The call of the North. [volume], September 28, 1923, Image 1

About The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924

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

                
VOLUME 1. NUMBER 10.
RED WING KLAN MECCA
OKLAHOMA DESPOT STILL RULES
WITH FEROCIOUS MADNESS
STATEMENT BT KLAN BARES
Tulsa, Okla.—With the knowledge
that the controlled press of the coun
try would give but little heed to the
Klan side of the controversy, the Call
of the North has been requested
to give national publicity to a state
ment constituting the reply which the
Tula Klan, No. 2, made to President
H. 0. McClure, of the Chamber of
Commerce McClure, who at the in
stance of Walton, it is said, demanded
the resignations of officials named by
the governor as being members of the
Klan, thus making them undesirable
in his eyes as officeholder*. The re
fusal of these officials to resign be
cause of the governor’s bull-dozing
method is the reason given for the
martial-law proclamation. The state
ment of the Tulsa Klan follows:
Statement of Klan
“The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
is an organization with legal, lawful
existence, under the laws of our na
tion and state; organized for the pur
pose of promulgating, protecting and
defending the rights, liberties and
traditions of American citizenship in
accordance with constituted authority
of the nation, the state, city and coun
ty in which the particular unit or
lodge may be located; provided, al
waysi that the ‘courts of the land’ and
the ‘ballot’ are and shall ever be the
only safeguard of the liberties of
American citizenship.
Deny Violating Law
“Tulsa Klan, No. 2, as an organiza
tion declares and states that at no
time or place, under any condition,
has this Klan, its officers or members,
as such, directly or indirectly, secret
ly or openly, violated or broken any
of the laws of the nation, the state of
Oklahoma, or the city and county of
Tulsa, and that Tulsa Klan, No. 2, is
now and ever has been ready, willing
and anxious to give its influence, pow
er and best efforts to the apprehen
sion, and if tried and found guilty,
punishment, as by law provided, for
every violator of law and all crimi
nals, without fear or favor, whether
a member of this or any other Klan,
or organization, whatsoever.
“Tulsa Klan hereby declares that
it is in no way, directly or indirectly,
responsible for or in any manner has
it contributed to existing conditions
in Tulsa city or county as to the de
claring and maintaining of martial
law, the suspension of the writ of ha
beas corpus, or the reason therefor;
and we further declare and request
that the citizenship of Tulsa county
and all civic, religious and fraternal
organizations give to the constituted
authorities of this state, city and
county, their best efforts in the sup
pression of crime, .punishment of
criminals and protection of its citi
zenship from official tyranny or mob
violence.
Pledges Aid to Officials
“And, as evidence thereof, Tulsa
Klan, No. 2, does hereby officially and
publicly declare that it pledges and
guarantees, as an organization in
dividually and collectively, to the full
extent of its power, that it will aid
and assist the executives of this state,
county and city in requiring and en
dorsing full, complete and absolute
obedience to and compliance with all
law, in manner and foTm provided by
the constitution and statutes of the
state of Oklahoma.
“In conclusion, Tulsa Klan, No. 2,
asks of the public such conideration
as should be given to those whose pur
pose is to better conditions, to build
up rather than tear down; in other
words, to be constructive, not de
structive.
“The enemies of the Klan demand
that the Klan disband and remove
from the state. This demand, or re
quirement, cannot and will not be
complied with, so long as under the
laws of the state and nation the Klan
is entitled to legal existence.
“We declare it to be the purpose
and intention of Klan No. 2, Knights
of the, Ku Klux Klan, to exist and
function as an organization, and we
call upon all good citizens to give us
their moral support and influence,
and in return Tulsa Klan, No. 2, will
do its part in making the city and
county of Tulsa an abiding place for
all honest, liberty-loving, lawabiding,
home-making people to be proud of.
“Without malice and without fear,
in the name of American justice and
liberty, we hereby make this State-
THE CALL ¥' me NORTH
ment and declaration.
(Signed)
“TULSA KLAN NO. 2, KNIGHTS
OF THE KLUX KLAN.”
