Fiery Cross, Volume 3, Number 11, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 January 1924 — Page 3

Friday, January 11, 1924

f HIT -FIERY CROSS PAGE THREE

Concentration Alofig - ; Ttonstructive Lines

Wo start the New Year with thoughts of righteous, conquest. Our Ktannish creed stands ever before our eyes illumined by the light that conies from the fiery cross ot conaclentlqus endeavor. Our program for the coming year calls for concentration along constructive lines that are bound to call out our moat solemn and consecrated powers. First, we have in mind "militant, old-fashioned Christianity" that backs a true, "operative patriotism." Second, we have pledged ourselves to a "back to the Constitution" movement, in a very real sense, basing the solutions of our modern political problems upon the prophetic wisdom of the framers of the Constitution. Weak though the idea may appear to n few modern-minded people, the

Constitution still seems to u.s to be a fundamental and sacred concept in good government. Third, we consecrate our best efforts to the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment so long as the will of the commonwealth holds it a part of the Constitution. Fourth, and with utmost Kerlousness, we dedicate our best thought nnd most dynamic assistance to an enforcement of the present immigration laws and pledge our efforts in the direction of an enactment of more stringent laws of immigration. We have no purposes' that are more ulterior or hidden than these, and we expect to devote the

highest vitality of purpose to the ae- .. cfuuplishment of these stated ideals. To paraphrase with solemn intention a holy word, "Creater love hath no man than that he should be willing to give his life for the salvation and patriotic aid of his country." To the sacred performance of that duty to our republic which we conceive to be peculiarly our own, we bind ourselves by every principle of honor and American manhood. John Eightpoint.

Klan Far LeJs OpeniqOMious Criticism, Declares Stanley Frost in The Outlook

(Copyright, 1924, by The Outlook Company and reprinted by special arrangement through courtesy of The Outlook. - When Colonel Simmons in 1915 formed his new Ku Klux Klan along the lines of the Klan of 1866, he Inevitably took over in one bundle not only the form but much ot the tradition and of the ideas of terrorism, volence, and defiance ot government on which the older organization was built. They may not have been part of his Intentions; they simply were there, whatever he or any one else said or did. They are, in fact, so knit into the very structure df the

Klan that such reforms as have been made by the new Imperial Wizard, Dr.. Evans, can hardly touch them.

So, although the Klan as he is handling it is considerably changed and far less open to obvious criticism, it remains the same in many essentials. Not all people will believe that these inherent qualities are wholly evil and dangerous. Some actually believe in them; some will hold that, even if objectionable, they are necessary; some," that the good that may be accomplished outweighs the danger. But to an outsider they certainly appear, at least gn the sur-

seldom be proved. Its officers are in the open, to be sure, but they can j easily deny or claim what they wish. Thus the Klan is almost perfectly ungetable either by the public or the government. "The government made every effort to suppress the Klan," writes General Forrest ot the reconstruction days, "but it was utterly powerless." The new Klan is similarly organized.. If it has the manpower and the desire, it can become in very fact an "invisible empire." Most serious of all is the terrorism, the implied threat of the mask. It is not enough for the Klan to deny that it intends any such

threat, not enough, even, for it to avoid violence. The very existence ot a masked organization makes it

possible for any group of adventurers or criminals to act under Klan disguise and often to gain something in safety thereby. The" essential fact is that the mask, in its very nature, is a threat. It was devised by the old Klan for that purpose. Public opinion so holds it; holds that to have bodies of masked men wandering around in disguise is in itself a threat against peace and law. At least one jury in Amarillo. Texas has held that the

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face, to be not only highly menac -Wearing cf Klan .regalia in public is

ing, but also sharply inconsistent with the purposes and ideals which the Klan professes. They make it

easy to believe them utterly hypocritical. But, giving Dr. Evans and his associates every credit for sincere patriotism and idealism, these things still seem so fundamental and dangerous that their whole effort must come under strong suspicion of being an attempt to grow figs on a thistle. I say "on the surface," because Klan leaders, while they admit in some degree the danger and in larger degree the risk of misunderstanding, deny that these things are what they seem, or that any of them

are as dangerous as they appear. These explanations and defenses will be given in proper places; however convincing they may or may not be, it is certain that before taking up

the purposes, protestations, strategy . ! and tactics of the Klan, the organization which is behind them should be studied carefully. 0 Most important, because it per

meates the whole structure and of necessity colors all first impressions of the KJlan for members as well as outsiders, is the tradition of the Klan of the sixties. Its justification is not In question here. The important fact about it is that it was an organization of terror. And it was diabolically effective. It was so effective that its creators destroyed it, carefully and completely. As soon as the gravest danger had passed, and long before normal con

ditions had been restored, the leaders, who were among the best in the south, decided that the dangers were so great, the inherent evils so men-" acing, and the impossibility of control was so manifest, that it could

