The Washington times., 1921-09-24

reconstruction days following the
civil war.
He rewrote the ritual, injecting mys.
tic ceremonies and hidden secrets" 4"
and with II as a basis proceeded to
organize a new Ku Klux Klan.
Legal Fight Costly.
Some members of the original Ku
Klux Khan tried to stop Simmons from
using the name. They went into the
courts, and the legal fight cost Sim
mons about all the money he had.
But Simmons won. Simmons had sew
eral of the original Klansmen with
him, and the courts decided that inas-
much as his imperial staff had a ma
jority OF three of the original Klans-
men out of the five members, they
had a right to the use Of the name,
ritual and emblems.
When Clarke and Mrs. Tyler took
charge of the Invisible Empire. put
ting Simmons on a salary of 500 a
week and retiring him as a figure
head, Simmons also retired from
Lanier University, under what cir
cumstances I do not know. But Sim
mons is out of his element anywhere
else. He is a typical Southern edu.
Gator and looks about half and half
college professor and clergyman.
Sinmons himself conceived the idea
Of introducing the Klan into the
colleges and universities. Clarke and
Mrs. Tyler liked the idea. And after
the Khan had grown from 1000 to
700, 900 members, and each Of them
had become a multi-millionaire, they
felt they ought to do something for
their Imperial Wizard. so they went
out and bought Lanier University,
out Of the goodness OF their hearts.
and presented II to him as a play
thing.
Clarke said to Simmons:
Here's your university. Go ahead
now and try out your idea Of rails
ing the children to be real klans-
men. Make 'em all klansmen. But
what are you going to do about the
Jews, colonel?"
Simmons drawled:
well. E. Y, guess well have to
drown EN-"
Simmons began preaching, and
the idea began to show results i'm
mediately.
Literature Is Prepared.
Meanwhile Clarke went back TO his
office and figured out how many
robes, mystic paraphernalia and
drums an dbugles he could sell to
the lads.
The literature was prepared for dis.
tribution in the office of the South
ern Publicity Association. Simmons
wrote all the mystic stuff, and Mrs
Tyler and her staff wrote all the
press stuff. College magazines and
offered a fine field for
the consumption of this literature.
The publicity bureau did some ad-
in these publications, also,
and paid for 1t. First the Southern
were delused with prop-
Then the plan was spread
all over the country.
Evidences of 1t have been discov-
cred in New York in Columbia Uni
versity, and the faculty now has
the matter under Investigation.
The Southern Publicity Bureau
works fast. Night after night I have
seen Mrs. Tyler and Clarke 60 back
to their office and continue until
midnight debating cylinder after
cylinder on the dictaphone, to be
next morning by a corps
Of typists pext morning and spread
broadcast over the country. ~
An Appeal to Curiosity.
This is how they worked on the
K-uno idea, and IL was only a few
weeks before students everywhere
were interested In the mystic word.
1t made an appeal to their curiosity
at an age when curiosity was in Its
most active form. .'.
K-uno Is only few month"; old, hav
ing been started last fall, but already
II has surpassed all the old time frats,
and is going like wildfire. A special
drive was planned for the ooening of
the colleges this fall.
Old Prof. Simmons has been
spending much Of his time delivering
L ddresses at the various Southern un.
iversities. He always insists on being
PRESENTED to audiences as the I'm.
Ierial Wizard and Emperor of the In.
visible Empire, Knights Of the Ku
Klux Klan, which In itself IL good ad-
for the secret order
simmons visits are always followed
ly suitable literature from he South.
ern Publicity Association dealing with