The Modern Ku Klux Klan Part 6

"I swear that I will, most determinedly, maintain peace and harmony in all the deliberations of the gatherings or a.s.semblies 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, or ill will, to influence me in casting my vote for the election or rejection of an applicant for membership in this Order, G.o.d being my Helper. AMEN!

"SECTION IV. KLANISHNESS.

"(You will say) 'I' (p.r.o.nounce your full name--and repeat after me)--'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 a.s.sistance or rescue of a Klansman in any way; at his call I will answer; I will be truly Klanish toward Klansmen in all things honorable.

"I swear that I will not allow any animosity, friction, nor ill will to arise and remain between myself and a Klansman; but will be constant in my efforts to promote real Klanishness among the members of this Order.

"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_ solemn oath, treason against the United States of America, rape, and malicious murder, alone excepted.

"I most solemnly a.s.sert and affirm that to the government of the United States of America and any State thereof 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 const.i.tution, and const.i.tutional laws; and will protect, defend, and enforce same to death.

"I swear that I will most zealously and valiantly shield 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.

"All, to which I have sworn by _this_ oath, I will seal with my blood. Be thou my witness, Almighty G.o.d! AMEN!"

This doc.u.ment is the oath of the "Invisible Empire," Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and according to "Emperor" Simmons, good Americans are swearing to it at the rate of five thousand a week! For the benefit of those who cannot readily see the danger in such an obligation, and why it does not belong in the cla.s.s of obligations a.s.sumed by men who join real fraternal orders, let us carefully a.n.a.lyze certain clauses.

"SECTION I. OBEDIENCE.

"I, in the presence of G.o.d and man, most solemnly pledge, promise, and swear, unconditionally, that I will faithfully obey the Const.i.tution 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 be hereafter enacted; and will render at all times loyal respect and steadfast support to the Imperial Authority of 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."

Until I had resigned as Kleagle I had never been able to even see a copy of the const.i.tution and laws. This was in the possession of the King Kleagle of Tennessee, who stated that he had had great difficulty in securing it, and had been compelled to give a very rigid receipt for its care and custody. The organization was evidently afraid to allow this booklet to get into general circulation among the members, for the simple reason that its general perusal would have shown the members the truth.

They would have discovered that the organization was a "one-man" affair, with "Emperor" Simmons in practical control, with a life-time easy job, living on "Easy Street" as a result of money that came into the organization from the public. They would also have found that they were members of a military organization, and that the "Emperor" was the Commander-in-chief. Obedience to the "Imperial Authority" means obedience to "Emperor" Simmons.

This first section binds a "citizen" to obey "unconditionally" laws he has never seen and is not permitted to see, and also to obey all laws that may be enacted in the future regardless of whether he approves of the laws or not. Any man who takes this obligation and keeps it, gives "Emperor"

William Joseph Simmons a blank check on his life, his liberty of thought, and his entire actions. Any one who doubts my statement has but to read this section of the oath. It is there in plain English. Regardless of the merits of the organization, no fraternal order man ought to be a member of any society in which he has so little voice in the management of its affairs, and the head of which has so framed the const.i.tution that he will enjoy a lifetime of "easy money." And the incorporators of the "Invisible Empire" say in their application for a charter of the "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan" that they want to be cla.s.sed with the Masons and Knights of Pythias! In both those orders, the const.i.tution and laws of the order are always open for the inspection of any member who cares to see them, and I have yet to hear of an official of Pythianism or Masonry who has been chosen to hold a position for life. Some officials have held office on merit for many years, but their tenure for life is not fixed in the const.i.tutions.

Under the second section of the oath, in the first clause, is found the words:

"I ... do most solemnly 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 cast and dignity."

This is a sweeping declaration that every interest of this organization must be held paramount, and the slightest deviation from absolute obedience and loyalty to "Emperor" Simmons, who is the organization, would mean that the offender had broken his oath. "Maintaining its social cast and dignity"--whatever that means may indeed be a very hard obligation to keep.

"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."

