The Modern Ku Klux Klan Part 15

The former consists of what is known as the "Bill of Rights," and read:

"_The right of the people to be secure in their persons_, houses, papers, and effects, _against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated_, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

4th Amendment.

"_No person shall be held to answer for a capital or other infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury_, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, _nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law_; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."

5th Amendment.

"_In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which districts shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor and to have the a.s.sistance of counsel in his defence._"

6th Amendment.

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, _nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted_."

8th Amendment.

Having thoroughly studied the above portions of the Const.i.tution of the United States, I now ask the reader to again study the concluding section of the Ku Klux oath:

"I swear that I will _most zealously and valiantly_ s.h.i.+eld and preserve, _by any and all justifiable means and methods_, the sacred const.i.tutional 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."

Without comment, I merely offer the above extracts for study and comparison, and let the reader draw his own conclusions at the end of the chapter.

A large number of outrages, consisting of lawless acts of various kinds, have been reported in the newspapers as having been committed in the Southern States since early in 1921. Men have been taken from their homes and conveyed to lonely spots where they have been beaten, tarred, and feathered; women have been stripped of their clothing and covered with tar and feathers; some men have been boldly kidnapped in broad daylight and driven in automobiles to obscure places and there flogged; others have been whipped and mutilated for alleged immorality; a sixty-eight year old farmer was taken from his bed at night and beaten; an Episcopal clergyman was given a coat of tar and feathers; a New Yorker was shot and beaten; and, numerous "warnings" have been given both publicly and privately of "secret law enforcement" and of dire threats to "lay off" investigating the perpetrators.

_In practically every instance of physical violence the criminal acts--committed in the name of "law and order"--have been perpetrated by men wearing disguises, described as white robes and masks._

In several cases of violence the white caps, after finis.h.i.+ng their work, have left on the bodies of their victims the letters, "K. K. K." either burned on the body with acid, or printed on placards tied to the person maltreated. In cases where private warnings have been sent through the mails the same letters have been used, and in public warnings placards have been posted conspicuously bearing the actual name of the "Ku Klux Klan." Taking these facts into consideration, the evidence shows that the outrages were committed by men actuated with the spirit of Ku Kluxism, whether they were all committed officially by Klans in Simmons'

organization or not. That remains to be determined, but one salient fact stands out very suspiciously and it is this: outrages committed in this fas.h.i.+on have only been epidemic since the "Invisible Empire" began its propagation in the States affected. In this connection, it might be well to recall the conversation I had with the King Kleagle of Tennessee in May, 1921.

Charters were about to be granted to three Klans in upper East Tennessee.

I asked the King Kleagle this question:

"My people want to know what to do when they get their charters. What shall I tell them?"

_"Tell them to clean up their towns," he replied._

Among the first reported cases of violence on the part of masked men occurred in Atlanta, Ga., the headquarters of Ku Kluxism, the home of the "Invisible Empire." J. C. Thomas, a white man, received an anonymous letter advising him to "leave alone" a certain woman named Myers, upon penalty of action, but paid no attention to the warning. One night Thomas was enticed into entering a motor car in which were several strangers, the false representation being made that the "Chief of Police wanted to see him about some bad checks." The car was driven to Lakewood, an amus.e.m.e.nt park, and Thomas was ordered to get out. He refused to obey the order, drew his knife, and put up a fight, killing Fred Thompson, one of his abductors and wounding another. The Grand Jury of Fulton County failed to indict Thomas, but did indict two of his captors.

_Simmons admitted that Thompson was a member of the Ku Klux Klan._

Numerous cases have been reported in Atlanta where threatening letters have been sent and received. A young Scotchman was threatened for making improper remarks about social equality, while a physician was warned on account of alleged neglect of his family. According to J. H. Leavitt, an Atlanta lawyer, who was himself threatened, not only was he himself marked for violence but included in the same category were Dr. C. B. Wilmer, the Episcopal clergyman and Ex-Senator Hoke Smith.

In Durham, North Carolina, a Greek restaurant proprietor received an anonymous warning signed "K. K. K." ordering him to leave town. It appeared that he had permitted the intermingling of the races in his place of business. The Greek refused to take the matter seriously, employed a lawyer and laughed the incident out of town. Nothing came of it.