In a separate statement Rogers
said:
“As the authorized attorney of Tul
sa klan, No. 2, Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan, I am authorized to make
the following statement:
“The executive committee of the
Chamber of Commerce in an inter
view in the morning paper has thrown
up its hands and admitted its inabil
ity to cope with, and has unjustly
and unfairly attempted to throw the
burden of the intolerable local situa
tion upon the shoulders of Tulsa Klan.
“If the committee of the Chamber
of Commerce then desires to desert
the Klan in its patriotic efforts to ex
ecute these principles and allay the
miserable and disgraceful conditions
in our city, the Klan must continue
to work without them.
“The Klan since its organization
has been the chief exponent of law
and order; it has ever sought to sup
port and sustain the officers of the
law; it has rendered every assistance
to and has ever acted through the
constituted authorities of the law; it
has consistently condemned lawless
ness in high places as well as low
without partiality; it has never
sought to control or dominate the
constituted authorities and officers of
the law; and no officer owes it any
subserviency nor the slightest obliga
tion contravening his oath of office.
The Klan stands for equal, impartial
and exact justice to all citizens. It
has actively aided the officers of the
law in apprehending criminals—as an
example of which it delivered into
the hands of the sheriff the murderer
of Harry Aurandt, one of which is
now at large through executive cle
mency. This the Klan condemns.
Disclaims Blame for Causes
“The Klan since its organization
has been is now, and will continue to
be dedicated to the observance of law,
and order and to the maintenance,
support and assistance of the duly
constituted officers of the law. It
disclaims any responsibility whatso
ever for the causes leading to the
presence of the militia in Tulsa; it
denies that there was the slightest
excuse or justification for martial
law in this city. It condemns, it has
condemned, and does condemn law
lessness, whether done by private
citizens or public officers, by the
high as well as the low. It is stern
ly opposed to martial law, the sup
pression of free speech and free press
and to the suspension of the sacred
writ of habeas corpus.
“If the Chamber of Commerce is
correctly informed as to the alleged
lawless conditions alleged to exist in
our city is true, then the Klan again
calls upon the committee of the
Chamber of Commerce to assist it in
relieving such conditions; and if 10
per cent of the alleged lawlessness
does exist in this city then the Klan
urges the governor to maintain and
continue his military force in the city
and to not desert us in such a hor
rible situation as he alleges exists;
but upon the contrary to join the
Klan in our continued efforts to see
that law and order is upheld and that
such alleged lawless condition may
cease. However, the Klan calls at
tention to the fact that the alleged
situation of lawlessness of which the
governor complains existed, if at all,
more than two years ago and the
Klan points with pride that such al
leged conditions are not now the facts
and that Tulsa is cleaner, more moral,
more peaceable and less lawless than
ever in its history, which happy con
dition the Klan nationally aided in
bringing to pass.
“Therefore the Klan urges the ex
ecutive committee of the Chamber of
Commerce not to desert our city in
its extremity and that both said com
mittee and military committee and all
religious, fraternal and civic bodies
join in aiding the Klan to continue its
self-sacrificing patriotic effort to rid
our city of the intolerable condition,
to put down lawlessness, to aid, main
tain and support the constituted au
thorities to ascertain and punish the
guilty, whethere in the high places
or low. To all of which the Klan
again pledgee itself as a body and
Klan Makes Promise
“Eternal Vigilance is the Price of' Liberty'*
REAL ISSUE.
each individual member thereof as has
been its fixed policy since its organ
ization. The Klan proposes that if
the militia be withdrawn from our
city; free speech and free press re
established; and the proclamation of
martial law, and the suspension of
the writ of habeas corpus be revoked;
and an investigation of the alleged
lawless conditions of the city be made
by a duly constituted civil board or
court; and the governor cease his
pardon and parole policy, the Klan
will render every possible assistance
to such board in maintenance of law
and order, as it has heretofore done
without fear or favor.
“KLAN NO. 2, KNIGHTS OF THE
KU KLUX KLAN.
“By WILLIAM S. ROGERS, At
torney.”
