The Denver Jewish news., 1921-10-19
Attack on the Spirit Of
Ku Klux Klanism
TEACHES GRAVE DANGER TO
AMERICA.
BY DIR. Stephen S. wi@.
~ e. II SarvIcel


No man ought to speak upon this
theme without offering his gratitude
as an American to one OF the great
American newspapers. the New York
World" not so much for n brilliant
journalistic enterprise as for high
moral service. II was the World
that discovered nasty German war
conspiracy against America by Dr.
Albert and his associates. XII KluN
Klanism, stripped and laid bare by
the "World'' in all its moral hide
cusncss. is a peace conspiracy against
America, and the disclosure of 1t.
brave and unafraid, by the World" il
destined to become landmark in the
history of American journalism Mt its
highest.
treat the Ku Klux Klan as por-
tent. for that it is and as such IL is
more grave. Ii is n serious thing for
America that half million men can
he brought tOgether in this way. bound
by the bond of hatred. fused by the
purposes of ill-will. The statement is
made that Ku Klux Klanism has
iiourished and grown since the eN-
posure was made. This is false Bur,
even if it were true that for Il time,
as a result of the publicity ku kluN
Klanism has secured there has been 4
growth of membership. still was the
disclosure necessary and inevitable. III
il he true that Ku Klux Klanism has
prospered since the disclosure. then
reasonableness is out of business in
America. At times certain types of
evil and wrong-doing may prosper
temporarily as result of publicity.
but in the long run the effect of eN-
posure is bound to be wholesome and
tonic and vitalizing 1t is false
cry that is uttered by those who are
always fearful of publicity and frank
| by frank exposure thereof.
BY some iC will he said that Ku
KIux Klanism IL merely u war
phenomenon or one of the many de-
pressing postwar phenomena. The
question, however, is whether ii Is
morally wise or just to attribute
everything evil to the war. Is ii nor
true that If rhere were not capac-
ity for the spread of Ku Klux klan-
ism, this tremendous thiEA could not
have arisen and spread over night in
all its pcstilential fury as 1t has.
True it is that war did much to sir
up hatreds and prejudices and ant
mosities. The fact is that antagonisms
and prejudices which once were
ashamed of themselves seem to have
derived new and undreamed-of sane
tions. This is one of the degraslauons
of war-namely, that hatred has
new standing in polite society, that
men are us proud of their hatreds as
of their loves. and that not a few
people are prepared TO amend Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'' to
Thou shalt love some neighbOrs as
thysclf and thou shalt hate other
neighbOrs as the devil"
Ku Klux Klanism is nor n Jewish
question. / do not deal with it OH
those grounds. / am not in the least
concerned about its relation to Jewish
life in America. The security of the
Jews of America rests upon foundil-
lions so firm as to be unass,iilable at
the hands of Ku Klux madmen in
America. 1t is an American problem
for it is Il great anti-.American or
ganization. That Jews are among those
groups made the objects of hatred on
| the part of Ku Klux Klanism is in
cidental and secondary in Importance.
compared with the primary fact chat
II is an organization resting upon hat
red, building upon prejudice and max
ing for divisiveness and enmity. Back
of all its miserable. thievish capitali-
zation of race prejudice and all its
sordid exploitation of the worst in
| stincts in mankind, there lies one thing
that makes much of it possible, and
that must be eradicated from the life
of the American people. l have refer
ence to the feeling of great numbers
| of Americans that there is no crime
| quite as grave as thar of otherneSs or
| difference. The tolerance of other
hood is not a matter of charity or
luxury in American life, but one of the
hospitality and goodwill. There can
be no dream of brotherhood as long
/ as there is not gleam of the toler-
ance of ''otherhood." The business of
Americans is not TO learn how to as
sail or break one group within the
body polite but to learn to live to-
gether despite differences and diversi-
ties.
/ protest against the un-American
character of Ku KluX Klanism. and