The Modern Ku Klux Klan Part 1

The Modern Ku Klux Klan.

by Henry Peck Fry.

PREFACE

It seems strange that, in narrating events and a.n.a.lyzing an organization existing in the United States of America in the year 1921, the most appropriate introduction to the subject consists of a few pages from the history of Germany during the Middle Ages. There existed in mediaeval Germany a secret organization, which, in its highest stage of development is said to have numbered over 200,000 members--the _Vehmgericht_, or secret tribunal. Its origin is clouded in obscurity, some authorities claiming that the system was first founded by Charlemagne, while others say that it was handed down from the most remote pre-historic Germans, but is understood generally to have first appeared in the year 1180 in Westphalia, after which it scattered all over Germany.

Its head was the Emperor, a.s.sisted by the n.o.bles of his court, and with them men of all ranks, a.s.sociated together for the formation of "free courts," to try persons accused of crimes against persons and property.

The members of the organization were known as "_Wissende_," or initiated ones. They were bound by solemn oaths not to reveal the circ.u.mstances of a trial or the sentence imposed on the offender if found guilty; and in order to become one of the brotherhood the applicant was required to be of good character, and have two sureties who were already "free judges." A ceremony of initiation, usually held in some out-of-the-way place, inducted the outsider into the organization, and thereafter, he was required under his solemn oath never to reveal the fact that he was a member of the brotherhood. The initiated ones recognized each other by signs.

The _Vehmgericht_ could be summoned at any time and place, in private buildings, in the forests, in caves, or in the open fields; they were occasionally held publicly, but usually they were closed against all but the initiated and the accused person. The Emperor, or, in his absence, the count or n.o.ble of highest dignity presided, and if any uninitiated person intruded, he was immediately put to death. The secret tribunal met when necessary and received complaints, to answer which they a.s.sumed the right to summon any one in Germany. Ordinarily, the accused was arrested and held by his captors for the secret trial, but if he had not been arrested, he was summoned to appear by fastening on his door or gateway the summons of the dreaded court, which usually had enclosed in it a small coin. If he failed to appear or send a messenger, he was condemned, as despising the jurisdiction of the Holy _Vehmgericht_, and once condemned there was little chance of his life while he remained in Germany.

The condemnation of an offender by a Vehmic Court was known to the whole brotherhood in a short time; and even if it were the father, brother, or son of one of the initiated who was condemned, he not only might not warn him of his danger, but was bound to aid in putting him to death under penalty of losing his own life.

The death penalty, the usual decree of the court, was generally inflicted by hanging. When executed the victim was hanged to the nearest tree, nothing of value which he might have about him being removed, and a knife was thrust into the ground as a token that the deed had been committed by order of the brotherhood.

The _Vehmgericht_, although an irresponsible tribunal possessing this extensive and dreadful authority, became a power so formidable that Charles IV, in 1371, stipulated for its official recognition. Exercising its despotic dominion under such obligations of severity, the brotherhood, however, in 1461, incurred the hostility of those who feared to become its victims, as well as those who saw in it an engine capable of terrible oppression, and an a.s.sociation was formed to resist it. The result was that, in 1495, Maximilian I established a new criminal code, materially weakening the secret tribunals. Secret trials are said to have been held as late as 1811, although the brotherhood ceased to excite terror or exert any considerable influence before the close of the seventeenth century.

In the year 1914 the prosaic American people, self-satisfied in a national peace and prosperity that superficially appeared to be a permanent condition, were suddenly awakened to find themselves spectators of the great drama staged by Emperor William Hohenzollern, who suddenly plunged all Europe into the throes of a Napoleonic war.

In the year 1915 another "Emperor"--this time an American--conceived a scheme, which, instead of reversing time merely for one hundred years, would take the nation back to the days of German mediaevalism--back to the _Vehmgericht_, the secret tribunal and the days of irresponsible government clandestinely administered.

This monstrosity, conceived in a brain that must have been either inanely visionary or superlatively cunning, has been let loose in the land, where for the past twelve months, it has been vigorously propagated by a highly organized, highly industrious, and highly paid force of experienced and trained propagandists. Its appeal is to group hatred and group prejudice; its organization, which is strictly secret, has, in some of its units, already followed the methods of the _Vehmgericht_; the t.i.tle of its "wizard" comes from the "_Wissende_" or initiated of the German brotherhood; its structure is military; its aims are political; and, openly calling itself the "Invisible Empire," it is an autocracy in government, ruled by an "Emperor" who has placed himself on the throne for life.