EDITORS LAUNCH WAR ON
DESPOT OF OKLAHOMA’
Address to People of United States
* Issued After All-Day
Meeting.
Tulsa, Okla.—An address to the
people of the United States declar
ing that “the supreme issue in Okla
homa today is constitutional govern
ment or depsotism,” was made public
last night by a group of Oklahoma
daily newspaper publishers following
an all-day meeting called by a local
editor with a view of “pacing the true
situation before the country”
Publishers of several of the largest
dailies in the state signed the state
ment.
“Governor Walton, by his own act,
has attempted to nullify rights guar
anteed under our Constitution and to
halt the lawful processes of repub
lican government,” the publishers de
clared.
A second declaration addressed to
“members of the Legislature,” said.
“The editors of Oklahoma urge that
the legislators meet immediately.”
Situation Called Intolerable
Referring to recent events in con
nection with the declaration of state
wide martial law, which were termed
instances indicative of Governor J. C.
Walton’s “despotic conception of his
executive powers,” the public address
said that “these acts create an intoler
able situation in Oklahoma—one
which the people cannot endure and
the press cannot condone.”
The following personally signed the
address:
E. E. Gaylord, the Daily Oklaho
man and the Oklahoma City Times; C.
S. Bronson, El Reno American; Rich
ard Lloyd Jones, the Tulsa Tribune;
E. K. Bixby, the Muskogee Phoenix;
C. S. Kennedy, the Miami District
Daily News; John W. Young, the
Sapulpa Herald; Leon R. Calonkey,
the McAlester News-Capital; A. M.
Ross, the Sapulpa Sun.
Telegraphic authorization to sign
was received from the following, who
could not be present:
Ned Shepler, the Lawson Constitu
tion; Leslie G. Niblack, the Guthrie
Leader.
Demand Free Press
“‘The newspaper of the state uphold
rigid adherence to all the laws, and
they are united in demanding that
constitutional rights of assembly, free
press, civil courts, grand juries and
jury trial by law be preserved invio
late,” the statement concluded.
Third statement addressed to the
editors pledged legal assistance “to
those editor who may have censorship
imposed upon them because of their
efforts to represent fairly the best
interests of the state.’
The legislators were urged by the
journalists to convene in special ses
sion a soon ps possible “to ascertain
the truth or falsity of charges made
frequently in the past few months
(Continued on Page 4, Column 3)
KLANSMEN
When it comes to your atten
tion that a Klansman is ill or
suffering ft should be
your duty to inform an official
of the Klan of the fact, so that
arrangements can quickly be
made to bring comfort or relief
to worthy brother. Let’s
make more than merely a pass
ing effort to show our love for
one another.
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1923.
THOUSANDS ASSEMBLE
*FOR BIG KLAN MEETING
Marching White=Clad Klansmen Parade Streets
Unmolested As People Cheer Them.
Red Wing, Minn.—Three mam
moth fiery crosses last Saturday
night told assembled throngs of more
than 8,000 onlookers that the Ku Klux
Klan is a living power in Minnesota.
A large number of candidates pledged
themselves to unselfish Americanism
and dedicated their lives to better
citizenship in the flickering light of
Christianity’s sacred symbol within
the bounds of Reel Wing.
The scene was qne of the most im
pressive of any which has. attended a
naturalization seremonial of the Klan
within the state, f Enhanced by the
naturalization ceremonial of the Klan
hills of the Mississippi, the scene was
one to be long remembered by the
people who looked on in silent wonder.
The Klan has come to Red Wing to
stay, was the message carried by the
fiery crosses which flickered and
glowed on the hill side as 100 white
clad Klansmen composing the state
degree team publicly conducted the
beautiful ritualistic work of the or
ganization. t
Goodhue Asks Aid
Klansmen from nearly every Klan
in Minnesota were represented at the
ceremonial, as well as Knights of the
order from Wisconsin towns across
the river.
An interesting incident ocajirred
when officers of the state organization
and the Red Wmg Klan were ap
proached by non-members from Good
hue •who appealed for help to remove
conditions detrimental to their City.
