Fiery Cross, Volume 3, Number 6, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 December 1923 — Page 4
PAGE FOUR
T HE ; PIKRY C ROSS Friday, December 7, 1923
E DITORi A L
CONGRESS TO TAKE
UP CHILD LABOR Bill
The FIRRY CHOrSS Is published every Friday by The Fiery Cross Pnbllshingr Company, Indianapolis, and will maintain a policy ol staunch. Protectant Americanism without fear or favor Edited, not to make up people's minds, but to shake up people's minds; le help mold active public opinion which will make America a proper place to live In. News of truth kills more false news and shrivels up more "bunk" than all the earnest arguments in the world. Truth helps to clarify opinions on serious questions by serious people. The FIERY CROSS will strive to (five the American viewpoint on published articles and separate the dross from the pure gold in ths current news ef the day.
The Fiery Cross Publishing Co., Inc., Publishers.
Entered as second-class matter, July 20, 1922, at the post office at Indianapolis, Indiana, under the Act of March 8, 1879.
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KLAN'S PROGRAM FOR 1923-24 1. Militant, old-fashioned Christianity and operative patriotism. 2. Back to the Constitution.
3. Enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment so long as it is a part
or the t (institution.
4. Enforcement of present Immigration laws and enactment of more
stringent laws on Immigration.
Sparks from the Fiery Cross By JOHN EIGHT POINT
Leaders in Thought
)51itzing the way in the fight on unrestricted Immigration, the Klansmen of America can now look with satisfaction on the trend ol thought of all America toward this question. In practically all the leading magazines
of the country one may find articles decrying lax immigration laws. Newspapers are gradually swinging over to the line of thought created by
Klansmen in regard to the immigration question. '
Unconsciously the people of America are taking up the thought, and
while thousands criticize the Klan, they coincide with its views. The news
papers, possibly unwittingly, are in many cases .upholding Klan theories
editorially while denouncing the organization in their news stones.
numher of papers, while advocating principles of the Klan, and, in other
words, following in Its footsteps, print contradictory editorials. ! Under the title, "The Immigration Peril," The World's Work is now j running a series of articles. In the December issue, the writer says: "It cost the New Mexioo House $7,287.50 for salaries of its employes during the sixty days of its life last year a modest sum as those things go but over one-fifth of this amount was for 'translators and interpreters.' That item, in terms of life, means that there are members, duly elected to the lower house of New Mexico, who today can not transact their legislative business iu English." That such a condition 'can exist and continue year after year is beyond the belief of the average American. However, New Mexico is far from being the only "object lesson" that can be pointed to by those who are objecting to the efforts to, as one magazine puts it, "alienize" America. It was pointed out in The Fiery Cross, in a news story from New York a few weeks ago, that less than twenty-five per cent of the candidates, out of four hundred and thirty-five running for office in New York City, at the last election, were born in America. Among the candidates were Italian
waiters, Russians, Poles and other nationalities, which were chiefly Irish, Germans and Jews born in Europe. This is one of the sorrowful conditions that exist in the United States today and one against which the Klan is fighting. Reluctantly are others taking up the fight; reluctant, not because they would not battle against this menace, but reluctant because it is an admission that the Klan is right and was the first to blaze the trail in a real fight against this menace. Not only in immigration is the Klan being followed, but in other things as well. The greater movement for placing the open JJble before the children of our country has been taken up by those who have followed the thought of the Klan. That organization has proved itself a leader In thought and it can not be doubted that it will not only continue in that
role, but will yearly find itself leading in thought that uplifts, betters and
promotes the interests of the people of America in a greater way. The Fable and the Vehicle
According to newspaper reports, Mayor George Durgan of Lafayette is undecided whether or not to enter the race for governor. This 13 only
