The Modern Ku Klux Klan Part 9

"That his canon law condemns public schools and forbids children to attend them.

"That popery enthroned in great cities controls politics.

"That our war industries were placed exclusively in Roman Catholic hands.

"That no sectarian body or fraternal order but Knights of Columbus was permitted to do war-relief work in the army and navy.

"That Roman Catholics compose one-sixth of our population and hold three-fourths of the public offices, being entrenched in national, state, and city governments throughout the country.

"That they are pouring into our land as immigrants at the rate of two millions a year.

"That Knights of Columbus declare they will make popery dominant in the United States.

"Let us arouse the people and save our country as the beacon light of const.i.tutional liberty and the hope of the world."

Among the methods used by propagandists of the Ku Klux Klan in enlisting recruits by means of attacks on the Catholic Church is a certain bogus oath purporting to be the obligation a.s.sumed by members of the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus. This oath first made its appearance in this country in 1912, and was widely circulated by anti-Catholics. In 1913, in a contested election case involving a seat in Congress from Pennsylvania, Eugene C. Bonniwell, himself a Catholic, filed charges with a Congressional Committee that this alleged oath had been circulated by his opponent Thomas S. Butler, who denied that he had been responsible for such circulation and had urged his followers that they refrain from circulating the oath. Purely as a matter of a legal exhibit, a copy of this "oath" was ordered printed in the Congressional Record, February 15, 1913. The doc.u.ment as given in the Congressional Record reads as follows:

"KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS OATH. FOURTH DEGREE

"I, -- ---- ----, now in the presence of Almighty G.o.d, the blessed Virgin Mary, the blessed St. John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles, St.

Peter and St. Paul, and all the saints, sacred host of Heaven, and to you, my Ghostly Father, the superior general of the Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, in the pontification of Paul the III, and continued to the present, do by the womb of the Virgin, the matrix of G.o.d, and the rod of Jesus Christ, declare and swear that His Holiness, the Pope, is Christ's vice-regent and is the true and only head of the Catholic or Universal Church throughout the earth; and that by virtue of the keys of binding and loosing given his Holiness by my Saviour, Jesus Christ, he hath power to depose heretical kings, princes, States, Commonwealths, and Governments and they may be safely destroyed. Therefore to the utmost of my power, I will defend this doctrine and His Holiness's right and custom against all usurpers of the heretical or Protestant authority whatever, especially the Lutheran Church of Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and the now pretended authority and Churches of England and Scotland, and the branches of same now established in Ireland, and on the Continent of America and elsewhere, and all adherents in regard that they may be usurped and heretical opposing the sacred Mother Church of Rome.

"I do now denounce and disown any allegiance as due to any heretical king, prince, or State, named Protestant or Liberals, or obedience to any of their laws, magistrates, or officers.

"I do further declare that the doctrine of the Churches of England and Scotland, of the Calvinists, Huguenots, and others of the name of Protestants or Masons to be d.a.m.nable, and they themselves to be d.a.m.ned who will not forsake the same.

"I do further declare that I will help, a.s.sist, and advise all or any of His Holiness's agents, in any place where I should be, in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Ireland, or America, or in any other kingdom or territory I shall come to, and do my utmost to extirpate the heretical Protestant or Masonic doctrines and to destroy all their pretended powers, legal or otherwise.

"I do further promise and declare that, notwithstanding that I am dispensed with to a.s.sume any religion heretical for the propaganda of the Mother Church's interest, to keep secret and private all her agents' counsels from time to time, as they instruct me, and not divulge, directly or indirectly, by word, writing, or circ.u.mstances whatever, but to execute all that should be proposed, given in charge, or discovered unto me by you, my Ghostly Father, or any of this sacred order.

"I do further promise and declare that I will have no opinion or will of my own or any mental reservation whatsoever, even as a corpse or cadaver (perinde ac cadaver), but will unhesitatingly obey each and every command that I may receive from my superiors in the militia of the Pope and of Jesus Christ.

"That I will go to any part of the world whithersoever I may be sent, to the frozen regions North, jungles of India, to the centers of civilization of Europe, or to the wild haunts of the barbarous savages of America without murmuring or repining, and will be submissive in all things whatsoever is communicated to me.

