The Monroe journal., 1922-05-02
Probably Thousands of the BOYS and
Girls Are Members Against Their
Parents Wishes
NSlDl0US INFLUENCE AT
WORN AMONG YOUNGSTERS
All Under Oath TO Keep the Secret
From Their Parents and To Get
Something for Nothing"
lFrom CharIotte Ohserverl

Alai VI ufNt Ntt NNlltEA NE NEsNfl.
t;on Of the press ami even Of the 10.
s. IN certain metropolitan centerS.
Yes, the ShitterS have taken the
.oaas sehocl boys and girls of Char
!a,te, or IL y hasc taken the Shifters
l~ boh At any rate. the Shutters have
n-mtecS Of them, and they apparent
y have vesy serious case af the
Shifters. How the order made lis ad-
Vent INTO Charlotte. nobody seems 10
know, not even those who either
proudly or reluctantly admit that they
are members.
Just how many of the school BOYS
ard girls have been initiated into the
order could not be learned. but in
curry disclosed the fact that il has
put itself into evidence in various
parts of the city, and the indications
are that every school of BOYS and
girls in their teens has been "or-
sanzed." 1t was only within the
lost several weeks that its presence
here was known by more than a very
few adultS,it seems.
0athbound Secret.
Parents who have discovered that
their children belong" TO the new
order profess to have found il diff
ficult to get much real information
about II. its purposes or objects. and
SO far as could be learned no men,
ber has yet been able to state any
practical benefit which they expected
to derive from membership in the
Shifters or what service the organi- |
zation proposed to render to its men,
bers or the community or any part
OF humanity.
Parents who have discovered that
Their children have "joined" are d.
vlded IN their expressed opinions of
the order. Some mothers. for in
stance. pass it up with a shrug of
the shoulders and the remark that
ITS only a joke-a lot of foolishnesss
that can do no harm and means
nothing but ehild's play" On the
1ther hand, other mothers have taken
seriously and have been seeking real
information. their suspicious having
leen aroused by scraps Of information
hey have obtained, Indicating that
t might not be the Joke" that some
PARENTS profess to consider it.
Race Lines Wiped Out
For instance, those who are tax
ng the matter seriously point to
he oath which each member takes
! imitation, TO secure as many
rothers and sisters as possible who
I'LL be beneficial to the order. re-
'ardless of sex, race or previous
ervltude,' which il is contended OBJ
louSly wipes out racial lines Of
IN so far as the Shifters
re concerned Also they point to :
ne "object" of the order as set forth; !
10 sc. all You can for nothing: to
ct something for nothing; to &c.
thers before they do YOU" when.
ccordng to those adults who claim :
, have a bit of information on the 5
ublect, means that young girls IN
1er teens who are members CON
der It legitimate and proper to ret /
ny object of value that they can
y any possible means-which world
lciude stealing. An uncontrmed re-
ort yesterday was current to the
tect that one school girl of tender :,
ears was boasting OF having oh. !
'lned a pair of silk hose from
oung man under the rule of "get.ing
! you can for nothing" and credit
g her good fortune to the Snift-
$. Another report was that the
1iiters had cost one young fellow
n dollars.
Between Children and Parents
Another Objectionable feature. rs
is viewed by some parents. ic =
at when one is initiated he or she F.
aces himself or herself under con.
ol of all members of the order for
hours, to do their bidding regard -
IS; 1t is said by parents who have r.
ade some investigation that the boys
q girls apparently consider their ~
tn as sacred and binding upon then, "
Keep as a sacred secret even from
err own mothers and fathers what -
ey do or are expected TO DO as F(
moers OF the organization, which
itself is a rather serious matter
the view OF parents VINO are old =
enough to adhere to the K!
"a that there should be complete
lildence between parents and chill
IN ana that young girls and BOYS
)uld have no secrets between them
YES and outsiders that cannot be
ulged to their mothers and fathers.
i is not unlikely that many Char nI
te parents will read this story !
n some surprise, and that they
! De surprised after reading this,
md by investigation that their
n girls and boys are under oath. pE
considered by them, to keep from !
lr parents much information which
children themselves consider very :
'ortant and which is having. ap- 70
emily, an important bearing upon !
conduct of some of the Youngsters.
'ome of the parents who have =
de a little investigation report that AR
er boys and girls who are members q
MT frankly that the order has a cr
name in the north, but claim that uE
clean and all right in the south.
'hile 1t is difficult to obtain 20
light and accurate information q .
ut the order in Charlotte. the in :
'tions are that some thousands of =
ng girls and boys have already AL
en- the oath contained in the fol- Q
ing document, which is the con II
ltion' or ritual or claw" of the =
'r under which it is being conduct F1F
in this city at least. q
Text of the Oath ca