natural as at the present time he is delivering speeches for the un-American Unity League, and if he tosses his hat into the ring it is only natural that
-hcould no longer talk through it and this fact would, of course, neeessi
tate nis quilting tne league. Mrr-Durgan, perpetual mayor of Lafayette, was scheduled to deliver a speech at Vevay, Indiana, on last Tuesday night. According to newspaper advertisements he was to have "devoted the major portion of his address" to a discussion of the constitution. This is most admirable; in fact, the constitution is something that all Americans should know about. The constitution is most dear to all Americans and Klansmen go so far as to take an oath to uphold this document on which our freedom Is founded. The advertisement also says that his honor, the perpetual mayor of Lafayette, will, after discussing the constitution at length, talk on the "evils of the Ku Klux Klan." Whether or not one of the "evils" is the oath taken bv Klansmen to unhold the constitution, is not knowtrat this time. Possi
bly one of the "evils" of which he will speak is that in which the Klan of Lafayette which has grown wonderfully through his arrogant fight against it purchased the county fair grounds and made money fdr the fair association. Mayor Durgan should make a likely candidate for governor most likely not. He is schooled in politics, having served as mayor perpetually in Lafayette and should have the backing of a great many voters who have been pleased with his actions in closing up public thoroughfares and turning
them over to private institutions for the purpose of building parochial schools .upon them together with other certain buildings. His experience no doubt has been the reason for him carrying in the advertisement that he is a Protestant. That is the only way in which anybody would know it. In this, readers are reminded of the fable of the man who proclaimed his honesty from the housetops at each and every time possible. The man in the fable was found to be not honest when the populace became suspicious because of his continued assertions that he was honest. Mayor Durban, it has been noted, takes every opportunity possible to tell the people that he is a Protestant, and even goes to the extent of advertising the
fact (?) in the newspapers. It is hardly probable, however, that the next governor of Indiana will be en ex-mayor of Lafayette. Mayor Durgan, should be actually be a candidate for governor, would, of course, choose the un-American Unity League as a vehicle in which to ride into the statehouse; and once again one is reminded of that old and once popular phrase: "It's a good Id wagon but it's done broke down."
FRENCH RACING FANS DEBATE GLANDED NAGS
PARIS, Dec. 3. The racing clubs of Paris are divided as to whether horse with rejuvenated monkey glands should be permitted to race on Krench tracks. Half the members are against the proposition while the other half are
in favor of it. Many stewards as
sert that any doctoring of thorough
brcds aavor of doping, and they
state that sportsmen should not let down the bars to permit any one to
monkey with the horses.
Others state that if the experiments are successful it would be a great boon for the horses and that
racing theoretically is aimed to de velop better animals.
MARY PICKFORD GIVES
TIP TO MOVIE STRUCK
LOS' ANGELES, Cal., Dec. 3.
Some 10,000 movie mad boys and
girls come to Hollywood every
month trying to break into the celluloid world. Now that inost of the studios are closed and regular actors
and actresses are idle, the author! ties want to warn the cinema am
bitioua,to stay at home. Mary Pickford addressed a crowd of 20,000 that filled Pershing square, and zave the official warning. She said
those who insisted on coming here should be in a position to wait five years in Hollywood for movie hon
ors and to be able to do some work while waiting. "And girls," she save, "take mamma along, 'You'll
need her'."
WASHINGTON. D. C, Dec. 1. The
question of child labor and the de
mand for a constitutional amend
ment giving congress power to deal with it by the passage of appropriate federal laws, will be a major
issue during the coming session.
along with tax revision, the world court, and the soldiers' bonus.
Senators and members will find on
their desks next Monday morning copies of the proposed amendment advocated by the permanent confer
ence for the abolition of child labor, headed by Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, at its meeting here last week.
