The New York herald., 1922-12-30
SATURDAY. DECEMBER 80. 1872
The Evil of the Mask.

II is reported from Atlanta that
Mr.. CLARKE, the Imperial Giant Of
the Ku Klux Klan, plans revision of
the purposes and scope of the order
to the extent that it will admit
all Caucasians and welcome Roman
Catholics. White supremacy, ac-
cording to the forecast, is to be the
principal object of the Klan.
1t is cheering to hear that the
Khan is having a change of heart,
even If it is only a so per cent.
change. But it is likely that the
Catholics, if they pay any attention
to the Imperial Giants new attitude
toward them, will decline his invita-
tion without thanks.
Nor will the Klan, even if it should
20 further and abandon racial an
tagonism, be considered proper
organization until it has discarded
: public disguise.
The United States has no place in
its heart for masked men. 1t does
not want it's Catholics in hoods, its
Protestants in hoods or its Jews in
hoods. 1t does not want masked
white men. masked black men or
masked yellow men. 1t wants to see
the face Of every man when he goes
out on any errand.
There are nearly two billion faces
in the world. but the Almighty has
seen to it that no two are alike. He
has made it possible for every man
to be individual and identified, for
every man to have credit for his good
deeds and blame for his bad ones
Tho Klan's hoods and robes are
probably of value to it in attracting
members. Many men are grown up
boys, exulting in the mysteries OF
disguise, ritual and incarnation. No
body objects to their indulgence in
these so long as the DISCUSSES are con-
fined to the lodge ceremonies. What
the people of this country object to
most strongly in the Klan is the
opportunity II holds out to criminals
to commit wrong in the name of
right.
The earliest years of the Ku Klux
supplied plenty of evidence OF the
dangers of disguise. The Klan was
organized by well meaning men for
the protection OF homes in sew
eral Southern States during recon-
struction. Within two years the
hood of the Klansman was a shield
for every evildoer who chose to ex-
ecute private vengeance or robbery.
He could kill or steal without re-
vealing his identity.
The men OF good intent in the Klan
of to-day have lesson to learn from
the Mer Rouge murders. DANIELS
and RICHARDS we're killed by a
hooded and robed mob. Was this
mob composed Of genuine Klansmen?
II II was then the Klan is under
suspicion as an organization that
promotes murder. And IL the mob
was not composed of Klansmen but
only of ruffians disguised as Klans-
men the case is ample proof that the
Klan costume makes the way OF the
mob and the murderer easy.
There Is only one proper instru-
ment OF Justice in this country and
that is the law. There is not a
state. county or township where
wrong cannot be righted and crime
punished by the properly constituted
authorities. America needs no un-
oficial tribunals of justice. The
emergencies that brought the vigi-
lantes into being in California and
raised the original Ku Klux Klan in
the South cannot exist to-day. Even
in southern Illinois, where the beasts
who killed the twenty unarmed men
at Herrin thought they would be
safe from retribution, the machine
of the law was not stopped.
This is nation OF men, not OF
masqueraders.