The Washington times., 1922-09-07
SPOONERS
DE!sECRATE.
HERO DEAD.
Petting Parties on Sacred
Ground Arouse Ire Of ''Em-
pire' Officials.

pire" Officials.
Beneath the flaming cross the
white-panoplied knights of the
Ku Klux Klan may soon move
through Arlington county, Vir-
ginia, as a protest against al
legged immoral conditions, includ-
ing the reported nocturnal infes-
tation Of Arlington National Gem
etery by wild "petting parties"
It became known today.
Officials Are Warned.
Through the medium of publicly
posted letters. county officials have
been warned that failure to check
spooning, gambling. drinking. and
bootlegging In their jurisdiction will
necessitate the assumption Of au-
thority by the Klansmen.
Already, II is known, several resi-.
dents OF the county have received
letters from the Klan decreeing
that they cease certain practices in
violation of law. These communica-
tAVtIN ~ e bdiu " hdNC dS hClGE-s
rent an effect as did the ukases of
the knights Of reconstruction days
In the South.
The posted notes, headed "Arling.
ton county" and addressed to "the
officials OF the law from the knights
Of the Ku Klux Klan," take the
form Of a QUESTIONABLE, of which the
nalient interrogations are as follows:
"Why has whislxey been allowed
TO be sold along the Potomac River
for months, and why is this sale
permitted even after a murder has
been committed theref"
'Why has horse-race betting
been, and why Is It, permitted to
20 on SO long at Clarendon Sta
why have no steps been taken
to stop the disorder going on
nightly lust off the Washington
AIexandria highway near Four
Mile RUM"
A Yelled Warning.
These are no new things to .
you,' the letter says. "and for
the good Of the people and better
nent Of the community, and for
the principles we stand for. we
have had 10 bring them before
the public to get results"
It concludes with the admonition
that 'the work Of each officer is
being closely watched. and he viii
be dealt with accordingly at the
next election
1t was the state Of affairs with
out and within the walls of Arling.
ton Cemetery where sleep the
nartyred dead OF three wars which
is eaid primarily to have drawn
the Klan's fire. ...-
Residents and officials freely ad-
nit that the road flanling the
reservation and running from
Rosslyn TO q junction with the
military road to Fort Myer is p
nightly rendezvous for men and
women who drive up in droves, the
machines bearing both District and
Virginia license numbers.
This spot is well known to local
hackers, who obligingiy transport
fares to the cemetery environs.
where cars are often parked until
dawn.
NIt so far away from the august
tomb OF the Unknown Dead there
are often heard the screams OF
women and coarse talk of men.
Morning finds a litter attesting
the nature of the soirees, includ-
ine empty bottles.
County authorities are said to be
IN quandry as to now to stamp cut
this state OF things. The cemetery,
being a Federal reservation, cannot
be invaded by the county arms of
the law, and the wa.chmen. though
always alert, are too few to check
-. ss~n.- a .
latter to capture rorsterers on the
tesprvation have been futile. Appeals
have been made to Federal authori-
ties. It is said. but so far with no
Auto CsvaIcades.
How popular are these parking
petting parties may be judged from
q count of the automobiles conducted
one evening recently. More than
100 were along the cemetery barrier.
Along F'our-Miie Run, where the
Washington Alexandra road .rav.
erses a sparsely-inhabited tract, one
side OF which n a tidal marsh, from
50 20 150 machines are often seen by
night. some remaining until orr
o'cltck IN the morning.
: Effective cooperation between the
washington police and Arlington
rounty forces has been IN existence
for several years at the contact point
OF the Highway bridge.
This was brought about by lawless
conditions south of the bridge, In
Guiding several murders and hold
ups:
II was formerly the practice for
private car owners and hackers TO
1nfest nightly the road running
from the bridge to Fort Myer, but
this has largely been halted.
. No such cooperation Is possible in
the two places complained OF by the