Aid was promised and moral lepers,
law breakers and wrong doers of
Goodhue will soon find themselves op
posed in their course of lawlessness
and opposition to good government.
Klansmen gathered at Red Wing all
day and among the unusual number
of strangers in the city, St. Paul
Klansmen with their big emblems
were noticeable.
Shortly after eight o’clock, visiting
Klansmen composing the degree team
gathered at the ball park across the
river and led by the Hayward uni
formed band and a horseback con
tingent, preceeded across the river
and down the main streets of the
town, robed but not masked. Several
women in the garb of lady Kluxers
were in the parade, both on horse
back and on foot.
The parade swept majestically up
the wide Red Wing avenues to the
.circus grounds in the south part of
town where 8,000 people had gather
ed in the shadow of the bluffs to await
their coming. The. robed Klansmen
in the parade were but a small part
of the number actually present, but
unrevealed.
Rockets and daylight bombs an
nounced the arrival of the Klansmen
who grouped around the rostrum
which had been erected at the foot of
the hill. In the light of «n electric
cross King Kleagle Gross opened the
public session. Speaking on the aims,
history and purposes of the Klan, P.
J. Orn, editor of the Call of the
North, touched briefly on the Okla
homa affair and won an ovation when
he declared that ‘“The people of Ok
lahoma are behind the Klan because
they know that it is fighting for
better conditions and true liberty. By
his high handed and unlawful fight
against the Klan, Governor Walton
has dug his political grave.” Dr. W.
Smith Harper, Methodist divine and
national lecturer of the Klan spoke
on the motives of the order, its abso
lute sanity, and law-abiding princi
ples.
At the conclusion of the public part
of the session, rockets and red fire lit
up the scene and a hundred white
robed Klansmen were discovered on
the hill side among the trees. As the
band struck up “Onward Christian
Soldiers,” they filed slowly down the
hill and formed a hollow square, de
fined by the glare of burning red
lights, around the altar.
The band stopped, and from the hill
came a stentorian voice proclaiming
“God give us men.” Then the candi
dates came in sight, twenty strong,
all strangers to the audience, while
the great portion of the class of In
itiates remained in the background
concealed from view by a curtain of
darkness.
EDITOR.
BY CRAFTON
Orn and Harper Speak
Arranged before the altar, the can
didates took their oath as Klansmen
in tones audible to most of the aud
ience. In the glare of bursting bombs
and rockets they stood, one hundred
white robed Klansmen raised their
hands towards heaven and in ringing
tones re-affirmed their allegiance to
the government and the constitution,
the most effective answer that could
be given to lies and slanders against
the order.
Fiery Crosses Blaze
Then followed the impressive sec
ond section of the naturalization cere
monial. As the candidates knelt be
fore the altar, three enormous fiery
crosses lit the sky, the band played,
and from a thousand deep throats
burst the words of “Nearer My God
to Thee.”
A prayer followed. Then as
bombs and rockets flared and crashed
the band struck up the strains of the
“Star Spangled Banner,” a light play
ed on the Stars and Stripes and as the
flag was slowly lowered, Klansmen
stood at attention.
Slowly the Klansmen filed from the
place, not more silent nor thoughtful
than the majority of the throngs
which witnessed the ceremony and
were deeply impressed by the obvious
sincerity and purity of purpose of the
order which has been* undeservedly
slandered. *
Hospitality Praised
After the ceremony, visiting Klans
men were guests of the Red Wing or
ganization at a supper at Fxatemal
Hall and spent an hour in genial
business of making the acquaintance
of their hospitable Red Wing brothers.
Red Wing has a large and powerful
organization and, with the aid af the
state organization, staged a most ef
fective ceremonial. The Red Wing
brethren are to be congratulated upon
their splendid Klan and their fine
spirit of Americanism.
Great Crowds View Parade and Ini
tiation Program at Circus
Grounds—Staged Amidst Na
ture’s Most Beautiful
Setting.
(Red Wing Republican.)