This amendment, which is the
same as that introduced in the last
congress by Senator Medill McCormick (Rep., 111.), has the endorsement of twenty-five national organizations of men and women, ranging
from the General Federation of Women's Clubs and the National Education Association to the United Mine Workers and the International Textile Union. Scope of Proposed Amendment It provides that "the congress shall have power to limit or prohibit the labor of persons under 18 years
of age, and power is also reserved to the several states to limit or pro- i hibit such labor in any way which does not lessen any limitation of such" labor or the extent of any prohibition thereof." The comfortable theory that public opinion and state laws afford adequate protection to the children, without congressional action, will be
shaken by the array of facts presented. Not only is child labor on the Increase throughout the country, but surveys made by the children's bureau of the Department of Labor show that ' whenever thre has
been a decrease it has been due to industrial depression, and that sentiment in opposition to employment of children in gainful occupations has never beeu strong enough to discourage child labor where and when it can be profitably employed. Effect of Legislation Shown The second federal law, passed in February, 1919, was held unconstitutional by the supreme court May 15, 1922. Before the close of that year
twenty-one out of thirty-five cities" r
: reporting to the children's bureau
reported increases in the number of first work permits issued, ranging from 9 per cent in Detroit to 199 per cent in Springfield, Mass., five cities reporting increases of over 100 per cent
For the twenty-eight cities furnishing monthly figures the increase reported during the second half of 1922, compared with the same period in 1921, was 46 per cent, and of thirty cities reporting for the first half of 1923, compared with 1922, ail but two Washington, D. C, and
Minneapolis, Minn. reported in
creases in the number of work per mits issued, exclusive of special per
mits issued for vacation employment. Employ in Thirty-seven States Only eight states have improved their child labor laws since the federal law was declared unconstitutional, and in thirty-seven states a child may be legally employed before he has completed a common school education. In certain states It is required only that a child must
be able to read and write, a requirement disregarded in some states and non-existent in others. The result is revealed in a survey
made by the children's bureau of 1,350 children working in oyster and shrimp canneries on the gulf coast 3'here the illiteracy, was found to be as high as 25 per cent while for children of the United States as-a whole it is only 4 per cent. What It Means to Child What it means to the children in
suffering and actual danger is de
scribed by the children's bureau report as follows: "Cuts from the oyster shells, sores
resulting from running, shrimp thorns in the hands, rawness of the flesh from the shrimp acid, burns and infections are frequent. A survey made by the national child labor committee gives the following picture of child labor in the
best fields of Michigan: "Much of the time they are crawling on all fours, their knees sore, their wrists swollen, their faces
scorched, their eyesight damaged, and this posture they maintain almost steadily for three to six weeks, six or seven days a week, and twelve to fifteen hours a day." laws Are Various In seventeen states the standards governing child labor are lower than
those fixed by the federal government which prohibited the employ
ment of children undar sixteen in
mines and quarries, of children un
der fourteen in mills, canneries, j
workshops, factories and manufacturing establishments, and limited the labor of children fourteen to six
teen in manufacturing establishments to eight hours a day, six days
a week, and to daylight hours between 6 a.m. and 7 p. m.
In North Carolina," according to
Miss Grace Abbott, boys may, and
do still enter the mills at twelve,
and boys and girls between fourteen and sixteen may be employed eleven
hours a day. In practice they are usually employed ten or eleven hours for live days with a half holiday on Saturday.
In Georgia children may go to work in factories at twelve, if they
are orphans or have widowed mothers dependent.on them, and they may work sixty hours a week and any
numbers of hours a day. After they
reach the age of 14 they may le gaily work all night.
In thirty-nine mills in Georgia, 149 violations of even these inadequate standards were recently found, and
5S0 violations of the standards of the
"The noblest motive is the public food." virgil
The Klansman who winks at sin will soon lose his eyesight. Yes, we are temporarily out of a supply of bananas In Fort Wayne also the booze. peddlers are getting scarce. - A wicked heart is Hell's branch office. . Those who bravely carry the fiery cross are cheered by its
benign and hopeful gleams its light, that is warmth as well as direction.
"Five hundred dollars and six months in Jail!" What monotonous
music those judicial words must have been in the ears of the good citizens of our northern metropolis who
waited upon the presence of the
noble judge in federal court. "What?
quoth our gentle correspondent, "we
can't do anything in Fort Wayne? You jist wait an' see! One more
speech by Mad Pat and the world is
ours ! " .