"I do further promise and declare that I will, when opportunity presents, make and wage relentless war, secretly and openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Masons, as I am directed to do, to extirpate them from the face of the whole earth; and that I will spare neither age, s.e.x or condition, and that I will hang, burn, waste, boil, flay, strangle, and bury alive these infamous heretics; rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women, and crash their infants' heads against the walls in order to annihilate their execrable race. That when the same can not be done openly, I will secretly use the poisonous cup, the strangulation cord, the steel of the poniard, or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank, dignity, or authority of the persons, whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agents of the Pope or superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Father of the Society of Jesus.

"In confirmation of which I hereby dedicate my life, soul, and all corporal powers, and with the dagger which I now receive I will subscribe my name written in my blood in testimony thereof; and should I prove false or weaken in my determination, may my brethren and fellow soldiers of the militia of the Pope cut off my hands and feet and my throat from ear to ear, my belly opened and sulphur burned therein with all the punishment that can be inflicted upon me on earth and my soul shall be tortured by demons in eternal h.e.l.l forever.

"That I will in voting always vote for a K. of C. in preference to a Protestant especially a Mason, and that I will leave my party so to do; that if two Catholics are on the ticket I will satisfy myself which is the better supporter of Mother Church and vote accordingly.

"That I will not deal with or employ a Protestant if in my power to deal with or employ a Catholic. That I will place Catholic girls in Protestant families that a weekly report may be made of the inner movements of the heretics.

"That I will provide myself with arms and ammunition that I may be in readiness when the word is pa.s.sed, or I am commanded to defend the church, either as an individual or with the militia of the Pope.

"All of which, I, ---- ----, do swear by the blessed Trinity and blessed sacrament which I am now to receive to perform and on part to keep this, my oath.

"In testimony hereof, take this most holy and blessed Sacrament of the Eucharest and witness the same further with my name written with the point of this dagger dipped in my own blood and seal in the face of this holy sacrament." (Excerpts from "Contested election case of Eugene C. Bonniwell against Thos. S. Butler," as appears in the Congressional Record ---- house, Feb. 15, 1913, at pages 3215, etc., and ordered printed therein "by unanimous consent." Attached thereto and printed (on page 3216) as a part of said report as above.)"

While I was engaged in the work as Kleagle of the "Invisible Empire," I was given copies of this "oath" by four travelling men who had previously identified themselves to me as Klansmen, and was informed that it had been and was being widely circulated, not only in their home towns, but all through the South by workers in the Ku Klux cause. I had not previously seen this oath, and without investigating its authenticity permitted it to be reprinted and circulated in my territory, although the men who became members of the Klan under me did not attach any genuineness to the doc.u.ment. There was, therefore, but comparatively little use made of it in my territory, but I learned that in Knoxville and Chattanooga it was freely and industriously circulated. Among the ignorant cla.s.ses of people, I learned, the oath was accepted as genuine, and was the means of securing a large number of members for Ku Kluxism. In Chattanooga, in May, 1921, the convention of the Southern Baptists was held, and as a great many speeches were made against Romanism, the public mind was in a very responsive mood to accept the alleged oath as the real obligation of the Knights of Columbus. I made inquiry of my King Kleagle as to whether or not the Atlanta people were printing and distributing the "oath."

In a letter written to me from Chattanooga, dated May 25, 1921, the King Kleagle, said:

"The Imperial Palace does not get out copies of the K. C. oath but I find it of value among a certain few.

"I find papers like the _Protestant_ that I suggested your subscribing for to be the most valuable dope that I can use for it brings home in a concrete form to them the things we have to guard against."