j not be allowed to live. In 1S69 Gen- ! eral Nathan Bedford Forrest, the

Grand Wizard, issued an order which dissolved it almost in a night. This is the organization which the new Klan has imitated and of which it claims to be the heir; this the tradition it took over. It has added much to the formulas and purposes of the older order, which -drew no line against Catholics, Jews, or alienborn. But, since it claims spiritual

heirship, the burden of proof is on itself if it is to escape condemnation for reviving in quiet times all the menaces which the old Klan used only under hideous emergency and so quickly abandoned. The new Klan, it is true, has in it some of the men who were members

of the old, and their sons. But it also has some of both among its opponents. One son of an officer of Lee condemns it as follows: "This outfit is a plain impostor. There's nothing of the .old Klan about it but the name and nonsense

Maybe its got some of the riffraff

a menace in and by itself, and a man was sentenced to two years in the penitentiary on that verdict. A second class of objections to the Klan springs from the form of the organization; not merely the grotesque and ludicrous names and language, but the method cf control, the oaths and obligations, and the great danger that members will put a vicious interpretation on them and on the Klan symbolism, are all wide open to attack. To any one unfamiliar with the

extravagance of secret societies, and even to some who are, the nomenclature of the Klan and some of its forms offer a broad target. By official title its officers are an array of mythological monsters and nightmare absurdities which just naturally start chuckles. For ex

ample, the proclamation of the Klan constitution reads: "To all Genii, Grand Dragons and

Hydras, Great Titans and Furies, Giants, Exalted Cyclops and Terrors, and to all citizens of the Invisible Empire," etc. The organization, and the meanings of these fabulous titles, are as follows: The nominal head of the organization is the Emperor, who has no real power, but authority over ritual, regalia, titles, etc. The actual executive head is the Imperial Wizard. Gathered around him are a Kloncilium, composed of the following "genii," all "imperial:" Klaliff,

niacin, niu&aiu, niuuu ii:uayia.iix ,..

Kligrapp (secretary) ; Klabe (treas

urer) ; Kladd, Klar-ogo, Klexter, Klonsel, Night-Hawk and four Klokann. The legislative body of the Klan is a Klonvocation.

Each state is a "realm," headed by

a Grand Dragon, having a council

similarly named, except that 'the

members are "grand" instead of "imperial" and are the "hydras." The "provinces," usually counties, are headed by Great Titans, their councils are "great ' and are "furies;"

the individual Klan, occupying a Klanton, is headed by an Exalted

Cyclops, and his council are ter

rors." A "giant" is an ex-officer,

with some appropriate adjective;

thus an ex-Wizard is an Imperial

Giant, and- an ex-Cyclops merely a Klan Giant. A Kleagle, now fairly

well known, is an organizer. There is much of this sort of stuff

too much to be worth detailing, as it is all along the same lines, except perhaps the Klan Kalendar, now in

its fifty-seventh year. In it the

days of the week are; in order, "dark

deadly, dismal, doleful, desolate

dreadful, and desperate;" the weeks

are "woeful, weeping, wailing, won

derful, and weird," and the months

are "bloody, gloomy, hideous, fearful, furious alarming terrible, horrible

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the old Klan to disband I don't

know. But no true member of the old Klan and no true southerner can draw the lines that this gang does. The old Klan had Catholics in it, and Jews. No man who loves the memory of the confederacy is -going to join a 'crowd that would bar out Judah P. Benjamin, General Beauregard, and a dozen like them. No, sir!' First of the characteristics of the old Klan which mark the new and which must be judged In the light of the old tradition is the mask and all it implies of secrecy and terrorism. This is, to begin with, a secrecy different from that of other fraternities. They protect their ritual and purposes, as the Klan does; the Klan hides its members as well. The effort Dr. Evans has made to remove the threat of physical terrorism from the Klan regalia and work have alreadv been described.

But even if those efforts should become completely successful this

form of secrecy is open to such vefy

grave objections that I know of sev

eral high-grade men, now fighting

the Klan, who have told me that

they would join it if, as one St thm

put it, they could "wear a Klan

button."

One' of the obvious dangers is the possibility of the perversion of the order." Behind its veil it could be swung swiftly from one objective to

another ; it could be used in whole or

in part without the knowledge of

better-class members for purposes

to which, they were bitterly opposed.

but which they would aid through

the very fact of their membership.

More serious is the tact that it

makes the Klan utterly Irresponsible

Lexcept to the consciences of Klans-

men. It cao strike in the dam as

the old Klan did and this covers

much, more than mere physical vio-lenca-and leave bo clue. Its ac

tions, whether good or bad, may

sometimes be suspected, but r-an

appalling." Thus the revised Klar

constitution I have not learned why

it ' is not a Klonstiklution was of

ficially proclaimed oin November 29

1922, or "on the Doleful Day of the Weird Week of the Terrible Month

of the year of the Klan LVI."

