The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-06-18

publicly professed, they do not need a mask to accomplish those pur- poses With many of the things for which they profess to stand, we, in common, we believe with the over whelming majority of the communi- ty, and have no controversy whatso- eyer.
 They say that they Go not admit Jews or Catholics Sor foreigners or negroes to their membership. They are within their rights when they choose their own associates. Nobody questions their right to associate with whom they will, when and where they will.
 They say that they stand for due observance of the law as enforced by the regular constitutional author ity. If they really do, and we hope they do, we would Inquire why they selected the name and have adopted the vestments that they have.
 There was Ku Klux Klan once in this country, organized in the Jun happy days immediately following ment had been destroyed and there
 was no other to take it's place, ex- cept a military satrapy, when these states were held as conquered pro-
 vinees, when hate and passion were
 flaming high when the lately en-
 franchised negro, wholly ignorant, in league for the most part with alien
 whites, had possession of whatever
 form of government we had. The
 original Ku Klux Klan was organized
 to some extent to mitigate the hor-
 TOTS of an impossible situation and
 to restore the government into the
 hor nf Vt Cnd n nd
 nature had intended should exercise
 1t.
 Government is recognized. White
 supremacy is assured. Why then
 have they borrowed the very name
 of the organization, whose primary
 purpose 1t was to put themselves above the law as it was then admin
 istered and whose vestments made 1t
 the convenient shield for the out rages which were afterwards done iu its name? If the sole purpose for which the Klan now exists is the ad- vancement of those things which it professes. why did they adopt the name of an organization which it pro- fessed an entirely different purpose. however necessary at the time, and which lmost wrecked our country ? Only those who plan to do something unlawful have a reasonable excuse for wearing the mask. Tn circumstances
 the klan may be innocent of actual wrong doing, but in no event are they innovent of furnishing the means and the suggestion of means by which crime has walked and IS walking In this community. We trust the klan are innocent. We are sure that there are good men in the organization who do not plan or purpose any unlaw- full thing. And 1t is to these men that we make our appeal not to wait for compulsion of law but to act and
 to act now upon the high ground that
 whether innocent or guilty they cam
 not affort to wear an article of ap- parel that Is the notorious emblem of those whose purposes are wholly Illegal. Let those who arc innocent and free from any unlawful purpose
 walk proudly with uncovered faces
 among their fellowmen.
 It has been said that the oath of secrecy and secret devices are jus tified by the practices of other
 secret societies, against which no complaint has been entered. The Ms sons. the Odd Fellows, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias. and many ctfers are secret societies. To them there can be no possible objection. i nty are ScCTtl in UdIlc OHfy- MclH- l hers of these organizations are known. Nearly. if not all of them, wear some device, such as pin or a jewel of some kind which identi- 1 fies the order to which they belong. Their meeting places are known i Frequently they are in large and magnificent buildings, and do noble works of charity. They are truly engaged in a great work of service to the human family. They have never been known to take the law 1 into their own hands.
 It seems clear that a Klasnsman needs. first to take off his mask if he would set that good example which good men ought always to set; second, that their names should be disclosed as are the names of other members of other secret orders showing and trying to serve at least many of the same objects which they profess.
 But there is another serious mat ter to which we as Individuals invite their attention, as well as the at- tention of all our fellow citizens, Dr. William Joseph Mahoney, M. A. ID. D.. imperial klokard. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. has recently made