be broad enough to
include any kind of organized attempt to stir up class hatred, and
officials of all such organizations should be held to strict
accountability for the accuracy of statements sent through the mails.
Misrepresentation of facts as to national, state or local conditions
should be the basis of Federal action in breaking up such organizations.
In the exercise of a national police power, Congress should be able to
give the Federal Government the right to act against the heads of
organizations, as well as a few individuals. In the cases that have come
to light where there has been acknowledged violation of law by local
Klans, Simmons has side-stepped responsibility by revoking and suspending
charters. If Congress will pass legislation declaring that national
officers of secret organizations are responsible for acts of their
subordinates, and are subject to indictment, an important step will be
taken in the right direction.
Since the chief asset of the "Invisible Empire" is its secrecy, Congress
should pass an act providing that all secret orders or societies using the
United States mails or engaged in the business of interstate commerce--as
the "Invisible Empire" undoubtedly is--should be required to furnish the
Government with a list of names of their members. The list should be
required to be in duplicate, one copy to be placed on file, for public
inspection, in the office of the local postmaster, while the other copy
should be placed on file in Washington. The Government should also have
the right to inspect all books of account, showing funds that have been
derived from members either by interstate commerce or by the use of the
United States mails. This removal of secrecy would, to a considerable
extent, lessen the danger of Ku Kluxism as a political force, and
requiring publicity as far as membership rosters is concerned would
materially aid in making the system harmless. I am quite sure that a
publicity statute would not work any great hardship on the existing
standard fraternal orders for most of them have a yearly printed roster
for distribution.
Under the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, the Attorney-General of the United States can maintain
actions against the "Invisible Empire" on account of its activities in
Texas, and have no doubt that an official investigation of alleged
outrages would show some interesting facts. In order to make the matter
effective, however, the investigation must be gone into very carefully and
all of the facts uncovered. In August, 1921, the United States District
Attorney in Chicago announced that he intended to investigate the Ku Klux
Klan. In a few days, according to newspaper reports, he stated that he had
been shown the charter of incorporation and other literature of the
organization, and that he could not discover anything upon which he could
base legal action. The charter of the organization does not tell all the
facts, as has been demonstrated in the preceding pages.
Concurrently with the action of the Federal Government, the States can do
some valuable work in stamping out Ku Kluxism, and preventing both the
present "Invisible Empire" and its future imitators from operating. The
"Invisible Empire" is known legally as the "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,
Inc." and was incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia. So far
as has been published in the newspapers, the only State in the Union where
it has been granted a license to do business outside of its home state,
has been in Indiana, where its charter was filed in August, 1921. In every
State where it has not filed its charter and complied with the corporation
laws it has no legal standing whatever. Actions could be brought by the
Attorneys-General of the various States restraining the Klan from further
operation and also indictments might lie against the promoters for
operating without compliance with the law.
As soon as it can be conveniently done, the legislatures of the States
should enact various laws for the purpose of killing Ku Kluxism, laws
directed against membership corporations stirring up religious and racial
prejudice, against secret membership, against unwarranted interference
with the law-enforcing branches of the Government, and against going about
the community in disguise. More stringent laws should also be enacted
providing for the registration of foreign membership corporations seeking
to do business from another State, especially where money is taken from
the public. If the passage of "Blue-Sky" laws has had the effect of
protecting the public from being victimized by all kinds of stock-selling
schemes, surely legislation could easily be enacted to carefully
scrutinize all alleged fraternal orders.
As to permitting foreign membership corporations to do business in a
State, it should be enacted that before being permitted to engage in the
business of soliciting members from whom initiation fees or "donations"
are to be secured, the corporation should be required to file with the
Secretary of State a sworn statement of all its national officers, its
plans for doing business, a copy of its charter of incorporation, its
constitution and laws, and, where agents are employed to canvas for
members it should be specified what compensation they are to be paid.
These agents should be licensed by the State as the "Blue Laws" require
the licensing of stock salesmen. The organization should, furthermore, be
required to file a bond with the Secretary of State insuring the good
behavior of the organization while engaged in business in the State, and
it should be specified that the bond be forfeited should any local branch
be guilty of committing a lawless act, in which case, also, the right of
the corporation to do business in the State should automatically be
terminated. No foreign corporation which permits its members to go about,
in other States, disguised should be permitted to enter. After having
complied with the foregoing provisions, the act should further provide
that at stated intervals the secretary of each local branch be required to
make two copies of the roster of membership of his branch, filing one copy
with the county clerk of his county, and mailing one copy to the Secretary
of State. These two copies should be open for public inspection at all
times. In the event that the local branch fails or refuses to file its
roster, the right of the national organization to do business in the State
should automatically terminate.
As a matter of safeguard to the community, every State in the United
States should have a statute enacted along the lines of the Tennessee Ku
Klux act (Sections 6668, Shannons Code _et seq._) which reads:
"6668. If any person or persons, masked or in disguise, shall prowl,
or travel, or ride, or walk through the country or towns of this
State, to the disturbance of the peace, or to the alarming of the
citizens of any portion of this State, on conviction thereof (they)
shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five
hundred dollars, and imprisoned in the county jail of the county
wherein convicted, at the discretion of the jury trying the case.