Having been, in a limited way, a party to the distribution of this oath, I feel that it is my duty to print the result of my investigations as to its nature and also to give in full the real obligation of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus which was made public in the summer of 1921. It appears from my investigations that several times the authenticity of the "oath" has been brought into the courts by the Knights of Columbus, and each time it has been proven to be a fraud. An instance occurred, however, that is so strongly convincing that every American who believes in fair play, especially every Mason in the country, should know about it. In Los Angeles, California, in 1914, the State Deputy of the Knights of Columbus submitted the entire work, ceremonies and pledges of his order to a committee of Masons made up of Messrs. Motley Hewes Flint, thirty-third degree, Past Grand Master of California, Dana Reid Weller, Past Grand Master, William Rhodes Hewey, Past Master, and Samuel E. Burke, Inspector of the Los Angeles Masonic District. These gentlemen made a careful examination of the entire subject, and rendered the following report:

"We hereby certify that by authority of the highest officer of the Knights of Columbus in the State of California, who acted under instructions from the Supreme Officer of the Order in the United States, we were furnished a complete copy of all the work, ceremonies and pledges used by the Order, and that we carefully read, discussed and examined the same. We found that while in a sense the Order is a secret a.s.sociation, it is not an oath-bound organization and that its ceremonies are comprised in four degrees, which are intended to teach and inculcate principles that lie at the foundation of every great religion and every free state. Our examination of these ceremonials and obligations was made primarily for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not a certain alleged oath of the Knights of Columbus, which has been printed and widely circulated, was in fact used by the Order and whether if it was not used, any oath, obligation or pledge was used which was or would be offensive to Protestants or Masons, or those who are engaged in circulating a doc.u.ment of peculiar viciousness and wickedness. We find that neither the alleged oath nor any oath or pledge bearing the remotest resemblance thereto in matter, manner, spirit or purpose is used or forms a part of the ceremonies of any degree of the Knights Of Columbus. The alleged oath is scurrilous, wicked and libelous and must be the invention of an impious and venomous mind. We find that the Order of Knights of Columbus, as shown by its rituals, is dedicated to the Catholic religion, charity and patriotism. There is no propaganda proposed or taught against Protestants or Masons or persons not of Catholic faith. Indeed, Protestants and Masons are not referred to directly or indirectly in the ceremonials and pledges. The ceremonial of the Order teaches a high and n.o.ble patriotism, instills a love of country, inculcates a reverence for law and order, urges the conscientious and unselfish performance of civic duty, and holds up the Const.i.tution of our country as the richest and most precious possession of a Knight of the Order. We can find nothing in the entire ceremonial of the Order that to our minds could be objected to by any person."

The real oath or pledge of the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus reads:

"I swear to support the Const.i.tution of the United States. I pledge myself as a Catholic citizen and Knight of Columbus, to enlighten myself fully upon my duties as a citizen and to conscientiously perform such duties entirely in the interest of my country and regardless of all personal consequences. I pledge myself to do all in my power to preserve the integrity and purity of the ballot, and to promote reverence and respect for law and order. I promise to practice my religion openly and consistently but without ostentation, and to so conduct myself in public affairs, and in the exercise of public virtue as to reflect nothing but credit upon our Holy Church, to the end that she may flourish and our country prosper to the greater honor and Glory of G.o.d."

When one pauses to examine into the history of the old Ku Klux Klan, and the objects for which it was organized, it seems almost incredible that any organization claiming to be the "genuine original Klan" would stoop to belittle the memory of the old Klan by making capital of religious prejudice. As will be shown further along in my narrative, there were absolutely no restrictions in the old Klan as to religious belief, the Precept clearly setting forth the qualifications for membership. Nothing whatever was said about a Jew, a Catholic or a person who happened to be born in a foreign country. While I was working in Johnson City, I took into the organization an old gentleman who had been a member of the original Klan at Morristown. There is a rule that "original Klansmen" are not required to make any "donations" or pay any dues. When this old ex-Confederate soldier was taken in, it was at the end of my career as Kleagle, and as I swore him to the un-American obligation, I could not help feeling ashamed and disgusted. I had several conversations with him afterwards, and asked him specifically as to the regulations of the old Klan in reference to members. He stated positively that there were no rules whatever prohibiting Catholics and Jews from becoming Klansmen, and that one of the best men in his Den was a German who had been born in Germany. On account of the fact that he had a.s.sociated intimately with Jewish and Catholic Confederate soldiers, the old gentleman expressed himself as being amazed that, in an attempt to revive the Klan, any such discrimination should be practiced.