Here we find that the avarice and greed that permeates the whole system of organized Ku Kluxism has even been incorporated into the oath. When a Klan is chartered, a per capita tax of $1.85 for each member is required to be sent to the Imperial Palace. If the organization has 650,000 members, as has been claimed, then there will be derived from dues alone an annual revenue of $1,202,500. In order to insure the payment of this vast sum, the "Emperor" has sworn all his "subjects" to keep up the golden stream that flows into the coffers of the "Invisible Empire." Under this section, it would also be possible to levy an a.s.sessment on all of the members, which they would be bound to pay, or else they would be guilty of violating their obligations. No amount of payment is specified. When a person a.s.sumes the obligation, he gives "Emperor" Simmons a blank check on his bank account.

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

The "Invisible Empire" wants more "citizens." More "citizens" mean more money. Under a ruling of the organization no person can be blackballed unless objectors are prepared to stand up in open lodge and state just what are their objections, and then they might be admonished to "lay off."

In the present system of propagation the Kleagle is the court of last resort as to the persons who become charter members of a Klan.

Much capital is made by the organization of the fact that each person who becomes a "citizen" of the "Invisible Empire" is required to take a solemn oath to support the Const.i.tution of the United States. While this is true, the allegiance to the Const.i.tution and the law, is, in my opinion, pure camouflage for the purpose of concealing the deadly fangs of this illegal oath. In considering this point, it should be borne in mind that the members of the original Ku Klux Klan also took an oath to support the Const.i.tution of the United States, which oath can be found in the Prescript of the Order. Just how much weight the original Ku Kluxes attached to the Const.i.tution of the United States when it became necessary to put the fear of G.o.d into a "carpet-bagger" or negro is a matter of more or less doubt. They were organized as a matter of necessity for the purpose of policing a section of the country where political madness and hatred reigned supreme. As will be shown further along, a Ku Klux Klan in Beaumont, Texas, in May, 1921, although all of its members had sworn to support the Const.i.tution of the United States, arrested a citizen without a warrant, tried him with a jury, convicted him, and acted as his executioners in total violation of the Bill of Rights of the United States Const.i.tution. It has been proven in one instance that swearing allegiance to the United States Const.i.tution had but little effect, in preventing members of the "Invisible Empire" from committing acts of lawlessness.

Hence, I believe that the pious and patriotic clause in the oath of "Emperor" Simmons' organization is sheer camouflage, because the very doc.u.ment shows on its face that the Ku Klux oath is considered paramount to any other tie or obligation.

In order to prove this latter statement, I call special attention to the following clause, which ill.u.s.trates fully the relative importance the "Invisible Empire" attaches to the Const.i.tution of the United States and the Ku Klux obligation:

"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_ solemn oath, treason against the United States of America, rape, and malicious murder, alone excepted."

Note this clause well! "The crime of violating _this_ solemn oath" comes first! Treason against the United States of America, rape and murder are afterthoughts. Under this clause, a Klansman can go to another Klansman and confess to having committed robbery, seduction, burglary and nearly every other crime in the calendar, and the one to whom the commission of the crime was confessed would be bound to keep the information secure to himself. But, however, if a Klansman should confess to one of his fellows that he had broken his Ku Klux oath, that violation of the obligation is a crime of so heinous a nature that it is of more importance to the Ku Klux mind than the crime of treason against the United States of America, which crime comes second.

The most deadly part of the oath is saved for the end. The candidate has been led up to it by high-sounding words about "Klanishness," and has sworn allegiance to the Const.i.tution of the United States of America.

"Emperor" Simmons knew very well that had he started off his oath with this clause, most of his victims would have backed out, so he tacked it on at the end. It reads:

"I swear that I will most zealously and valiantly shield 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."

My contention is that this part of the obligation is absolutely illegal, that it is an accessory before the fact to lawlessness and mob violence, and brands the entire proposition as an outlaw enterprise that should be abolished and suppressed by the United States and State governments. Let us study a few of the words, as they stand out so strikingly. "Zealously and valiantly," "shield and preserve," "any and all justifiable means and methods," "against any encroachment," "of any nature," "any person or persons," "political party or parties," "religious sect or people,"

"native, naturalized, or foreign," "any race, color, lineage, or tongue whatsoever"! Just read these groups of words over and over again! When individuals or a group of individuals proceed to "zealously and valiantly"

use "any and all justifiable means and methods" to accomplish a certain specified end, they take the law into their own hands. When the Barons wrested Magna Charta from King John at Runnymede, they "used any and all justifiable means and methods"! When the Germans invaded Belgium, and cynically declared that a treaty was a "sc.r.a.p of paper," they used "any and all justifiable means and methods"! When a mob of masked outlaws takes a helpless old man from his bed and beats him up, they use "any and all justifiable means and methods"! When masked men drive up to a hotel and seize a helpless woman, convey her to a secluded spot, strip her clothing from her body and cover her with tar and feathers, they have used "any and all justifiable means and methods." Under this outrageous oath, any band of ruffians or outlaws can defend any lawless action they wish to commit on the ground that the "means and methods" were "justifiable."