The New York Herald and the New York Times have recently printed
bogus maps showing their ideas about
the disintegration (i) of the Klan
These puerile evidences of exhausted imagination have been reproduced
all over the country. Meanwhile, the Kn Klux Klan marches right on with
a steadily increasing membership,
growing In power and grace eTery
day.
The Klan is the beneficent gulf
stream in the ocean of our times
No man-an be a true Klansman
who does not possess true character. The ultimate purpose of the Klan in its efforts to help Fort WTayne clean house has at last been justified in the minds of right thinking people. It matters little that the Klan was condemned, sneered at, and lied about by the pro-Catholic press of the northern city. The re-
. ward of righteous effort lies in the fact that many booze sellers have been drastically punished -
for their heinous operations, and even official Fort Wayne is at last shaken upon its rotten throne. If my life be wrecked and my hope drift far, And the seas wash over my dream, I shall still be glad that I made my gift To the God of Things as They Seem. If I build anew in an aching land The castles that house my Klan, Be sure that the walls shall be brotherhood, For I am a friend of man.
Some men will fight for booze, some for their political boss, but the
true Klansman takes up arms for his
country and his religion. You cant tell much about the agf of a political party by looking at its teeth you've got to count Its "rings."
In his appeal, Mr. Moton savs: "For
a number of years, the friends of Tuskegee Institute have been good
enougn to snare through our various extension agencies such clothing, books, pictures, Christmas cards.
etc., both new and old, as they could
spare, ror the needy colored children Of the South. Tuskee-A Institute
will be very glad to serve this year, as in former years, as a distributing center for these gifts, and to place them where they are most needed
and where they will be most appre
ciated. We feel that our friends will be glad of the onnortu-
nity to again contribute their mite towards bringing happiness and Christ
mas cheer to these homes which other
wise might be neglected during the holidays." Gifts should be sent to Mr. Moton who will see that thev
are carefully and wisely distributed.
Let no Klansman forget the call to
cnaritaoie appreciation and such
help as he can give. Those who may
wish to give money have Mr. Moton's assurance that it will be spent in every instance as 'directed by the donor.
ounas
a.
Tke B
of trie Law A NOVEL FOR ALL KLANDOM By J. WALTER GREEP Author ofuSonrs of Sixteen Summers," "The Veneer of Yean," Etc. (Copyright 1922. by J. WAJ.TLR GAtEPt
discarded federal child labor law.
The School's the Thing Each vigilant Klansman should direct his profound working attention to the public schools. If he neglects to see that the board of education, in which he is most interested, fails to serve along the lines of highest
opportunity, it is obvious that he is
highly culpable, not only as a Klans
man, but also as a true American
citizen.