After a careful and searching investigation made by the _New York World_, there have been disclosed a large number of cases of violence and lawlessness in the South, and a study of the synopsis of these cases is interesting. It will be noted that the majority of outrages have occurred in the State of Texas, where the masked regulators have been extremely active, and where the Ku Klux Klan is strongly organized. These outrages have been so numerous in Texas as to attract the attention of the entire country, and have caused an upheaval in the Lone Star State. Some of the really law-abiding Texas people, who do not believe in "invisible government" and irresponsible censors.h.i.+p of morals, have attempted to secure some sort of action at the hands of the Texas legislature. Their efforts in the summer of 1921 were not successful, one legislator even going so far as publicly to defend the Ku Klux Klan. Other indignant citizens announced that they would band themselves secretly together and wage war on Ku Kluxism.

A chronological summary of the published cases of lawlessness in the South, indicating the methods of Ku Kluxism, is as follows:

February 5, 1921.--In Houston, Texas, B. I. Hobbs, a lawyer, was seized, had his hair clipped and was ordered to leave town, the charge against him being "too close fraternization" with negroes.

Hobbs then went to Alvin, Texas, a short distance away, and on February 8, 1921, was run out of that town by eight masked men.

March 3, 1921.--At Houston, Texas, J. La Fayette c.o.c.krell, a negro dentist, was mutilated by masked men for alleged a.s.sociation with white women. A race riot nearly resulted from this attack.

March 7, 1921.--A. V. Hopkins, a merchant of Houston, Texas, was mutilated, tarred, and feathered for annoying high school girls.

April 1, 1921.--Alexander Johnson, a negro bell boy, of Dallas, Texas, was taken out by masked men, whipped, and the letters "K. K.

K." burned on his forehead with acid. He was said to have a.s.sociated with white women.

April 10, 1921.--Gus Beck, stock man, of Webster, Texas, was tied to a telegraph pole by masked men, beaten and left there all night.

April 10, 1921.--At Houston, Texas, J. S. Allen, prominent attorney, was seized in a crowded downtown street by masked men, and conveyed to the country in an automobile. He was there tarred and feathered.

He was then returned to the city, and was dumped from a car into the middle of a street in the most prominent business section, in a nude condition except for the coating of tar and feathers. In the reports of the case there is no record of police interference.

April 15, 1921.--Bill Harris, negro bell boy, at Dallas, Texas, was beaten by masked men for alleged insult of white women.

April 26, 1921.--At Houston, Texas, J. W. McGee, an automobile salesman, was whipped by masked men for annoying high school girls.

May 1, 1921.--"Red" Kemp, a jitney driver, was whipped, tarred and feathered by twelve masked men at Goose Creek, Texas.

May 4, 1921.--Sam King, Marshal at Brenham, Texas, was tarred and feathered. He then resigned his office.

May 7, 1921.--At Beaumont, Texas, Dr. J. S. Paul was seized by fifteen masked men, whipped, tarred, and feathered and given forty-eight hours in which to leave the city. At the same time R. F.

Scott, a Marine Corps veteran of Deweyville was given the same treatment. These two acts were publicly admitted by the Beaumont Klan, and their charter was revoked by "Emperor" Simmons.

May 20, 1921.--One thousand men marched through the streets of Dallas, Texas, at night, mounted and unmounted, all of them attired in the Ku Klux regalia. They carried a fiery cross, and several banners bearing these words: "The Invisible Empire," "White Supremacy," "Pure Womanhood," "Dallas Must Be Clean," "Our Little Girls Must Be Protected," "All Native Born," "The Guilty Must Pay."

They rode and marched through the streets silently and without interference from the authorities. Announcements of the purposes and objects of the Klan had previously been accepted and printed by the Dallas papers.

May 21, 1921.--At Sour Lake, Texas, Joe J. Devere, a justice of the peace, was tarred and feathered.

May 23, 1921.--Ku Klux Klan paid $10 fine in police court at Dallas, Texas, for tacking signs on telegraph poles.

May 23, 1921.--At Dallas, Texas, John Moore, white, was seized in his home by masked men, taken to the out-skirts of the city, stripped of his clothing and lashed with a horsewhip. He was accused of attacking a twelve-year-old girl. He fled town.

May 23, 1921.--At Houston, Texas, Ira McKeown, taxi driver, was beaten.

May 24, 1921.--At Dallas, Texas, John Parks was flogged by masked men.

May 25, 1921.--Jack Morgan, of Shreveport, was tarred and feathered by masked men.

June 8, 1921.--Dr. R. H. Lenert, at Brenham, Texas, was whipped, tarred, and feathered by eight masked men. He was charged with "disloyalty during the war" and with "speaking German."

June 8, 1921.--At Waco, Texas, K. c.u.mmings was taken from his home by masked men, but escaped from his abductors.

June 8, 1921.--At Sea Breeze, Fla., Thomas L. Reynolds, a New Yorker, was a.s.saulted while in his hotel by masked men, and beaten and shot.