Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1922-07-31
Modern Ku
Klux Klan
CONTINUED from rage one.)

justifiable means and methods"
When a mob of masked men out
laws takes helpless old mar
from his bed and beat him up, they
use "any and all justiflable means
and methods"i When masked mer
drive up to a hotel and seize helT
less woman, convey her to seclud-
ed spot, strip her clothing from
her body and cover her with tai
and feathers, they have used "any
and all justifiable means and meth
DDS" Under this outrageous oath
any band Of ruffins or outlaws can
defend any lawless action they
wish to commit on the grounds that
the means and methods" were
"justifiable."
In the concrete instance / have
previosly mentioned. where the John
son City Staff undertook to protest
against the coming of Ku Kluxism
to the town, the spirit of the 'In-
visible Empire" interpreted free
dom of speech" to mean freedom
only so far as the Ku Klux Klan
was allowed to proceed with its
affairs unmolested. AS soon as op-
position developed the Ku Kiux
freedom of press" manifested it,
self in desire to boycott the news
paper. Under the obligation TO use
amy and all justifiabIe means and
methods" l see no reason to deter
a local organization from taking
an editor out and administering q
liberal coating of tar and feathers
in case he should presume, in the
columns of his paper, to antagonize
the "Invisible Empire"
] have been student of the
Constitution of the United States
for twenty years, but until l saw
the oath of the Ku Klux Klan,
never knew before that "whitt
supremacy" was a sacred consti-
tutional right" The Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments to thu
Federal Constitution removed iii
political barriers against trace, col
or, and previous condition Of seryi-
tude," and guaranteed all citizens
Of the United States equal protec-
tion under the laws. The Ku ,Klux
oath, on the other hand, binds Its
followers to 'use any and all just
ifiable means and methods" to en-
force white supremacy" and / see
no reason why members Of the or
would not interpret il
to excuse any and every shade of
mob violence, lynchipg, hanging, OF
burning Of negroes.
BY the term "separation OF
shureh and state" is usually mean
.he resistance to the advance of the
}atholie pRople in the political af-
airs Of the country. Preachers OF
'rotestant Churches may get up in
heir pulpits and talk politics, may
make speeches on tho stump, and
nay take upon themselves the gen
raj duties of running a community
,ut their actions are sldom crit
'ized. The advance Of the Catho
les in politics, however, is 'un
on OF church and state" in tn
popular conception, and this ad
'anee, the Ku Klux swears that h
will resist by t'any and ali mean
ind methods" The methods may be
awful and they may not be, bu
o the Invisible Empires" obliga-
ion they would be ''justifiable" il
hey succeeded in driving the Catho-
les out of public life.
IT. would also be well to note
he blanket phrase ''the pursuit Of
iappiness.. The oath says Fuse any
nd all jusifiable means and meth
DIS" to secure the pursuit Of hap
'iness," which, by the way, is also
lassed as a sacred Constitutions
ight.' This covers multitude Of !
hings. A Ku Klux might. derive
nbounded happiness out of cover
ng his neighbours body with tar
nd feathers, while the victim of
he performance might Beeome
most unhappy individual as re-
alt Of the operation. The oath
means in a few words that what
vor suits the Ku Klux mind, what
yer 1t wants to do in cbmmuni-
Y, it is going to use amy and all
ustifiable means and methods to
ccomplish. The midnight prowler
. his mask and white robe might
Yell ask the question; CWhnt docs