The first rational step for each
Klansman to take is to assure him
self of the religious and educational affiliations of every member of the board. If these affiliations are not in
accord with the Klansman'3 highest principles, it is his solemn duty tb
govern himself according to the exigency that confronts him. His next
logical step should be the noting of vacancies likely to occur upon the board. Then, finally, when such
vacancies do occur in membership or in the teaching staff nearest his possible activities, the Klansman ought to be upon the scerie and make
it his business to see that no one is
elected or appointed to office who is not in harmony with American principles. At the present time the board of education of Washington, D. C, i3 a variegated mixture, consisting - of Catholics, negroes and Protestants. From the standpoint of sentiment this conglomeration of racial and religious elements might seem desirable at first sight. The wishy-washy minded person might feel that such an expression-of unity might point
to brotherhood. But there is a
deeper and more essential expression of brotherhood which a mixed
board would not appear to serve. The Klansman ought to change the
complexion of this educational council in harmony with the laws govern
ing brotherhood in the real sense. In all similar instances the Klans
man will do well to throw his ' influence in the direction that will secure co-operation along the lines of educational ideas which can not be questioned. A Chance to. Help From a clipping it is noted that Robert R. Moton, prinicpal of Tuskegee Institute,-Alabama, will accept Christmas gifts from all friends. Here is a charity that should appeal to Klansmen the states over. It is
in line with the highest motives of
our organization that colored educational institutions should receive
every assistance possible. It is only by means of schools and colleges
that the tiegro can. be helped to come into his own a useful and
necessary unit in the cosmic scheme
and entitled as such to friendly help
Not a Ghost of a Chance "It ought to be clear to all fair-
minded men," says Columbia the organ of the militant Knights of Columbus, "that while Catholics would be gratified to have a Catholic in the presidential chair they have no desire for a monopoly of that position. But by once electing a Catholic to that great office the ghost of intolerance would be banished from this country." A fine sentiment, trulv! But it
does not appear just how a Catholic president under the papal thumb could banish intolerance. Even the youngest student of history knows that the Catholic church in power has been the greatest force for intolerance in the whole world. Papists have ever been the most unyielding and fanatical power of civ
ilization. From the hour of the St Bartholomew day massacre of Protestants to the present moment, Rome
has shown nothing but unbending bitterness toward those who have differed from it in religion. That the fangs of the Jesuits could be drawn' by the simple expedient of making Al Smith president, is a ridiculous statement that will deceive nobody not even the senile sentimentalists. The True Civilization , When the acceptance of the highest ideals in life and religion become possible, the whole world will take a definite step toward brotherhood. This brotherhood -will not mean an amalgamation of races because such a thing would be biologically dan
gerous to the existence of any race
that might be supreme. On the con
trary, it will be the kindly accep
tance7 upon the part of all races of
those principles which are and
should be universal for all. Hate
and dissension will then be avoided
and there will be no clash of fun
damental laws because all will be
working toward a single end the
elevation of civilization as a whole.
In this sense the negro and the Semite will not be a menace to the
white Aryan, but valued friends and
co-workers in a wide vineyard, and
there will then be no foolish talk
as to who is supreme because each
race will be co-operating under certain broad principles in education, morals and religion principles that are basic and common to, aTT man
kind. There will be no high nor low, because each man will serve the one God as he is best fitted to serve, and petty differences that now seem to cause allNraces to clash, one with the other, will be wiped Off the cosmic slate. In this " sense of unity and life, where each contributes to the whole that which he is best prepared to give, there will be harmony.
A KLANSMAN'S CREED I believe in God and in the tenets
of the Christian religion and that a godless nation can not long prosper.
I believe that a church that is not
grounded on the principles of moral
ity and justice is a mockery to God
and to man.
I believe that a church that does
not have the welfare of the common
people at heart is unworthy.
I believe in the eternal separation
of Church and State.
I hold no allegiance to any foreign
government, emperor, king, pope or
any other foreign, political or religious power.
I hold my allegiance to the Stars
and Stripes next to my allegiance to
God alone. I believe in just laws and liberty. I believe in the upholding of the Constitution of these United States. I believe that our Free Public School is the corner stone of good government and that those who are feeking to destrov it are enemies of
our Republic and are unworthy of
citizenship. I believe in freedom of speech.
I believe in a free press uncon
trolled by political parties or by re ligious sectu I believe in Jaw and order.
I believe in 'the protection of our
Pure womanhood.
I do not believe in mob violence,
but I do believe -that laws should be enacted prevent the causes of mob
violence.
I believe in a closer relationship of
capital and labor. I believe in the prevention of un
warranted strikes -by foreign labor
agitators.
I believe in the limitation of for
eign immigration.
I am a native-born American citizen and I believe my rights in this
country are superior to those of for eigners.
(Continued From Last Issue) A great outcry went up from .all quarters against the invisible organization. There were resignations by the wholesale. In a recent matting when the organizer, or rather the secretary, roundly cursed the members of the local for some of their mistakes, a number of the most prominent members, including four of the city's leading ministers, arose and left the building. They had not been to a meeting since. They were suspicious of the present Kleagle and had no doubt but that the tar-and-feather affair was of his
Inspiring. They had been granted a charter at Prairie City a few
months previous, but now there was
a clamor for its revocation.