It was my privilege to have been a member--one of the "_Wissende_"--in this secret movement, which is legally known as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; and I had the opportunity of investigating it from the inside, observing its direful potentialities.

When I became thorough acquainted with the thing, I withdrew from it, as I felt that it was dangerous, vicious and absolutely out of place in the American Republic. I therefore decided to expose it, and to make the "Invisible Empire" visible to the people of the United States. To accomplish this desired end, I turned over to the _New York World_ all of the information I possessed; and that great newspaper, after three months of nation-wide investigation, told the people the truth about Ku Kluxism, and the "Invisible Empire."

Supplementary to the work of the _New York World_, I offer this book, which consists largely of articles written as an investigator for that newspaper, many of which were used as a basis for its investigations. To the _World_ belongs all the credit for this exposure and investigation, and when the American people fully understand and thoroughly realize what Ku Kluxism means, they will, of course, feel obligated to the _World_ for its work in undertaking and carrying out the task of eliminating this un-American movement from this country.

Personally, I wish to express my deep appreciation to Mr. Herbert B.

Swope, Executive Editor, Mr. William P. Beazell, a.s.sistant Managing Editor, and Mr. Rowland Thomas, of the _New York World_, both for having taken hold of the matter and so ably handling it, and also for their many acts of courtesy shown to me while the work was in progress.

HENRY P. FRY.

THE MODERN KU KLUX KLAN

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

If the psychologist, looking over the diversified and conflicting interests and cla.s.ses of the American people, attempted to find a common state of mind, he would probably discover one thing that applies to all American men, without regard to "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." He would learn that there is a common American trait possessed by the white man and the negro, the Jew and the Gentile, the Catholic and the Protestant, the native and the foreign-born--in fact by every conceivable group of the males of the United States.

They are all "joiners"!

One has to search far and wide for an American who does not "belong" to some sort of organization, and who would not, under proper circ.u.mstances, join another.

I am a joiner-by-birth.

My joining developed at the early age of ten, when I organized a secret society among the boys at school. We had an awful oath to which we swore, and in imitation of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, sealed it with our blood. We had no fees or dues, but each boy was required to contribute a copy of _Nick Carter_ or _Diamond d.i.c.k_ or _Old Cap Collier_. The organization survived a brief period and was then ruthlessly destroyed by an irate parent who disapproved of its intellectual standards.

I had scarcely reached the age of twenty-one and started life in Chattanooga as a newspaper reporter, when I took up seriously the habit of joining fraternal orders. In five years I had taken degrees in practically every one to which I was eligible. I became a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow, a Red Man, a member of the Junior Order United American Mechanics, of the Royal Arcanum, of the Woodmen, an Elk, an Eagle, an Owl, and an a.s.sociate member of the Theatrical Mechanics a.s.sociation.

The last "order" I joined was the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

I went into this one partly because I was a joiner and was curious to see what it was all about, but princ.i.p.ally because I thought it was a fraternal order which was actually a revival of the original Ku Klux Klan which played so important a part in the history of the South during the days of the Reconstruction. That old organization has always had a certain glamour for me as it has for every Southerner, and I could see no reason why a fraternal order commemorating the deeds of the original Klansmen should not fill a need in the country today. I knew absolutely nothing about the structure of the new Ku Klux Klan, took it on faith, and a.s.sumed that in its government and administration, it would function like any other of the standard fraternal orders. I thought, from the meager information with which I was furnished, that I was thoroughly in accord with its principles, and that it would be more or less a pleasure to belong to it.

In the case of the Ku Klux Klan I took an immediate interest in the work of the organizer, brought him into touch with prominent friends of mine whom I induced to join, and did all I could to make his work a success.

Shortly afterward I was made one of the organizers, and in this capacity devoted nearly all my time for three months to the work, conferring degrees, talking to people who were in favor of the Klan and to some who were opposed, and carefully studying the entire system of organization.

The fraternal order man who can really visualize an organization is the man who absorbs its work by observation and study, and there is no better method of doing this than performing the duties of an organizer. In my work as an organizer for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, I was first impressed with the fact, that, on account of its radical nature, it was dangerous. The first thing to which a candidate is enjoined is absolute secrecy. This is carried to the utmost extremity. A newly made "citizen"

must not tell his wife or his family that he belongs to the organization, and must give no hint of it to his most intimate friends and business a.s.sociates. I at once saw that any movement built along such a line was dangerous, regardless of its intentions, because secrecy of this sort places upon the organization the vital necessity of receiving as members only men of the highest character whose positions and reputations in the community would be an absolute safeguard against mischief. A secret organization composed of men of a low standard of civic responsibility would be the worst thing that could get into any community.

