The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-09-27

gpssial Oovespondenoe Of The Sunday Republic.
New York. Sept. 25-During the literary
''housecleaning'' which has been going on
at Columbia ever since the university
library was moved 20 Morningside
Heights there have been unearthed from
time TO lime many treasures which have
lain dust-oovered and forgotten for yeare
Rare manuscripts, nrst editions Of we'll
known books and sealed packages with
curious contents have turned UP In num-
bcra :
A recent discovery. however. is perhaps
the most Interesting Of the let This is q
genuine manual of the Ku-Klux Kan or
ganizaton. which terrorized the South for
80 many years.
The ritual. for III II 10, 10 O yellow
covered pamphlet, consisting Of twenty
four pages. four by six inches In size. and
thu university librarians declare that II is
beyond reasonable doubt the only one Of
stts kind In existence.
This contention and the authenticity Of
khe manual arc confirmed by q letter
which was found pasted sn the back Of
the book. written q dozen years ago by a
LADY In Nashville. Tenn.
The letter states. among other things,
That the ritual Is "a prescript OF The Ku-
Elu1 Khan. which escaped destruction
when the ighouls' ~disbanded. and was
given me by az ex-member."
Inc EnculSs ~ dppehIb N tne pam
phlet, were the members Of the body poll
Ec OF this strange organization.
The letter proceeds to point out that the
s'ghouls" we're under positive orders to
burn and destroy every possible trace OF
their secret organization. and there is an
tntimation Of summary retribution In the
case Of that "ghouT' who failed to obey
this injunction.
1t therefore appears that by the merest
chance the manual at Columbia escaped
the fate of the other evidences Of the Ku-
Klux Khan.
NO REFERENCE is
MADE TO THE NAME
It is worthy Of note hat nowhere In the
twenty-four pages Is the name Of the or
ganization mentioned or referred to.
In the few places where. under other cir
cumstances, 1T would have been printed
there is either the insertion of three as
terisks or q blank space.
The title page, for instance, which q in
teresting In itself. announces that the
pamphlet Is the Revised and Amended
Prescript of the Order Of the -"
A little below appears; the motto
'Damnant Quod Non Intelligent"
The problem thickens on the SECOND
page. where the ritual contains the pro-
vision that, This organization shall be
styled and denominated the order of The
. q"
u 4ut OIlCcIS WeI0 u1hny III uuulDeI anu
bore singular titles. not unlike those OBJ
7taining in many Of the Greek-letter fra
ternities In our colleges
In one place the dignitariee are limited at
as mysterious" Above them all vas
the grand wizard OF the empirs. whose po-
sition entitled him to ten genii. whose
functions are not revealed.
The grand wizard is followed IN rank
by the grand dragon of the realm and
hydra.
This ~potentate was, strangely. enough,
allowed no satellites. as the grand titan Of
the dominion. the grand giant of the prov
ince and the grand cyclops of the den. all
inferior ~dignitaries, were accorded six
furies. four COLLINS and two night-hawks.
respectively.
Other officers. whose station was supe-
rior to that OF an ordinary .'ghoul". were
a grand magi, a grand monk, q grand
Turk, a grand. exchequer and q grand SON
tlnei.
One searches the pages OF this strange
ritual IN vain to find the duties OF. the Of
acers. their identity or when or by whom
they were chosen.
PURPOSES OF THE ORDER
ELoQUENTLY SET FORTH
The purposes Of the order were varied,