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Old Evils in the New Klan

By STANLEY FROST

The inherent dangers of the Klan organization are clearly pointed out in this article, the third of a series of independent but related articles which began in The Outlook for December 19

HEN 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 of the tradition and of the ideas of terrorism, violence, and defiance of 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 of 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 on the surface, to be not only highly menacing, 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 place; 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.

Most important, because it permeates

the whole structure and of necessity colors all first impressions of the Klan 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 conditions had been restored, the leaders, who were among the best in the South, decided that the dangers were so great, the inherent evils so menacing, and the impossibility of control was so manifest, that it could not be allowed to live. In 1869 General 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 alien-born. 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 it's got some of the riffraff who made the trouble that caused 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 efforts Dr. Evans has made to remove the threat of physical terrorism from the Klan regalia and work have already been described. But even if those efforts should become completely successful this form of secrecy is open to such very grave objections that I know of several high-grade men, now fighting the Klan, who have told me that they would join it if, as one of them 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 fact that it makes the Klan utterly irresponsible except to the consciences of Klansmen. It can strike in the dark as the old Klan didand this covers much more than mere physical violence and leave no clue. Its actions, whether good or bad, may sometimes be suspected, but can seldom be proved. Its officers are in the open, to be sure, but they can easily deny or claim what they wish. Thus the Klan is almost perfectly ungetatable either by the public or the Government. "The Government made every effort to suppress the Klan," writes General Forrest of the reconstruction days, "but it was utterly powerless." The new Klån 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,

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Oath of Allegiance to the Ku Klux Klan

(Note: The text of the oath as printed for Klan use contains asterisks in place of the name of the Klan and of certain other identifying words. In the following text these have been filled in, and the directions as to action have been omitted where they are obvious.)

SECTION I.-OBEDIENCE.

"I, ... In the presence of God and Man most solemnly pledge, promise and swear unconditionally, that I will faithfully obey the constitution and laws and will willingly conform to all regulations, usages and requirements of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan which do now exist or which may hereafter be enacted, and will render at all times loyal respect and steadfast support to the Imperial Authority of the same, and will heartily heed all official mandates, decrees, edicts, rulings and instructions of the Imperial Wizard thereof. I will yield prompt response to all summonses, I having knowledge of same, Providence alone preventing.

SECTION II.-SECRECY.

"I most solemnly swear that I will forever keep sacredly secret the signs, words and grip and any and all other matters and knowledge of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan regarding which a most rigid secrecy must be maintained, which may at any time be communicated to me, and will never divulge same nor even cause same to be divulged to any person in the whole world unless I know positively that such person is a member of this Order in good and regular standing and not even then unless it be for the best interest of this Order.

"I most sacredly vow and most positively swear that I will never yield to bribe, flattery, threats, passion, punishment, persecution, persuasion nor any enticements whatever coming from or offered by any person or persons, male or female, for the purpose of obtaining from me a secret or secret information of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. I will die rather than divulge same, so help me God. AMEN!"

(The candidate then waits till the Exalted Cyclops and his Klan have decided whether to admit him. If this is done, he is taken into the Klavern, and the oath continues:-)

SECTION III.-FIDELITY.

Before God and in the presence of these mysterious Klansmen, on my sacred honor do most solemnly and sincerely pledge, promise and swear that I will diligently guard and faithfully foster every interest of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and will maintain its social caste and dignity.

"I swear I will never recommend any person for membership in this Order whose mind is unsound or whose reputation I know to be bad or whose character is doubtful or whose loyalty to our country is in any way questionable.

"I swear that I will pay promptly all just and legal demands made upon me to defray the expenses of my Klan and this Order when same are due or called for.

"I swear that I will protect the property of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of any nature whatsoever and if any should be intrusted to my keeping I will properly keep or rightly use same and will freely and promptly surrender same on official demand or if I am ever banished from or voluntarily discontinue my membership in this Order.

"I swear that I will most determinedly maintain peace

and harmony in all the deliberations of the gatherings or assemblies of the Invisible Empire and of any subordinate jurisdiction or Klan thereof.