My experience as a fraternal order man has been that the personnel of the order varies with different localities. Therefore, while it might be perfectly proper to build a strictly secret organization in Kingsport, Tennessee, there might be, in another town an entirely different cla.s.s of members.h.i.+p which would cause the movement to jeopardize the peace and dignity of the community. The potential danger of the Ku Klux organization in this respect was the first thing that dawned upon my consciousness, and it made me careful of the cla.s.s of people whom I permitted to become members.

My duties took me into several towns, and night after night I administered the obligation and put on the degree work until I became thoroughly familiar with the mechanical end of it. Gradually, however, a feeling developed within me that there was something wrong with the organization--that it was not the sort of "fraternal society" to which I had been accustomed for nearly twenty years. I thought at first that this was due to the fact that I had done so much lodge work in my lifetime that I was growing stale. But certain portions of the obligation, which at first had seemed merely perfunctory, stood out in my mind and challenged serious thought and consideration.

I studied everything I could find to help me in my work; I received printed matter from the organization: I talked with Klansmen from other cities; and I delved deeply into the origin and history of the original Ku Klux Klan. But business men of standing and prominence in the places where I worked asked me pointed questions about the organization, questions that I could not answer and on which I could get no satisfactory answers from above. Slowly my vague fears that there was something vitally wrong crystallized into stronger belief. I spoke to a few close friends in the organization, and asked them to give me their frank opinions about it.

Without any prompting from me they voiced the same thoughts and gave expressions to the same doubts I had myself.

After much thoughtful deliberation, I reached the decision that the Ku Klux obligation was radically wrong. It was not the kind of obligation men take in _fraternal_ organizations--it was a _political_ obligation. I saw that the ritual, which had previously been to me merely a badly written ma.s.s of words was really a sacriligious mockery. I realized that the whole scheme was vicious in principle, and a menace to the peace and safety of America. The basis for these conclusions can be stated briefly:

_First_: While the organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia, as a fraternal order, the claim being advanced by the promoters that it should have similar powers to the Masons and Knights of Pythias, it is not a fraternal organization in the sense usually understood, but an attempt to create in this republic of ours an "Invisible Empire," entirely political and military in nature and designed to function bodily.

_Second_: The "Invisible Empire" is under the control of one man who openly calls himself an "Emperor," holds position for life, and exercises despotic control over the affairs of the organization.

_Third_: Candidates--designated as "aliens"--who are received into the organization, are not regarded as "members," but as "citizens" of this "Invisible Empire," and instead of being "initiated," as is usually the case in fraternal orders, are "naturalized" and become "subjects" of the "Emperor."

_Fourth_: Members.h.i.+p is restricted to a limited cla.s.s of American citizens, including only white, Gentile, American-born Protestants, all other Americans being ineligible.

_Fifth_: In propagating this "Invisible Empire," the work, which is being done all over the United States by a highly paid and highly efficient field force, is being carried on by stirring up prejudice and hatred against the Catholic, the Jew, the negro, and the foreign-born American citizen.

_Sixth_: Under the claim of the enforcement of "law and order," the "Invisible Empire" is attempting to take into its grasp the entire law-enforcing machinery of the United States, including the officers and men of the Regular Army and Reserve Corps, the National Guard, sheriffs and their deputies, mayors, police officials and men, judges and all persons connected with law administration, with the exception of those ineligible under the rules above stated.

_Seventh_: The "citizens" of the "Invisible Empire" are urged by the organization to purchase white robes and helmets, which are used for the purpose of going abroad in disguise for the concealment of the ident.i.ty of the wearer, and in many localities there have been parades and demonstrations of strength made by the organization, all having the effect of intimidating certain cla.s.ses of people of these communities.

_Eighth_: The sale of these robes is a monopoly in the hands of the Gate City Manufacturing Company, a concern a.s.sociated with the organization, and from this monopoly somebody is deriving an enormous revenue.

_Ninth_: The propagation of the organization is being conducted in such a way that it is clearly a money-making scheme run for the benefit of a few insiders.

_Tenth_: The claim that this is the "genuine original Klan" is a historical fraud, not supported by the history and prescript of the old Klan which are available for public inspection.