Voice of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. [volume], February 08, 1923, Image 1

About Voice of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1923-1923

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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KNIGHTS of the KU KLUX KL AN
Volume I
Believing that all people living under Our American Flag should Know the Truth concerning the Principles , Activities
and Ideals of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, North Star Klan No. 2, of Minneapolis, have caused this sheet to be issued
A DEFENCE
OF THE KU
KLUX KLAN
Reprint from Literary Digest, Jan. 20, 1923
The Ku Klux Klan has been charged
“with all sorts of crimes and mis
demeanors, but so far not one charge
has been proved,” we read in the Mont
gomery (Alabama) Journal. In last
week's issue of The Digest, for in
stance, Louisiana members of the Klan
were charged by Louisiana editors
with the murder of two young men of
Mer Kouge, named Daniel and Rich
ards, and while there was denial on
the part of Ku Klux officials that this
horrible crime had been committed by
members of the Klan, there was no
specific defense of the murderers in
particular or the Klan in general to
be found in either Northern or South
ern newspapers. We heard, on the
other hand, that the Klan had usurped
the Government of the State, but this
is denied by the Baton Rouge State
Times, published at the capital. “As
a matter of fact, the Klan s political
influence in Louisiana has been great
ly exaggerated,” says this paper.
Let us, then, in a spirit of fair play
and for the information of both friends
and foes, Examine the claims of the
Klan and its friends, just as we have
presented the severest anti-Klan criti
cisms in previous articles. The Klan,
briefly, is said to have fomented re
ligious and civil strife; to have at
tempted to divide Americans into two
classes —one to rule and one to obey;
to be a purely commercial proposition.
It is charged with having interfered
with the United States mails; with
being not merely a secret but a clan
destine organization; with endeavor
ing to set up a “super-government”;
with seeking to prohibit the free play
of opinion; with being cowardly in its
Kunishments and other acts, and with
eing a dangerous menace to estab
lished political parties. The Masonic
Grand Lodge has announced itself as
utterly opposed to the Ku Klux Klan;
members of New York’s State Legis
lature say they will support a bill
calling for publication of the Klan’s
roster of names; one United States
Senator has demanded of Attorney-
General Daugherty that the Klan be
disbanded by Prudential proclama
tion; Governor Olcott, of Oregon, is
sure that if the Klan is not checked,
open religious civil war throughout
the country may be expected, and the
State of Kansas is seeking sin injunc
tion to prevent the members of the
hooded organization from continuing
their activities in the State.
All this indicates to Mr. Bob Shu
ler, editor of Shuler’s Magazine, that “a
nation-wide crusade is being made by
somebody against the Ku Klux Klan”;
that “somebody is behind this attack,”
and that “when that somebody is lo
cated, a great light will shine.” In
an article reprinted in the Eugene
(Oregon) Register as a Ku Klux Klan
advertisement, Mr. Shuler comes to
the defense of the K. K. K. and at the
same time kicks another organization
on the shins. As we are told in the
Ku Klux ad:
“This editor has repeatedly affirmed
privately and publicly that he is not a
member of the Ku Klux Klan or any
other secret organization. But when
it comes to secret societies, he sees no
difference absolutely between the Ku
Klux and many others, the Knights of
Columbus, for instance. The Knights
of Columbushas an oath, just as bind
ing, or more so. than the Ku Kiux
oath. Moreover, the Knights of Colum
bus’ oath is not one-half so American
as is the Ku Klux. If you charge that
the Ku Klux has put over mobs, I an
swer that the Knights of Columbus
has put over two mobs to where any
other secret organization on earth has
ever put over one.
“This editor has been favored re
cently by being permitted to look over
documentary evidence as to the tenets,
principles and aims of the Ku Klux
Klan. He finds that this organization
stands with positive emphasis for
Americanism as opposed to foreign
idealism; for the principles of the
Christian religion as opposed to Ro
man Catholicism and infidelity; for
the American public schools and for
the placing of the Holy Bible in the
schoolrooms of%his nation; for the en
forcement of the laws upon the statute
books and for a wholesome respect for
the Constitution of the United States;
for the maintenance of virtue among
American women, sobriety and honor
among American men, and for the
eradication of all agencies and influ
ences that would threaten the char
acter of our children. So the prin
ciples of the Klan are not so damnable
as pictured, it would seem.
“This organization is opposing the
most cunning, deceitful and persistent
enemy that Americanism ana Protest
ant Christianity have ever had—the*
* Jesuits. Speaking of ‘invisible em-
pires,’ of forces that creep through the
night and do their dirty work under
cover, .influences that are set going in
_ the secret places of darkness, the Jesu
its are the flnished product. They
have burned, killed, defamed, black
mailed, and ruined their enemies by
the hundreds. History reeks with it.