"I swear that I will most strenuously discourage selfishness and selfish political ambition on the part of myself or any Klansman.

"I swear that I will never allow personal friendship, blood or family relationship, nor personal, political or professional prejudice, malice nor illwill to influence me in casting my vote for the election or rejection of an applicant for membership in this Order, God being my helper. AMEN

SECTION IV.-KLANNISHNESS. "I,

Most solemnly pledge, promise and swear that I will never slander, defraud, deceive or in any manner wrong the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a Klansman nor a Klansman's family, nor will I suffer the same to be done if I can prevent it.

"I swear that I will be faithful in defending and protecting the home, reputation and physical and business interest of a Klansman and that of a Klansman's family.

"I swear that I will at any time, without hesitating, go to the assistance or rescue of a Klansman in any way, at his call I will answer. I will be truly Klannish toward Klansmen in all things honorable.

"I swear that I will never allow any animosity, friction nor illwill to arise and remain between myself and a Klansman, but will be constant in my efforts to promote real Klannishness among the members of this Order.

"I swear that I will keep secure to myself the secret of a Klansman when same is committed to me in the sacred bond of Klansmanship, the crime of violating THIS solemn oath, treason against the United States of America, rape, and malicious murder alone excepted.

"I most solemnly assert and affirm that to the government of the United States of America and any State thereof of which I may become a resident, I sacredly swear an unqualified allegiance above any other and every kind of government in the whole world. I here and now pledge my life, my property, my vote, and my sacred honor to uphold its flag, its constitution and constitutional laws and will protect, defend and enforce same unto death.

"I most Solemnly Promise and Swear That I will always, at all Times and in all places, Help, aid and assist, The duly Constituted officers of The law in The proper performance of Their Legal Duties.

"I swear that I will most zealously and valiantly shield and preserve by any and all justifiable means and methods. the sacred constitutional rights and privileges of free public schools, free speech, free press, separation of church and state, liberty, white supremacy, just laws, and the pursuit of happiness against any encroachment of any nature by any person or persons, political party or parties, religious sect or people, native, naturalized or foreign, of any race, color, creed, lineage or tongue whatsoever.

"All to which I have sworn by THIS oath I will seal with my blood, be Thou my witness, Almighty God,

AMEN!"

for it to avoid violence. The very existence of 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 wearing of Klan regalia in public is 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 of 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 extravagances 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 example, 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, Klazik, Klokard, Kludd (chaplain), Kligrapp (secretary), Klabe (treasurer), Kladd, Klarogo, Klexter, Klonsel, NightHawk, 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 "terrors." 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, wonderful, and weird," and the months are "bloody, gloomy, hideous, fearful, furious, alarming, terrible, horrible, mournful, sorrowful, frightful, and appalling." Thus the revised Klan Constitution I have not learned why it is not a Klonstiklution-was officially proclaimed on November 29, 1922, or “on the Doleful Day of the Weird Week of the Terrible Month of the year of the Klan LVI."

and these he appoints himself and can remove instantly. Thus it seems impossible ever to remove him, however dangerous he may become.

His power over all members, if they keep their oaths, is considerable. They promise to "heed" all his commands; I 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 followers.

One further ground for criticism is inherent in the Klan: the possibility that the members may feel oath-bound to

In view of all the nomenclature, this protect other Klansmen from justice. seems a fitting date! The oath reads: "I swear that I will keep secure to myself a secret of a Klansman when same is committed to me in the sacred bond of Klansmanship, the crime of violating this sacred oath, treason against the United States of America, rape, and malicious murder alone excepted." This seems fairly flat and not conducive to assisting any one to bring Klansmen to justice for ordinary crimes.

All this, however, is not merely funny. A Klansman must take these names more or less 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 terroristic purposes of the old Klan. So, too, 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 all the 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 allegiance, the titles of his officers, his oath to enforce the law himself as well as to aid law officers-all these things combine to give an impression which, however it may be explained and changed in ritualistic discussion, seem to the outsider certain to leave a basic "complex" of militant activity hardly consistent with complete obedience to law and with democratic patriotism.

