The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1921-10-14
.KU KLUX HEAD
C0LLAPSES ON
WITNESS STAND
William j. Simmons Head of Or
der Breaks Down Under Grill
ing Of Committee
TELLS OF ORDERS PURPOSE
Declares That if Organization
is Found Unworthy He Will
Help to Destroy i,

! WASHINGTON, Oct. 14--Wilh it's star
witness, William ]. Simmons, founder
and imperial wizard Of the Ku Klux
klan under physician care, the house
rules committee prepared today to
continue it's inquiry into the organ
izati0n and activities of the order.
! Simmons was found to be suffering
from bronchitis and nervous ex.
haustiOn," it was said yesterday after
his collapse on the stand and the at
tending physicians doubted whether
he would be able to undergo the cross
examination which was scheduled.
Solemn Stiffness Prevails
A solemn stiffness prevailed at
times while the wizard, holding aloft
the ritual of the klan, read parts Of
the oath taken by Klansman during
| he hearing yesterday afternoon.
And then in husky ZONES he told the
committee that while julius Caesar
had his Brutus and Washington his
Benedict Arnold, he, too, as imperial
wizard of the k, Kmx Khan, could en-
ter that fellowship because he had
suffered from the reasonable conduct
of those within.
IF this organization is unworthy
let me know and | will destroy it,"
he exclaimed, but if it is not, then
let it stand"
| Turning to the, crowd, Simmons de-
clared he wanted to 'call upon the
Father to forgive those who had per-
secuted the klan" and as the words
left his lips, he tumbled into heap.
| The first dramatic incident of the
day was the sudden appearance Of
! Senator Thomas Z. Watson of Geor-
! gia, who edged his way through the
crowd, stepped up and seized the wiz
ard by the. hand. Whispering some
thing, he turned and sat down, but a
moment later he was on his feet, de-
manding the right to question the wit
ness in the interest of fair play"
-Watsos,~is -insistentp,y s
! Chairman Campbell broke in to say
that the witness was getting that, and
! that it was not in line with the regular
procedure to permit questions by out
siders.
Senator Watson insisted he had the
right, first announcing, however, that
! he was not Klansman, although in
sympathy with it's aims, and the chair
man cut Through the colloquy by di-
recting the senator to proceed The
senator merely asked the wizard if he
knew of the big salaries being voted
by congress for shipping board law
yers reaching as high as $4,000 which
the people had to pay. With that Mr..
Watson left.
Through the testimony of Mr.. Sim
mons, the committee learned that the
total membership of the Klan, herald ::
I ed as having passed the half million
mark, actually was around 10000.
The witness declared that its
growth east and west had been great
er than in the south, but his illness
prevented questioning designed to
bring out facts bearing on some OF
1 the present stronghOlds of the Organi-
/; zation. Asked if he had not claimed
a million membership Mr.. Sim
mons smilingly replied he might have
done so, but that he was speaking gen.
orally, not by the card. @,.s
Not Under Law
/ Representative Garrett, Democrat,
/ Tennessee, took the witness in hand
/ to find out something about its rev.
4 enue and profits, asking if the mem
bership fees had been listed as dona-
1 tiOns rather than fees to prevent col
lection of federal corporation taxes
/ Simmons replied there was never a
thoughtsOf that, declaring that when
the tax law first became effective, ne
went to the revenue office at Atlanta
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