At the meeting on Tuesday night
George met with ' them. He held
membership at Calhoun but on this occasion decided to see the thing through at Prairie City. Over five
hundred members WCTe present. The charter members were for the most
part absent. The matter of the ab
duction of Peterson was discussed at length. The speaker of the evening was Taylor. After hearing reports
on the affair from various members
he put Bowen through a strenuous
cross-examination.
"Now, Mr. Bowen, I want to know
the God's truth," he said sternly,
"Did, or did not, the local Klan have
anything to do with the disappear
ance of Peterson?" "We did not."
"Then, how can you explain the use of Klan robes? Who wore the
Kleagle's helmet? You, or Sheriff
Beatty, one or the other, are to
blame. The robes are in your keep
ing. How were they obtained?"
"I do not know," he answered
meekly.
"I think I can explain that mat
ter," said the sheriff, arising. "I am responsible for the whole affair, I feel after hearing the statements here tonight. Gentlemen, the eve
ning before Peterson disappeared,
'Red Rigdon came to my office and requested the key to this building. Claimed he had left his coat. Thoughtless and in a hurry, I let him have it. No doubt now, he was hired to do this by Karraker." "Not by Karraker," some one suggested, "Peterson was his right-
hand man."
"Then by Forthoffer." "The whole thing is clear," concluded Taylor, "We have been double crossed. And we have no way
of helping ourselves or of proving our innocence. We had as well disband. But now I am coming to my speech, which will be brief and to the point. Gentlemen, we have .been
told that the Knights of the Ku Klux
Klan was a great patriotic and fra
ternal order. That it was composed
of the pick and cream of citizenship
in every community. This Klan can not measure up to that standard.
Our secretary here, formerly our or
ganizer, has permitted Klansmen to use, and has used himself, language that is repulsive to decent cultured men, and he has done so in our
Kiaverns. Uur ministers nave re
signed rather than to listen to an eternal flood of profanity. The men
who compose this present organiza
tion are not living up to the high
moral calling of real Klansmen. We
have men in this Klavern tonight who are dealers in illicit liquor if
it were known!"
There was considerable commo
tion. Some were decidedly nervous
"I am going to make two sugges
tions tonight: First, that we for
nially banish from our ranks Klans
man Robert Rigdon, who has already
disappeared from our midst. Sec
ond, that we disband this organiza
tion and surrender our charter!1'
These suggestions were received in a wild tumult of applause by some
and dissatisfaction by others. There was a long discussion. But on the
final vote the two motions were
adopted by a small margin. News
of the Klan's disbanding was tele
phoned to the News, which contained a lengthy write-up of the meeting in its morning edition. Part of the
editorial accompanying the article
read:
"The Prairie City Klan has disbanded. Unable to escape the odium that has fallen upon it since' the disappearance of Mr. Joe Peterson, and
not being able to prove its innocence of this atrocious conspiracy, the men of the local organization
have voted to give up the fight We regret that this action has become
necessary. There is no argument
against the fact that the Klan has done much good here. But the dan
ger of its utter secrecy is seen in
such acts as. the one just committed.
Whether the Klan is guilty or not, it will ever have to labor under the weight of accusation that can neither be refuted nor proved. We do not need masked organizations, in America, no matter how idealistic their purposes." The real editorial on the subject, however, appeared In the Herald that afternoon. The editor, tired
and sleepy from a night orgy of
gambling and drunkenness at a local roadhouse. aroused himself with
difficulty after hearing the news of the Klan'a-'actions, He took a few toddies of moonshine whisky which braced him sufficiently to write his screed. It read, in part, of course: And bo the Ku Klux Klan in Prairie City has disbanded. At last
this diabolical crew of hnmUnma
and outlaws has ceased to function. Their miserable career of perfidy and cowardice is at an end. The outraged conscience of a decent community could stand no more and
this lawless element has been forced
to quit business. We only wish to God that it could have been sooner. Then the life of one of our leading citizens might have been spared. Then this reign of terror might have
Deen averted. But the Ku Klux need not think they have escaped just
punishment by their timely actions. The cold body of Joe Peterson, lying
out yonaer by the Calhoun pike, calls" fo action. His blood cries
for vengeance. The next few days
win onng to tight atrocities un
dreamed of in a civilized community.
