Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1905-09-30

The Richmond. Va. News-Leader
(Democratie) in its issue Of wednes
day, Sept. 9th, 1895 says:
Not because it is particularly inn \
portant, but because IL is the newest l.
topic and everybody is talking about /
II, let us consider THE Clansman" I
FOR a while in a random way. hoping
that we may stagger on an idea or
two while we go along. All ideas
are not on the straight, smooth path
OF logic or of direct purpose TO ex
press something.
Rev" is a contraction for "rever
end or ''revered" Mr.. Dixon was the
REV" Thomas Dixon. He never was
the reverend" or the ''revered:" he
never reached the end of being reyer
end In his case the Rev" was an
amputation and not an abbreyiation.
| 1t was the mere trademark and sign
! of profession and never the express
| sion of condition. lie leaped from
/ the Baptist pulpit into the show bus
| mess, hurdling literature with a light
| touch. II was quite a bound, but
| acrobatic feats are natural and de-
| ightfUl 20 him. Now ne is an eek
I Rev and is making a sensation and
| some money. two operations in which
/ his soul delights. and we assume that
he is happy.
He indicates that "The Clausman''
/ as a play was written and staged
/ with serious moral and instructive
| purpose. The author Of The Dan
/ cling Doll which was so hastily
! suggestive that even New York city
would not have it. made the same
! claim. With a little ingenuity and
| sufficient inducement, we can work
a high purpose into anything In
/ the interests of decency and morality
/ and public policy, certain parts of
I the human body are kept covered.
! For the same reasons. certain ele-
l ments OF human character should be
] likewise kept out of view as much
/ as possible. They ought not TO be
4 intruded on the public notice in
/ books or on tle stage. "The
/ Dancing Doll" and THE Clansman"
parade before us the same thing, the
/ same primal passion, at it's two ex-
/ tremes of deyC Cpment-the one
! gilded. refined and artisticany sur
/ rounded, the other in the lowest
( stages OF bestialty. Nothing is TO
/ be learned and no good is 20 be
/ gained by either and harm must be
done 10y both.
SO much for TINS pen-picture Of
Rev Dixon. II says further:
Did YOU ever see a lynching2
We can say OF BE-. as we cannot say
/ OF The Clansm1u,'' that it Is an eli
evating performance a. one sense of
/ the word, az Least but it is not pref
/ ~ or nice or artistic. although some
| times necessary and improving. It
/ lis "a horrible thing. done usually for
horrible reasons and there is no ro-
nance or alienation about it, II is
/ a savage assertion of the primal law
OF self-defense-of defense of life or
something dearer-and of vengeance
which can be accomplished only by
the death of Tie offender III is
, transaction with which the public is
unhappily familiar through the news
papers, but It should not be thrust
| before the people of staid and we'll
ordered communities, wearing the
| good clothes and seeking an evening
! of pleasant amusement and instruc-
tion.
1t wipes the earth" with Brother
Dixon ana emphasizes all that we
claimed concerning the character Of.
the men composing the Ku Klux
Khan when IL says:
Mr. Dixon is not even Correct his
| torically, and II. as may possibly
! have been, any old Ku-KluX members
present at any of the performances
/ OF his play, they were amused at the
wide difference between the thing as
/ il really was and as il is presented on
| the stage. The Ku KluX Khan
| sprang into life mysteriously and
| spread silently and In darkness. 1t
was what il called itself an Invisible
Empire, born suddenly. obediently 10
| a great stress of necessity. IL was
/ a huge. hidden, in many respects
/ beautiful, conspiracy Of a whole peo-
/ pie against a government attempting
| q grotesquely impossible, a tragically
| absurd experiment. IL was largely
composed of rough. rude men banded
| together for rough, stern and neces-
| sary work lt included every class
and condition of life in the States
where il was strong, and those VINO
were not in active membership were
| in close sympathy. There were no
| elaborate white linen robes with red
| crosses and suggestions of the millin
er's art worn by fancy young men
with stage accents and infections.
IL was intended for ugly business and
il was an ugly outfit. A handker-
chief more or less soiled with Sits
cut for the eyes was the mask, proba
bly, in a majority of cases, and there
was more cotton bagging than mus
lin in the uniforms. Many Of the
men who rode at night plowed or
hoed all day and there was a good
| deal of drinking of corn whiskey,
chewing of tobacco and country side
! swearing and the Khan on an expedi-
| ton was sweaty, hot, reeking and
| intent. Some of the more elaborate
DISCUSSES We're made by the women
of families and occasionally one was
really ingenious, but they expressed
even in these cases crude fancies and
unframed tastes and their purpose
| was to terrify superstitious negroes