Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-01
HORRORS OF PEACE

WHEN it becomes necessary for n man
w like Governor Allen. Of Kansas. to dc.
liver bron'lsidcs from tn" stump against the
rising menace Of aggressive religious
bigotry. We have to admit that something
ominous is happening Immediately below
the surface Of American life.
Who is responsible for II state Of affairs
which. in many parts Of the South and
West. is causing members Of various Chris
tan denominations to arm themselves
against one another?
most politicians. Until now the fight
against the menace of hatred has been left
to such newspapers as do not share the
tmidity that gags tho average politician
seeking to obtain Il job or to hold 1t.
The worst thing about the Ku Klux and
the counter movements apparent In regions
where know. not thingsm is now political
issue Of the first magnitude is that this mod.
crn mania had purely commercial origin
II came neither from patriotism nor sincere
beliefs of any sort. 1t has been from the
first game for money.
When the war ended Il great many shrcwd
and rcsOurcCful individuals trained in the
technique Of intensive organization as boost
crs for one quasi public cause or another
campaigners. propagandists. stunters and
whipperS- up Of emotion Of the sort that w;lN
conspicuous in the war activities of a pco-
pie eager to go TO any length and tolerate
almost anything in their desire to back the
army-found themselves suddenly out Of
easy jobs and confronted by the unwelcomc
prospect Of real work
Ono Of these was Clarke. who. from the
unmportant status of IL booster Of coun-
try fairs. became an organizer of war;
welfare work. When the war was declared
ended Clarke looked about for substi
tutr. lie found Wizard Simmons. present
head Of the Invisible Empire. who was then
wandering about Georgia in state of
poverty.
Clarke hastily surveyed Simmons scheme
for a Ku Klux revival. He appears to have
perceived ut once that it could be made to
grow enormously by methods Of propaganda
and organization previously applied in COM
munity and national activities. Patriotism
was the vogue. The people were still cmo-
ti"nnlly sensitive. \ multitude of profess
sional rampaigncr> were assembled in an
organization Of Klcaglcs. Territory was
allotted to each Of them. They were as
Surcd Il large percentage of every $40 gath
crcd from every new Klansman. Clarke es-
tablish"d hood and mask factory. and
monopOlizeh the business of manufacturing
and distributing the insignia and disguises
and incidcntn! equipment Of the order.
Meanwhile by all methods known TO the
''intrn>ivc organizer' the membership OF
tn" Invisible Empire was made to grow.
The endless chain system. by which every
ncW kianSman was expected to bring two
others into the fold and was paid for his
trouble. was established by organizers In
tho West and South. The appeal was 'li-
rcr;cd. like Barnums. to the crcdulons and
the illitcrate. Those who for one reason or
another had within them the germs Of social
and religious intolerance were zenlous!y
ought out The money rolled into the
Klux headquarters in n food. 1t became 30
plcntiful that the organizers OF the order
began to squSbble among themselves at
Atlanta and enter suits OF one sort and
another thnt still threaten to disrupt the
RIDER from the top.
Simmons and Clarke appear TO have been
frightened at last by the intensity of the
feeling which they managed 70 generate by
their utterly reckless propaganda. The
Khan got out Of their control. They are
unable to control il now. Tint duty falls
now on Governor Allen and other men who
! are courageous and American. and decent
| enough to undertake it.