‘" Though I disagree with the logic of
* the Klan, the members of that organ-
KNIGHTS of the KU KLUX KLAN
What the Organization Is—What It Stands For
Do you believe in the Christian Religion ? We do!
Do you believe in Government of the People, By the
People and for the People? We do!
Do you believe in JUST laws and ENFORCEMENT of
those laws? We do!
Do you believe in FREE SPEECH? We do!
Do you believe in Freedom of Assemblage? We do!
Do you know that the Press is censored and controlled by
un-American interests? We do!
Do you believe in FREEDOM OF THE PRESS? We do!
Do you believe it is a crime, meriting severe punishment,
for masked men to go abroad, either in daylight or
darkness, whipping, burning, and killing? We do!
Do you believe in the sacredness of the Home? We do!
Do you believe in moral cleanliness? We do!
Do you believe in the upholding of virtue and the suppres
sion of vice by duly constituted authority? We do!
Do you believe in keeping your mothers, wives, and sweet
hearts from the contamination with which the Liber
tine and the Lecher would besmirch them? We do!
Do you believe any person has a right to worship God,
according to the dictates of his own conscience?
We do!
(Clansmen have no quarrel with any Creed, so long as
it remains a Creed and keeps out of politics.
. Do you believe that any person, or organization, with
such ideals, can be a bad, or dangerous person or organiza
tion, the existence of which is a “MENACE” to civilization
as stated repeatedly by our enemies?
CERTAINLY YOU DO NOT. YOU COULD NOT.
NO ONE COULD.
These sacred, Constitutional Rights are the funda
mentals upon which the order of the KU KLUX KLAN is
founded. We hold our country’s welfare dearer than any
allegiance to a foreign pope or other alien ruler!
Our “Oath” might, with perfect propriety, be admin
istered by any Minister, of ANY FAITH OR CREED,
from the pulpit, during a Sunday service. You have read,
in your local restricted press, statements to the effect that
the Klan “Intends to SUPERSEDE THE LAW.’* Thu is
False! The Ku Klux Klan teaches and observes obedience
to the law and the legally constituted authorities of our
country, in striking contrast to some of the organizations
opposing the Klan whose members are not obligated as
ization declare that they can only fight
such a foe by using his own fire.
“As to the charge that the Ku Klux
Klan has functioned in mob violence
in their efforts to correct conditions, I
have this to say: lam convinced that
most of the mobs reported have not
been ordered and directed by the Klan
as an organization. I am moreover
convinced that many of them have
been put over by forces opposed to
the Klan and for the purpose of seek
ing to place the guilt for mob rule
upon the Klan. The most of these
mobs have been, according to investi
gation, not Ku Klux mobs at all, but
gatherings of indignant citizens, bent
on correcting conditions that the of
ficers of the law refused to correct.
The way to cause the Ku Klux to re
tire from the field is for the officers
of the law to take that field and occu
py it.
“The Ku Klux has the same right
to exist so long as it obeys the law
that any other organization has. We
have*not heard of any investigations
of the Knights of Columbus, although
the un-American oaths are historic
and their mob activities have been re
peatedly published and heralded from
platforms far and near.’*
“The Klan is as absolutely American
as chewing-gum, crooked district at
torneys, or cnautauquas,” observes H.
L. Mencken, in the Baltimore Evening
Sun. “If the American people knew
the truth about the Ku Klux Klan, the
opposition and apathy toward it would
cease immediately, writes “931KNOI
OK” in Brann’s Iconoclast, formerly of
Texas but now published in Chicago.
Continues this writer:
“The Klan is neither partial nor
antagonistic to any sect or creed as
such. No, it is not because the Klan
would deny them their religion and
the inalienable rij?ht to worship as
their own convictions or consciences
dictate that aroused and engendered
the hatred and opposition of the lead
ers in the Catholic Church. But it is
due to the fact that the Klan is
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, FEBRUARY 8, 1923
“Ye shall know the truth; and
pledged to maintain inviolate and per
petuate forever the principle of com
plete separation of Church and State,
and the Roman Catholics fight this,
because no sincere and devout Roman
Catholic does or is permitted to believe
in the separation of Church and State.
The Roman Catholic Church is first,
last and forever opposed to the sepa
ration of Church and State and in
favor of the absolute control and dom
ination of the State by the Roman
Catholic Church.”
Still another authoritative defense
comes from Fred L. Savage, Imperial
Night Hawk, Chief of Staff to the
Imperial Wizard, Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan, who writes in The Country
Editor, of Rockville Center, New
York:
“There is no organization in the
United States that is more intensely
American than is the Ku Klux Klan.