"6669. If any person or persons, disguised or in mask, by day or by
night, shall enter upon the premises of another, or demand entrance
or admission into the house or inclosure of any citizen of this
State, it shall be considered _prima facie_ that his or her intention
is to commit a felony, and such demand shall be deemed an assault
with an intent to commit a felony, and the person or persons so
offending, shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the
penitentiary not less than ten years nor more than twenty years.
"6670. If any person or persons, so prowling, traveling, riding, or
walking through the towns or country of this State, masked or in
disguise, shall or may assault another with a deadly weapon, he or
they shall be deemed guilty of an assault with intent to commit
murder in the first degree, and, on conviction thereof, shall suffer
death by hanging; provided that the jury trying the case may
substitute imprisonment in the penitentiary for a period of not less
than ten years nor more than twenty-one years."
In connection with this Tennessee statute, it is interesting to note that
the leading case, reported in the State, based on the act fully sustained
the statute. In the case of Walpole against the State, 9 Baxter 369,
delivered in 1878 by a Supreme Court composed entirely of Democrats, with
several Confederate soldiers the court held:
"It is apparent that the object of this statute was to repress a
great evil which arose in this country after the war, and which grew
to be an offense of frequent occurrence, that of evil-minded and
mischievous persons disguising themselves to terrify or to wrong
those who happened to be the objects of their wrath or resentment.
This was a kind of mob law, enforced sometimes by a multitude of
vagabonds, who grew to be a great terror to the people and placed
human life and property at the mercy of bad men, whose crimes could
scarcely ever be punished because of the disguises under which they
were perpetrated."
In closing its opinion the court said:
"The penalties of a violation of this law are severe, but they have
proved themselves wholesome in the partial suppression already of one
of the greatest of the disturbing elements of social order in this
State. Affirm the judgment."
If every State in the Union will pass a law along similar lines to the
above Tennessee statute, there will be no Ku Klux parades, no midnight
burnings of the fiery cross, and no repetition of the tar and feathers
occurrences that have been prevalent in the State of Texas. I think that
there should be a modification, however, of the Tennessee statute, making
it a misdemeanor to go about disguised in the daytime, and a felony at
night.
There are already enough laws on the statute books of the States against
mob violence, assault, murder, mayhem and other crimes, and the
enforcement of these laws will go a long way toward killing the "masked
terror." No law, however, is enforceable unless public sentiment is behind
it, and if the public officials, especially the sheriff's forces and the
city police departments are filled with men sworn to obey
"unconditionally" the orders of the "Invisible Empire" and to use "any and
all justifiable means and methods" in the accomplishment of the Ku Klux
program even public sentiment can do but little. In this connection, I
want to call attention to an editorial which appeared in the
_Searchlight_, the official organ of the Ku Klux Klan, under date of July
23, 1921, which reads:
"It is sometimes amusing to note the ridiculous situations which
ignorance oftentimes leads men, even of more than average
intelligence. For instance, it doubtless is amusing to members of the
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan to hear a judge instruct a grand jury to
probe that organization because of its 'lawlessness and
un-Americanism,' when they know that anywhere from a third to
one-half the members of the grand jury are members of the K. K. K.,
and know that the good judge is all unconsciously making an ass of
himself by attempting to express an opinion on a subject that he
knows nothing about."
The attempt of the Ku Klux Klan to enlist the police authorities in its
organization and bind them with its vicious oath is the most serious count
in the indictment against the system. The potentialities are far-reaching,
and unless the organization is checked in that direction, the consequences
must necessarily be grave. How the situation, in that respect should be
met, I leave to others.
The foregoing suggestions are merely intended to set people to thinking,
and from these ideas may come better suggestions as to the proper methods
which should be pursued in checking and eliminating the rising tide of Ku
Kluxism. It should be carefully remembered, however, that the task of
wiping out Ku Kluxism will not be an easy matter. The organization is
headed by a shrewd individual who has already tasted the sweets of
success. All the energy that desperation and cunning can devise will be
used in resisting any effort that will be made to suppress the
organization. Behind this individual are thousands of fanatics, who for
one reason or another believe that this "noble cause" is the salvation of
the country. While fully one-half of the men who have parted with ten
dollars went into the organization out of curiosity, and will probably
drop it, the other element will do all it can to keep the movement alive,
even in spite of the exposure made by the _New York World_.
Behind the publicity of the _World_ should therefore come the united
efforts of every agency in America which discountenances such a scheme.
Every organization engaged in civic work should bring all the available
pressure to bear upon the legislative branches of both State and Federal
governments to secure the enactment of suitable laws against Ku Kluxism.
Then when adequate laws are secured, the power of public opinion should
demand that these laws be enforced and irresponsible and secret
government, private regulation of the public peace, interference with
law-enforcing authorities, and class hatred and prejudice should be
crushed.
Half-hearted measures will do no good. Unless the American people are
prepared to deal vigorously with Ku Kluxism, they may as well turn over to
the system the free and untrammelled right to carry out its secret
program, because mild measures will have but little effect in stemming the
tide this movement must inevitably bring should its propaganda be
successful.