In the concrete instance I have previous mentioned, where the _Johnson City Staff_ undertook to protest against the coming of Ku Kluxism to the town, the spirit of the "Invisible Empire" interpreted "freedom of speech"

to mean freedom only in so far as the Ku Klux Klan was allowed to proceed with its affairs unmolested. As soon as opposition developed the Ku Klux "freedom of the press" manifested itself in a desire to boycott the newspaper. Under the obligation to use "any and all justifiable means and methods" I see no reason to deter a local organization from taking an editor out and administering a liberal coating of tar and feathers, in case he should presume, in the columns of his paper, to antagonize the "Invisible Empire."

I have been a student of the Const.i.tution of the United States for twenty years, but until I saw the oath of the Ku Klux Klan, I never knew before that "white supremacy" was a "sacred const.i.tutional right." The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Federal Const.i.tution removed all political barriers against "race, color, and previous condition of servitude," and guaranteed all citizens of the United States equal protection under the laws. The Ku Klux oath, on the other hand, binds its followers to "use any and all justifiable means and methods" to enforce "white supremacy," and I see no reason why members of the organization would not interpret it to excuse any and every shade of mob violence, lynching, hanging, or burning of negroes.

By the term "separation of church and state" is usually meant the resistance to the advance of the Catholic people in the political affairs of the country. Preachers of Protestant Churches may get up in their pulpits and talk politics, may make speeches on the stump, and may take upon themselves the general duties of running a community, but their actions are seldom criticized. The advance of the Catholics in politics, however, is a "union of church and state," in the popular conception, and this advance, the Ku Klux swears that he will resist by "any and all justifiable means and methods." The methods may be lawful and they may not be, but to the "Invisible Empire's" obligation they would be "justifiable"

if they succeeded in driving the Catholics out of public life.

It would also be well to note the blanket phrase "the pursuit of happiness." The oath says "use any and all justifiable means and methods"

to secure the "pursuit of happiness," which, by the way, is also cla.s.sed as a "sacred Const.i.tutional right." This covers a mult.i.tude of things. A Ku Klux might derive unbounded happiness out of covering his neighbor's body with tar and feathers, while the victim of the performance might become a most unhappy individual as a result of the operation. The oath means in a few words that whatever suits the Ku Klux mind, whatever it wants to do in a community, it is going to use "any and all justifiable means and methods" to accomplish. The midnight prowler in his mask and white robe might well ask the question: "What does a little thing like a police force and sheriff's posse matter. If they attempt to interfere with us, we will simply remember our Ku Klux obligation, and 'zealously and valiantly shield and preserve our pursuit of happiness by any and all justifiable means and methods.'"

Under this section, any sort of crime can be excused in the mind of the person who commits the crime. "But," the answer probably will be, "an act is not justifiable unless it is legal." The obligation might easily have been written so that the distinction could have been clearly stated, but it was not. That oath on its face is an accessory before the fact to any and all kinds of crimes and outrages, and placing such an obligation indiscriminately in the hands of men of average intelligence is like giving dynamite to little children and expecting them not to be blown to pieces.

In summarizing the oath of the "Invisible Empire," there are three salient things that stand out very prominently:

First: It binds men to obey unconditionally laws they know nothing about, and laws which will be enacted in the future, and to follow blindly an organization which is largely a one-man affair.

Second: It places the Ku Klux obligation prior to the obligation to the government of the United States.

Third: Its last paragraph is illegal, and is nothing more or less than the condonement of mob rule and the use of methods in carrying out its views that are contrary to all the basic laws of the land.

CHAPTER VII

THE KU KLUX RITUAL