It is composed solely of Americans;
its history, its customs and its tradi
tions are to be found in the annals of
no country save America; its present
purpose and its future mission are
alike indissolubly connected with
American purposes and principles.
“The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
can be defined as an organization of
native-borff, white, Protestant Amer
icans, banded together for the pur
pose of preserving, protecting and pro
mulgating the principles of genuine
Americanism.
“Bootleggers, marauders, traffickers
in vice and other like gentry do not
thrive where the Klan exists, not be
cause, as its enemies assert, they are
run out of town by a committee of
robed and helmeted individuals, armed
with tar-pots and bags of feathers,
but rather because the American ele
ment of the community, organized and
efficient, determines that law-breaking
shall cease.
“The very thing that makes a man
a Klansman—his oath—prevents him
from remaining a Klansman if he
violates the law or takes the law into
his own hands."
the truth shall make you free."
American Citizens. Klanmen do not break laws, they
uphold them.
Enemies of the Ku Klux Klan daim that it is “Anti-
Catholic”; “Anti-Chinese”; “Anti-Jap”; “Anti-Jew;”
“Anti-Negro” and “Anti” a lot of other things.
charges are False.
Klansmen are: Pro-American, Pro-Gentile, Pro-
White, and Pro-test&nL
The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is an organization
of Native-Born American, White, Gentile, Protestant Citi
zens, formed to oppose, by all legal means, every lawless
element in our country.
Klansmen daim the right as American, Protestant
citizens, to band themselves together to perpetuate the
ideals handed down to them by their American, Protestant
Forefathers who drafted the Constitution of our Country.
Investigate and find out for yourselves the type of
individuals and the character of the organizations opposing
the Ku Klux Klan.
You will find every Bootlegger, Blindpigger, Dive and
Resort Keeper, every Dope Seller, every Crook and Crim
inal in the United States individually and collectively
opposed to the Ku Klux Klan, and lined up with these
opponents of the Ku Klux Klan will be found every An
archist, every I. W. W., every “Red” Radical, every enemy
of the Public Schools, every Servant of a Foreign Pope and
1 every Alien Enemy of our country, and with this horde of
undesirables you will find a few honest, sincere, well mean
ing but misguided individuals who have been deceived by
the false propaganda, spread broadcast through a sub
sidized daily press, by the enemies of the Klan.
REMEMBER: Klansmen are not Reds, Radicals,
Arson Fiends, Thugs and Murderers. They are loyal
American Citizens, your own neighbors, the friends you
meet and are glad to greet every day. Klansmen eat at
your table, regularly transact business with you and attend
church with you, where you listen to sermons preached by
Klansmen from Protestant pulpits all over our land pro
claiming the gospel of that Christ who is ever their example.
Klansmen are honored men in the communities in which
they reside.
This message is delivered at your door because the
local papers will not publish anything we write, not even as
paid advertising.
NORTH STAR KLAN NUMBER TWO, REALM OF
MINNESOTA
KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN
From the Imperial Wizard, himself,
comes still another authoritative dec
laration. Said he to the Washington
correspondent of the Chicago Tribune:
“The Knights of Columbus admit
only good Roman Catholics to their
ranks, and under the laws of the land
they have a right to prescribe regula
tions under which their members are
admitted. This right is not questioned
by Klansmen.
“The B’nai Brith and Brith Israel
admit only men o*f Jewish lineage. In
this the Jewish people are sustained
by legal rights not challenged by
Klansmen.
“The African Blood Brotherhood re
stricts membership to men of the col
ored race only, and in this restriction
they are not opposed by the Klan. The
Klan does not take' issue with them
because they are also within their le
gal rights.
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
January 27, 1923.
Mr. Fred L. Gray, Foreman,
and Members of the Hennepin
County Grand Jury.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We, the officers and members of North Star Klan Number Two, of
Minneapolis, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, in Konklave assembled:
Wish to express an appreciation of your action in returning the indict
ments which threw consternation into the ranks of the gamblers of Min
neapolis, who have openly and without molestation conducted and operated
gambling games and resorts in our city ever since the present administra
tion came into power.
The Ku Klux Klan is uncompromisingly opposed to lawlessness of any
and every kind and steadfastly stands for observance and enforcement of
the laws of our land at all times. ,
The membership in Minneapolis, numbering in the thousands, com
posed of the highest type of citizenship, has assisted and will continue to
assist in securing evidence of law violations under duly constituted authority,
and, although unknown to you, will cooperate with you and succeeding
Grand Juries, to the end that our dty may be made a clean, moral, whole
some community, for which no apology will need to be made at any time.
Read to, and approved by, North Star Klan Number Two, of Minne
apolis, Minnesota, on the 27th day of January, 1923.