In view of all the nomenclature

this seems a fitting jiate!

All this, howeyer, is not merely

funny. ' A Klansman must take

these names more or lss seriously

they have A meaning.; However they

are now interpreted and I have

learned nothing about the ritualistic

symbolism of the order they carry

on their face the mark of the ter

roristic purposes of the old Klan. So,

Xoo, do the insignia; the fiery cross,

originally used to call the Scottish clans to arms and a symbol of alarm and armed trouble from time; immemorial; the crossed swords

which lie upon the Bible before its shrines; the robed and mounted

horseman; the dragon on the ensign

with arrowheads for tongue and tail; and alt tlie rest.

So, too; does much of the language

of the oaths and constitution. The

very name of "Invisible Empire" has a definite meaning in common speech and thought; "Imperial Authority," to which the Klansman swear al

legiance, the titles of his officers, his oath to enforce the law himself as well as to aid law offlcers-Hfall these things combine to give an Impression which, however it may be

explained and cnangea in ritualistic discussion, seem, to the outsider cer

tain to leave a basic "complex" of

militant -activity hardly consistent

with complete obedience to law and

with democratic patriotism. There seems also another com nlete Inconsistency in the govern

ment of the order, since It puts It

self forward .as the champion of de

mocracy, in its structure it is a complete despotism. The Imperial Wizard has enormous power and

ran veto ths election ot any officer

or remove him at will, except that he must give a trial to Imperial officialshis "genii." His term of office is fixed at four years, but his election is by the Grand Dragons, and these he appoints himself and can remove instantly. Thus it seems impossible ever to remove him, however dangerous he may become, r His power over all members, if they keep their oaths, 4s considerable. They promise to "heed" all 'his

commands; 1 find in the constitution

no limit on those commands, though

there may be some in the Kloran the ritual. But there is no doubt that he has a very complete, uncontrolled "constitutional power, and that he can produce sudden, secret

and concentrated action when he wishes. How far he could go is another matter; there are many things he could not do without violating his oath and thus releasing his follow

ers. , One further ground for criticism iy inherent in the Klan; the'-possibility that the members may feel, oathbound to protect other Klansmen from justice. The oath reads : "I swear that I will keep secure to myself a. secret of a Klansman when same is committed to me in thy sacred bond of Kiansmanship, the

crirns of violating this sacred oath.

treason against the United States .of America, rape, and malicious murder alone excepted." This seemu fairly flat and not conducive to assisting any one to oring Klansmen to justice for ordinary crimes. There is also to b3 considered this most serious criticism which can be made against the; Klan: that it is based wholly on class division, rac;1 and religious projudice, and hatred in general. The validity of thin criticism depends so much on the actual propaganda, jand is so involved with its purposes and pro

gram, that it must be left for u later article. Of course there is a Klan dsfens;.' for all this. In the first place, manr of these same charges can be, ami have been, brought against other secret . orders. There was a time, now almost forgotten, when the Maspnic order was under just this kinci

of attack. I have seen old books which accused it of almost every

rime on the calendar, includm?:

treason and ritual murder. Within

a few years a book was printed in London alleging that Masonry wa.

responsible for the terror in thi French -revolution and at least partly responsible for bolshevism

So, to a large extent, the Klan in these matters is on all fours with

other secret orders..

Klansmen to Uphold X. S. Then, too, the section of the oath

quoted above is in conflict with other sections. The Klansman also swears

nnqualifiedallegiance to the United

oiaies government, support oi me laws, and aid to law officers. (See

the text of the oath published here

with so he has at least a choice, under his oath as to whether or not

he will protect another Klansman

from the law. Dr Evans believes there Is no conflict that the enforcement of the law is nnquestionably -first. Bat there Is some talk In

the Klan of changing the phraseology.

. I put to Dr. Kvans, as bluntly as I

could, all these objections to the

Klan. He discussed them very

frankly, admitted some grounds for

most of them, and explained and jus

tified others. Though" he did not say so, I gathered that he feels that some

of them are a heavy inenbus left over i from the evil days of the Simmons. Clark regime.

i asitea ms justmcation for secrecy. He had admitted that it might involve some serious evils. "In the present state of the coun try, when it is necessary to combat organizations using these and even worseTnethods," he said, "it 'would be foolish to surrender any advantage. - - "The Klan will be out in the opea one of these days, as soon as the principles for which it stands pre--vail and when the necessity for secrecy seems to have been eliminated. It will unmask, and it will make public its membership at any time that those forces which are throttlisg American ideals and" diluting our American citizenship and living under their own interpretation if they have anyj of the Constitution- come into the spotlight of American publicity and reveal their intention and motives and when legislation is

made all-inclusive. "This applies to

political as well as to religious or ganieations."

