The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1914-02-21

-.Asf - taat Nn0y VII -
osi.nded w IN their eonstitutional rights
% To- speeoh and free prcs- The
pres dispatch a. usual iies When IA -,
~, ~ MhNsct has printed the so-called
hh&hN or columbus cath, a. the dlcs
W e.I paper WI show. But N the
hnights u Columbus uant 20 mart .nv.
hisg with THE MESAoE for what il
Ealy has printed, they have our permits.
.lon 20 90 their worst, a. We are ready
20 aeiend every utteranoe We have over
.,aae about the knirhtA And II .hey
con want their complete ritual and a.
cis, Noik printed and distributed 20 .
slliioh men in this Republic. they had
peiter leave The AESAoE out Of this
controversy.
This is the "bluh7 which tbev
would have YOU construe as an adj
mission that we have lied about the
knights Of Columbus.
But this "bluf'' still holds GOOD
We are still after the Knights Of
Columbus ritual. A week hasn't
passed since | have been connected
with THE MESAcE that I haven't
given this plan more or less atten.
tion, and believe now, as | did ON
March s. 1913, that this ritual can
be had, AND WHEN I GET TT
1T WILL BE PRINTED IN
FULL IN THE MENACE. AND
DON'T YOU FORGET ITi And
then II the oath which is attributed
TO the Knights isn't So. the world
viii know Il, and I Uin hare done
more 10 remore from them a stigma
that IS haunting them 10 destruc-
ton than they hare ever been WiI-
ing 10 do themselves.
; / might state also that l am not
working day and night 10 secure
this ritual altogether because / be.
here the alleged oath is true-I am
working for the truth, and 1 want
to know the truth. | want to know
il | am living and associating with
men who would be guilty Of taking
such a dimnable oath. II they do
take such an oath | want TO have my
doors and windows screened with
iron bars, and | want to supply my
self with winchesters and automatic
pistols. and | want my friends to
know the facts that they may do the
same thing.
II they do not take such an oath I
want the world to have the oath
they do take, that the minds Of the
people may be relieved, and that
thousands OF Roman Catholic citi.
Eens may be freed from an odium
that has followed them Ike a fate.
ful nemesis for the past several
years. They could do this for them
selves, IL they would, and the fact
that they haven't has lead thousands
Of honest people 10 believe that they
take the oath ascribed to them.
The 0risin OF the Oath
There are only two more state.
ments in my letter which / have not
mentioned, out Of which the enemy
seeks 10 make capital The first IS
as follows:
/ I'VE do not hare any eridenee
that the oath is the one phich IS
taken by members Of the Knights
of Columbus"
This statement needs no further
explanation than a reiteration. IL
is what we have said in THR MRS-
ACE time and again, in substance at
least, and what we have written in
private correspondence every time
we have had occasion to answer an
inquiry about the oath.
We know no more than the man
in the moon where the document
originated, and Tie Catholic press
lies UheR Il says that Il originated
in The Menace office.
THE MENACE had no sooner been
launched than copies Of this docu-
ment, printed, typewritten and In
every other eenceiyable shape began
10 pour into this Office.
received one copy early in 1919
from a railroad man who claimed
that he found Il In the desk Of q
fellow employee who worked with
him and who was sNits.s
I ] Ifreceived another one from a
man who cleims 70 have picked IL Up
of the floor ofaK.of G. hall. Some
claimed one thing and some an
other. We submitted q copy Of the
oath to a man here in Aurora who
was once a Catholic, and q mem
Der Of the knights Of Columbus,
and he said that while he didn't
remember the wording Of the obh-
cation he took when he joined the
order as he ouit soon after ioininc-