EXALTED CYCLOPS.
“By the same method of reasoning
the Klan exacts from these people the
right to organize and assemble into
an organization only a particular
class.”
“It is usually the lawless element
that is found working secretly against
the Klan,” writes Rev. B. A. Copass
in Colonel Mayfield’s Weekly (Hous
ton, Texas). This writer, who says
he is “not a member of the Ku Klux
Klan, but merely a plain American
citizen,” tells us that “any one who is
at all well informed knows that the
Knights of Columbus are simply the
Jesuits under another name.” “Their
cardinal doctrine is: ‘The end justi
fies the means.’ The end always is
the advancement of Roman Catholic
ism. The Ku Klux Klan is American
patriotism organized to educate
against and to offset Roman Catho
licism in American politics.”—The
Literary Digest, January 20, 1923.
DR. HILLIS DE
FENDS SECRECY
OF THE KLAN
NOTED BROOKLYN PASTOR STIRS
CONGREGATION IN SERMON
ON KU KLUX KLAN
Exhibits Handful of Telegrams From
Law Enforcement Officer
New York.—(Special to The Search
light.)—Reverend Newell Dwight Hil
lis, one of the most noted preachers of
America, on Sunday evening, Decem
ber 3d, delivered one of the most mas
terful sermons o ever heard in Brooklyn
and devoted practically the entire time
of his discourse to the Knights of the
Ku Klux Klan. In opening his address
Dr. Hillis exhibited a sheaf of tele
grams, stating that there were some
two hundred and fifty messages in
the lot and that they were replies re
ceived by him to telegrams he had
sent at various times to mayors, sher
iffs and other public officials of towns
and cities in tne United States where
supposed Ku Klux Klan outrages had
been reported in the press; and as he
held the telegrams in his hand he said
that every reply received contained
specific denial from mayors, sheriffs
and other public officials that the out
rages were in every way traceable to
the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
His sermon made a tremendous im
pression on his audience.
In part, Dr. Hillis said:
“Multitudes of criminal charges have
been brought against the Ku Klux,
but thus far our best newspapers in
running down these charges have not
found anywhere north of Mason and
Dixon’s line any conclusive proofs of
these alleged crimes, nor apparently
has there been one crime by the Ku
Klux established before a court of
law.
“Americans are constitutionally op
posed to secrecy, but they are not
prejudiced against the secret fraterni
ties in our colleges or the secret cere
monies of the Masons, the secret oaths
of the Knights of Columbus, the secret
Hebrew societies, the secrecy of the
Elks and the Odd Fellows, and they
are even intellectually hospitable to
ward the fact that banks and stores
and railways keep their private books
and that the law defends them in
locking up their secrets so that their
opponents cannot discover them.
“Mr. Wilson, who at first advocated
open treaties openly arrived at, soon
discovered that it was impossible for
him to carry on the government of
the United States by allowing his cab
inet to know many things that were
going on. While his method is op
posed to the general principles and
view held by American statesmen and
the American people at large, let it be
confessed that there are many men and
many institutions that conscientiously
believe that the method of ouietness,
secrecy and concealment is tne better
method for winning right and distant
ends.
“One fact has been established con
clusively as to the Ku Klux Klan,
namely, this order has carried under
the initiative and referendum system
in Oregon, the submission of a law to
compel all parents to send their chil
dren to the public schools, leaving
the rich and the Catholics in the posi
tion of sending their children to the
private and parochial schools at the
end of the day or in the evening.
“Mr. Roosevelt held that the best
way for an boy and girl to
understand the Italian, the Greek, the
Pole, the Swede, the German, and the
other immigrants, was to rub shoul
ders on the playground, and meet
mind with mind in the class room.
The public school should be made,
therefore, so much superior to any
other that no parochial or private
school could exist beneath its shadow.
“The overwhelming majority of the
American people are fully committed
to the great American institutions of
liberty, and once the issue is joined
and secret enemies of the American
public school by secret methods try
to destroy the public school system,
just the same as anarchists are
secretly trying to overthrow the Con
stitution there will only be one thing
that is logical and that is the blazing
lightning of an outraged republic and
if the enemies of tne fou& institu
tions of this republic want to know
how the American people feel about
insidious and secret enemies. They can
find out by kissing the lips of some
blazing cannon.”—The Searchlight,
January 13, 1923.
HERE'S THE LADDER OF
SUCCESS
100% —I did.
90% —I will.
80% —I can.
70% —I think I can.
60% —I might.
50% —I think I might.
40%—What is it?
30% —I wish I could.,
20% —I don’t know how.
10%—— I don’t.
Q% —I won’t.
Number J