I received a number of copies of the _Protestant_, for which the King Kleagle McArthur, advised me to subscribe because, he wrote, "It brings home in concrete form to them the things we have to guard against." This paper is published in Washington, D. C., and is of the usual type of rabidly anti-Catholic publication. An examination of some of its headlines shows the character of its attacks. This paper was eagerly read by Ku Kluxes wherever it circulated and was indeed a valuable agency in securing recruits.

I also heard other Kleagles attack Catholicism, most of the attacks appealing to me as being ridiculous, one especially which stated that the Catholic Church was financially backing the National a.s.sociation for the Advancement of Colored Peoples. It was gravely stated that the Catholics were arming the negroes of the South and that at the "right time" would join in an armed uprising to seize the country.

Considerable anti-Catholic propaganda has been and is being published in the columns of the _Searchlight_ the official organ of the Ku Klux Klan.

Among the statements I have seen was an intimation that the Catholic Church was responsible for the murder of President Abraham Lincoln. Copies of the _Searchlight_ are sent to each Kleagle for distribution among his Klans, and I received a number of copies in my connection with the organization. In every town there is a Klansman, either paid for his services or who renders same gratuitously, who makes a speciality of getting subscribers for the _Searchlight_ and of placing the publication on the news stands.

In the issue of August 6, 1921, the _Searchlight_ printed on its first page an article by Rev. Caleb A. Ridley, a Baptist preacher of Atlanta, part of which stated:

"Some people seem to think that the Ku Klux Klan is a body of men who have banded together simply to oppose certain things they do not like--that they are anti-Jew, anti-Catholic, anti-negro, anti-foreign, anti-everything. But real Klansmen have no fight to make on any of these. I can't help being what I am racially. I am not a Jew, nor a negro, nor a foreigner. I am an Anglo-Saxon white man, so ordained by the hand and will of G.o.d, and so const.i.tuted and trained that I cannot conscientiously take either my politics or religion from some secluded a.s.s on the other side of the world.

"Now, if somebody else is a Jew, I can't help it any more than he can. Or, if he happens to be black, I can't help that either. If he were born under some foreign flag, I couldn't help it, and if he wants to go clear back to Italy for his religion and his politics, I cannot hinder him; but there is one thing I can do. I can object to his un-American propaganda being preached in my home or practiced in the solemn a.s.sembly of real Americans."

The propaganda against the Jew is being carried on as viciously as against the Catholic. In the _Searchlight_ of July 30, 1921, there appeared on the front page a typical anti-Semitic article in the nature of a letter written from New York, and signed "American," of which the following is an extract:

"The Jew is interested in creating war between blacks and whites, not to benefit the negro, but to destroy our government. For the same reason, the Jew is interested in overthrowing Christian Russia. But remember, he does not intend to stop at Russia. Through his Third Internationale of Moscow he is working to overthrow all the Gentile governments of the world. I am enclosing an editorial clipped from the _New York World_ of Sat.u.r.day, July 23. You will keep in mind that the _World_ is Jew-owned (as is also every newspaper in New York City except the _Tribune_).

"My investigation proved to me beyond a doubt that the negro situation is being made increasingly dangerous by Jewish agitators.

"In all my twenty-five years travelling over this continent, I have never met a disloyal American who failed to be either foreign born or a Semite.

"With the best wishes for the success of the Ku Klux Klan."

CHAPTER X

THE ORIGINAL KU KLUX KLAN

The destiny of the United States, like the destiny of the individual, lies not in dwelling upon the unpleasant things of the past but in a sane and correct solution of the problems of the present and of the future. We are all Americans; we live amid conditions that demand national unity and national sanity; and our princ.i.p.al thought should be the elimination of sectional discord and internal dissension. Experience has shown me that there is but little basic difference between average Americans, no matter in what part of the country they may have been born and reared. Aside from local customs, variations of accent, and minor provincialisms, the man from Tennessee is no different from the man from Ma.s.sachusetts, and the man from New Jersey is a brother "under his skin" to the "native son" of the Golden West. To remove the causes of friction, to eliminate sectional and cla.s.s hatred, and to inculcate the principles of unified Americanism among people of diversified interests are the real ideals of this Republic.