Impressively beautiful was the ce
remonial of the Ku Klux Klan, which
was held in this city on Saturday
evening and which was witnessed by
a crowd estimated all the way from
7,500 to 10,000 persons. Staged as
it was in Nature’s prettiest setting
with a bright autumn moon shining
down from a cloudless sky and en
hancing the marvelous colors of the
foliage, now dressed in their prettiest
hues after the recent visit of Jack
Frost, the wonder artist, the scene
was one which could not help but im
press all who saw it, regardless of
their opinions of the Klan.
The demonstration opened with a
procession through the business sec
tion of the city. Led by three Klans
men on horseback, the riders wearing
the white robes and the horses the
regalia of the organization, the
marchers filed slowly across the
bridge from their gathering place on
the island. Following the horsemen
came the color bearers and then a
delegation of Klansmen in their re
galia on foot. The Hayward, Wis.,
band, came next, then three more
horsemen, another delegation of Klan
members on foot, including three wo
men, and then Klan members in uni
form.
Exercises at Circus Grounds
The parade wound up at the circus
grounds, those taking part disappear
ing into the woods on the knoll over
looking the place selected for the
ceremonials.
Slowly the white-robed figures,
with arms folded over their breasts
marchecl in single file to the plat
form where the exercises were held.
The marchers passed through a lane
of colored lights and as they jtook
their stations three large crosses,
which had been planted on the hill
sides, suddenly gleamed forth. Fire
works, consisting of huge sky-rock
ets, Roman candles, and noise bombs,
were ftted off at intervals lending
an added touch of picturesqueness to
the scene.
This was the first big event here
for the organization which, during
the past few years has attracted
nationwide attention and publicity.
A place with a more compelling set
ting could not have been chosen.
In the foreground were the large
meadowy acres and in the back
ground the wooded hillsides, rising
to the height of 200 or 300 feet above
the surroundings.
Long before the hour set for the
ceremonials hundreds of cars and
thousands of people assembled and
crowded the space up to the ceremo
nial limits.
Impressive Spectacle.
The white robed figures, some of
the officials on horseback—no one
wearing masks—the fiery crosses,
the address by Mr. Om and others,
telling of the purposes of thi Ku
Klux Klan, which they said, stands
for patriotism, Americanism, honesty,
morality, law enforcement, and above
all the Christian religion exemplified
by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
made up a program of a most im
pressive nature.
The a*th of allegiance to the Klan,
which has ordinarily been supposed
to be secret, was given in public and
did not differ greatly from the
pledges taken in other secret so
cieties. A large class of new mem
bers were initiated. The oath of al
legiance to the constitution of the
United States was deeply impressive
and a great many people who did not
belong to the Ku Klux Klan and who
have had no intention of becoming
members, repeated the pledge as it
was given to the candidates whose in
stallation into the Klan was the oc
casion for the great Red Wing meet
ing.
Band Plays
The music of the Hayward banc:
was delightful. They played patriot
ic, religious and popular numbers and
demonstrated their musicianship to a
marked degree.
Mr. Ora, editor of the official news
paper for the Ku Klux Klan, depre
cated what he declared erroneous
statements in some newspapers re
garding the Klan.
He explained the meaning of the Ku
Klux Klan to be a circle, and that
they were a definite patriotic and
religious organization. The state
head of the Klan said that there were
three things that the Klan did not di
vulge, the password, grip and sign.
None of the local Klansmen were
present in garb as it is not the pur
pose of the organization to disclose
their membership. The reason for
this was explained by the speaker. He
said that detectives never exposed
themselves unnecessarily, and neither
do the K. K. K.
The K. K. K. stands for law en
forcement and are always on the
lookout for the transgressors of the
law, said Mr. Ora.
Several other Klan leaders spoke
along the same line.
The Klansmen March Through Streets
and Follow Parade With Pub
lic Initiatory Ceremonies at
Circus Grounds.
(Red Wing Daily Eagle.)
Red Wing was the Mecca for thou
sands of Ku Klux Klan members and
persons curious to see the Klan in
ritualistic ceremonies, Saturday night
when the organisation staged a parade
demonstration and public initiation in
this city.