rne ku mux has disbanded; but the majority of them, nevertheless, are going to spend Christmas in the
penitentiary."
When Karraker read this edito
rial, he raged. "Why, the infernal
old fool! He's given the whole thing away," he said to his wife.
"Look here, Mary, what he says," pointing to the editorial.
"I don't see What is it?"
anything so bad.
"Look at that reference to the 'cold body of Peterson.' How does he know Peterson is dead? He can't prove a thing. Somebody must have tipped him off and then, while he was drunk, he wrote this stuff." "Tipped him off what do you mean, John?" "Oh, nothing. You women never understand."
He arose and left the room sul
lenly, taking the paper with him.
CHAPTER XXI
Things Usually Happen in Threes
At least this is a favorite maxim
of the older people in some places.
In this instance it seems to have
been justified because the triple oc
currences of the weeks following
illustrate the potency of such sequence.
The first was a grewsome discov
ery; the second a letter; and the third, another parade one of vastly different character.
So swiftly had things occurred in
the past few weeks, as the campaign
neared it3 ending, that few knew
what to expect next. The people were used to sensation. Since the
advent of the Klan and the operations of those opposed to try to discredit it, almost anything could be told and the tale-teller expect a hear
ing. The criminal element felt their citadels crumbling and were going to any length to defer the day. Judge
Karraker, skilled in political maneuvers, unscrupulous and ever active, alert and apprehensive now and fast growing desperate-i-used every strategy within his power to trick
the men of the Klan. Fortunately, against him- was pitched a man equally as ingenuous and fully, as
unscrupulous Forthoffer. It was necessary for thejudge to give considerable time to the man who- had double-crossed him, and thus Taylor got a little rest. Now, however, ev
erything had played into the judge's hands. His opportunity to crush the Ku Klux for all time had come.
The meeting of Karraker's' nicked
committee picked to perpetrate the dastardly act which even today
haunts his very memory with a trail
of shame met at his office on Sat
urday, the last in October. Only two
more weeks remained until the election. Anything done now was sure to turn the tide one way or the other. ' As things stood now Karraker was the winner. Taylor could scarce expect to recover from the effects of Peterson's disappearance. But he still held considerable power, especially in the outlying districts, and he was making capital out of the fact that Peterson had not been found. The people knew Karraker. Taylor was telling that this was a frameup that Peterson had been hired to leave town until after the -election and would show up again when the votes were all cast It was to effectually offset this and clinch the mat
ter . beyond the possibility of proof that the judge decided upon the extreme and daring deed that marked his eventual downfall. So far nothing had been proved about Peterson. The people supposed that he had been kidnapped by the Klan and spirited out of the country. The Herald per
sistently, declared that he had been murdered, but since the editor had received a harrying from the- judge the paper had said nothing about the matter. The committee consisted of the judge himself, Cameron, the three men who were in Beatty's office and the editor of the Herald.- The editor dozed during most of the conference, weary from a night of drunkenness, and missed a great deal of the plan. "Gentlemen, the thing is cut and dried," announced Karraker. "I haven't the least idea where Peterson is, but the Ku Klux undoubtedly got him. Or, there is a possibility that that dirty scoundreL
Forthoffer, got him on account of the letter he had. We don't know where he is." The editor roused himself. "Letter? Did you eay letter?" (To Be Continued) - t The next Installment of "The Bounds of the Law" will appear la this space next week.' .