The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1921-10-07
THE KLU KLUX KHAN
SEVERELY CENSURED
Religious and Social Press
Warn Public Against
Dangerous Cult

10 the North, is a matter OF live con-
Germ 10 the people who would not be
rudely awakened at some unexpected
moment by terrifying results. This
organization. which administers a
powerful secret oath to its members
and adopts the name and masks OF
the old Klu Klux of post bellum
days, pretends to be organized to as
sist the Officers in administration Of
the laws. but is in fact clannish
drive against Jews, foreigners, cath
olics and negroes. Newspapers, min
listers and educators throughout the
country are warning the people
against associating themselves with
these clans, and we herewith present
an article from the current number
of The Literary Digest we think our
readers will find both interesting and
instructive:
Brewing Bigotry and sowing racial
discord are charged against the ku
Klux Khan by practically the entire
religious press of the countrywide
testant. Catholic and Jewish-which
have Joined hands with the daily pa
Ders in denouncing the Khan as, per-
haps, the most serious menace now
threatening the national unity and
religious harmony for which all the
moral forces of the country are striv-
ing. Nowhere is criticism of the or
ganiZation more sternly expressed
than in the South, where religious
weeklies and ministers have braved
the Khan to proclaim their disapprov-
al of its tenets. Even in Atlanta.
where the new Ku KluX Khan was
founded in 1915 by DR.. William j.
Simmons, Imperial Wizard, a denom-
national organ has appealed to
lIlansmen to withdraw from an or
ganization ATTENDED by so many OBJ
jectional features"
In promoting the Khan the Organi-
GERS are charged with capitalizing
certain outstanding prejudices in the
country: those against the Jew, the
Roman Catholic, the negro and the
Statements by the lmper-
iaI Wizard. who was formerly Meth
odist exhorter and college profess
scr. are taken as lending support to
the charge. AS the Imperial Wizard
is quoted in the st. Louis Star, the
Khan excludes Jews because they
do not believe in the Christian re-
ligion. We exclude Catholics be-
cause they owe allegiance to an in
stitution that is foreign to the gov
eminent of the United States. Any |
native-born American who is a men,
Der of the English Church or any 9th
err foreign church is barred. We
draw the color line just as God does. ="
To have such factors in politics as
, group of anti-Catholics, anti-Ne-
5roes. anti-fOreigners, or "anti-any-
,ther-group," says the New York
Christian Work (undenOminatiOnaD
is thoroughly vicious" The move
nent lis most unfortunate at the
ime when the Church and Christiani
Y are attempting to bring moral or
Ter out of moral chaos. 1t adds:
From the Christian point of
view, the Ku KluX organiza-
ton and those who use its meth
DDS. whether official or other
wise. are dangerous to the COM
mon life. To have group Of
men abroad in America whose
purpose it is to stir up prejudice
OF any kind is not only unchris-
fian, but contrary to well-estab-
lished American principles; to
have the truth regarding negroes
and negro organizations basely
distorted can only mean the ag-
gravation of a situation already
bad enough"
Boarding the lion in his own lair,
he Atlanta Wesleyan Christian Ad-
,ocate (MethOdist), quotes the threat
attributed to the Imperial Wizard
hat those who have deliberately
and slandered us are going
o awake some day TO a very unpleas-
mt situation" and asks: Upon what
meat hath w. j. simmons f. that he
lath grown so great? why should
ne bestride this narrow world like a
'olossus?" In spite OF the fact that
he new organization is "capitaliz-
ne an old Southern sentiment" this
Journal "can not beliaye any consid-
srablo number Of our people will !
IDENTIFY secret methods sectionalism, /
and racial hatred with
american democracy" Speaking for
religious leaders, the Allan
"a weekly declares: THE Ku KluX
{lan is not SO much condemned by
any proposed purpose as by the trag-
cal results in the multiplication an
over the country OF acts Of masked
mob violence for which the order is