Downtown streets were jammed to
capacity and when the gowned and
hooded Klansmen marched through
the streets solid walls of humanity
were packed in close along the line
of march. Visitors came from all the
surrounding community, while Klans
in Rochester, Minneapolis, St. Paul,
Albert Lea, Austin, Mankato and
other cities sent regular delegations.
The parade was led by officers of
the Klan on horseback, followed by a
band. Then came Klansmen in gowns
and hoods and others riding in auto
mobiles. About 100 were in the regu
lation Klan gown.
The march was made to the circus
grounds on South Bush street where
over 5,000 people gathered to witness
the public demonstration. Grand Dra
gon Clark, of the Minneapolis realm
of the Klan, presided at the initia
tion which was preceeded by a short
musicial and speaking program.
$2.00 A YEAR. 5c A>COPY
Speakers were Dragon Clark, C. J.
Orn, editor of the Call of the North,
the Ku Klux Klan official state paper,
and Dr. Harper, national Klan
speaker.
Klan principles were explained and
some of the aims and objects of the
order were discussed by the speakers.
Mr. Clark explained the secrecy of
membership by saying that the Klans
men were pledged to law enforcement
and that by keeping membership sec
ret much lawlessness could be ferret
ed out. For instance he said:
“Bootleggers of Red Wing and
Goodhue county will some day be sur
prised when the authorities will make
arrests on evidence which we may
give to them, and bootleggers will
wonder how the authorities got the
evidence.”
He left his hearers to “figure out”
the balance of his intimation.
Mr. Orn declared that Governor
Walton of Oklahoma was just begin
ning to learn the power of the Klan
and said that “he had dug his own
political grave.”
The program was followed by the
regular initiatory ceremonies which
proved a veritable pageant of beau
ty. With the hills as a background,
a bright moon shining overhead, a
flaming cross alight and Klansmen in
robes flitting like ghosts and spirits
through the tree, the initiatory work
proved very impressive. The robed
Klansmen filed down the hill, through
a wooded plot, to stations in front of
a raised platform. Here Klan of
ficers administered the oaths to six
candidates representative of a class
from Red Wing and other sections of
the state.
Colored torches and bursting
bombs overhead added to the pictur
esque beauty of the work during its
progress, and as a final climax three
huge crosses were fired.
Grand Dragon Clark Declares Walton
Has Dug His Political
Grave.
Red Wing, Minn.—Gathered on the
hillside that backs the circus grounds,
between 5,000 and 10,000 persons
witnessed the initiation of a large
number of men into the ranks of the
Red Wing Klan of the Ku Klux Klan.
Automobiles packed with persons
from the Twin Cities, Mankato,
Rochester, Albert Lea, Austin, and all
the surrounding towns —Klansmen be
ing sent from all these towns—poured
into this city all day for the cere
monies.
The meeting was conducted by state
officers of the Klan, about 100 of them
being robed in white. At the call of
Dragon Clark, who presided at the
Dragon Clark, who presided at the
ceremonies, these robed knights went
their way in single file through the
woods and took their station in front
of a raised platform.
Calling for “real men,” six mem
bers were brought forward by Klan
officers as representatives of the
large class which was initiated. Fol
lowing the taking of the “obligation,”
two large crosses, one on each side
of Dragon Clark, were lighted, while
a smaller one had been burning all
during the ceremony.
Preceding the meeting on the hill
side, a parade, witnessed by approxi
mately 26,000 persons, was held on
the main streets.
As part of the ceremonies, Dragon
Clark delivered an address. He re
ferred to the Klan situation in Okla
homa, declaring that ‘Governor Wal
ton had dug his own political grave
and learned what a mighty power the
Ku Klux Klan was.”—Minneapolis
Tribune.
Horaell, N. Y.—What is said to be
the largest gathering of the Ku Klux
Klan in this part of the state was
held near the Ledges of Almond re
cently. It is estimated that between
five and six hundred Klansmen took
part in the ceremonies. The Klans
men proceeded to the meeting place
in motor cars, none of them wearing
robes or hoods, which they donned
after reaching their destination.
Many of the most prominent men of
Horaell were among those who at
tended the ceremony.