But when I asked what value there

is in "bed-sheets and pillow-cases" if not to create terror, he laughed.

"They are very valuable as an ad

vertising feature. They have soma

value in conferring degrees, because of Impressiveness This is the an

swer to the public. To the Klans

man they are regalia and carry im

portant significance and typify eer

tain ideals, mey nave no other

value."

He grew grave again when T asked

what the Klan means by "Invisible

Empire." -

we are dropping the expression,"

he replied, "using it less and less.

It is a rituaHstic phrase referring

to the geographical jurisdiction of

the order, and,, having no reference

to any political govemnment.' ,

"Is not the government of the Klan a complete dictatorship?" I asked.

"In fprm, yes. In actuality, no," he declared. "It is necessary to

have that form of government, as a democracy unless organized 'can not protect nor cleanse itself. - Also, the only way to .protect the Klan from constant efforts to exploit It for personal profit, or by demagogues who

might be able to sway a portion of its membership through an appeal to

emotionalism, is to have a govern

ment strong enough to suppress all

such attempts.

; "But, actually, In spits of the form

ot the Constitution, itroould he im

possible for an Imperial officer to

run counter to the wishes of the organization as a whole. .While the rest of the organization Is secret, the officers and their conduct are out in the open, subject to constant watchfulness, if they go wreng, they will lose their following and the organization he destroyed. There have been instances in which, this has been proved. "I -will add that this form of organization is common to all fraternities, and that the Klan is no more centralized, even, than some religious bodies which are never attacked on that ground. Still, there-is an apparent contradiction here. The Klan stands for democracy in government, and must also stand for de

mocracy inside itself. A solution is

being sought." "Is not some of the language in the oaths and Constitution such that it suggests violence, at least to certain types of mind?" I asked. "I do not believe so. Few people understand the spiritual vision of a Klansman. Any individual who had the idea in mind would, I believe,

bo promptly disabused of it. in the obligations and interpretations of the very first ceremony."

In his discussion of the ritual of the Klan, the grotesque nomenclature and the Bymbolism of the order, I confess that Dr. Evans got beyond my depth. I have never been a member cf any secret order, and what I have been able to see of their ceremonies does not seem very sacred to me. Yet I am forced to consider this a

blindness in myself, for I have friends, sane and intelligent, to whom these are very solemn and very sacred. Certainly they are both to Dr. Evans, and his reverent attitude mads me ashamed of having referred to the "Klan menagerie." I can only give his reply to my question just

as he made it. "I probably can not explain in a way that would "be fully understood by any one outside fraternal socleties," he said. "The best answer I can give is this: That, just as the

spiritual ideals of religion have to be clothed in formalities which to the non-religious seem ludicrous and are ridiculed, so it is necessary to clothe the idealism and spiritual concepts of fraternalism, and espe

cially of a purposeful order such as

the .Klan, in similar ritual and formalism. "I will leave it to some psychologist to explain why that is so, but every man with experience in dealing with ideals on a -popular basis knows that the people want and need symbolism and that when it- is destroyed something precious, vital, and irreplaceable has been taken away from them. For myself, I

know that if there is a question about the liferal inspiration of any word

in the Bible I do not want to consider it. I wish to believe. I do believe. It is only on this basis that one can understand the formalism of the Klan." My last question td Dr. "Evans along this line was whether the Klan

would not become- extremely danger

ous If ever perverted. "It-would," he declared. "It would be frightful. But the very organization of the Klan is such that if the attempt were ever made it would automatically destroy Itself. The strength of the Klan is in the ideals ot the Klansmen, and that Btrength can not be used apart from those ideals." i Some matters Dr. Evans did not wish to discuss for publication. ''Let's leave that for a while I'm not ready for that yet," he would say. Finally he made a blanket statement, indicating that his reforms of the Klan are not done, and that he plans

changes in the constitution which

will remove some or tne grounds tor criticism, perhaps most.

"There are certain difficulties in

herent in the growth of the organi zation and in its form and the lan

guage of some of its official documents," he . said. "These naturally

must be handled slowly and with

great care. They are being handled

in this fashion and will be corrected. But I do not care to discuss them for (Continued on Page 7)

LIVE ORGANIZATION AT

ROWLESBURG, W.VA. 1 ROWLESBURG, W. Va., Jan. 5.

The citizens of Rowlesburg witnessed

a beautiful sight New Year's eve at

midnight, when a fiery cross burst

into flames on Cannon hill. From a red glare at the beginning of the ceremony, the cross took on a white

cast, which continued for about five

minutes. It attracted unusual comment. The Klan of Rowlesburg is

one of the strongest organizations ot its kiad known in apy town of its size, and is accomplishing much good.

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