There seems also another complete inconsistency in the government of the Order, since it puts itself forward as the champion of democracy. In its structure it is a complete despotism. The Imperial Wizard has enormous power and can veto the election of any officer or remove him at will, except that he must give a trial to Imperial officials his "genii." His term of office is fixed at four years, but his election is by the Grand Dragons,

There is also to be considered the most serious criticism which can be made against the Klan: that it is based wholly on class division, race and religious prejudice, and hatred in general. The validity of this criticism depends so much on the actual propaganda, and is so involved with its purposes and programme, that it must be left for a later article.

Of course there is a Klan defense for all this. In the first place, many of these same charges can be, and have been, brought against other secret orders. There was a time, now almost forgotten, when the Masonic order was under just this kind of attack. I have seen old books which accused it of almost every crime on the calendar, including treason and ritual murder. Within a few years a book was printed in London alleging that Masonry was responsible for the Terror in the 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.

Then, too, the section of the oath quoted above is in conflict with other sections. The Klansman also swears unqualified allegiance to the United States Government, support of the laws, and aid to law officers. (See the text of the oath published herewith.) 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 unquestionably first. But there is some talk in the Klan of changing the phraseology.

I put to Dr. Evans, 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 justified others. Though he did not say so, I gathered that he feels that some of them are a heavy incubus left over from the evil days of the Simmons-Clark régime.

I asked his justification for secrecy. He had admitted that it might involve some serious evils.

"In the present state of the country, when it is necessary to combat organizations using these and even worse methods," he said, "it would be foolish to surrender any advantage.

"The Klan will be out in the open one of these days, as soon as the principles for which it stands prevail 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 throttling American ideals and diluting our American citizenship and living under their own interpretation-if they have any! of the Constitution come into the spotlight of American publicity and reveal their intentions and motives and when legislation is made all-inclusive. This applies to political as well as to religious organizations."

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 adver tising feature. They have some value in conferring degrees, because of impressiveness. This is the answer to the public. To the Klansman they are regalia and carry important significance and typify certain ideals. They have no other value."

He grew grave again when I asked what the Klan means by "Invisible Empire."

"We are dropping the expression," he replied, "using it less and less. It is a ritualistic phrase referring to the geographical jurisdiction of the order, and having no reference to any political government."

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

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who might be able to sway a portion of its membership through an appeal to emotionalism, is to have a government strong enough to suppress all such attempts.

"But actually, in spite of the form of the Constitution, it would be impossible 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 wrong, they If they go wrong, they will lose their following and the organization be 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, 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 democracy inside itself. A solution is being sought.'

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"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, be 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 symbolism of the order, I confess that Dr. Evans got beyond my depth. I have never been a member of 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 things are very solemn and very sacred. Certainly they are both to Dr. Evans, and his reverent attitude made 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 cannot explain in a way that would be fully understood by any one outside fraternal societies," 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 especially 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 literal 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 to Dr. Evans along this line was whether the Klan would not become extremely dangerous 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 of the Klansmen, and that. strength cannot be used apart from those ideals."

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 of the grounds for criticism, perhaps most.

"There are certain difficulties inherent in the growth of the organization and in its form and the language 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 publication until solutions have been reached."

Whatever these reforms may be, they naturally cannot be taken into consideration, either, until they are made effective. Judgment for the time being must be based on the Klan as it is. And, from the facts available, it seems clear that the Klan to-day is still irresponsible, uncontrollable, autocratic, and terroristic in form; that if its members keep their oaths and take them and some of the official language and formulas literally, and are impressed by the apparent meaning of its symbolism, it is quite capable of becoming a real invisible government, protecting its members from the law and striking powerfully and with immunity from the dark. It seems that General Forrest and his associates in 1869 had good reason to destroy such an organization the moment their desperate emergency passed.

The great present safeguard-the reason why all these evils are mostly inherent and only partly actual-is in the

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