Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1922-11-24

the state, and men scarcely dare to
breathe what little they know of the
inner secret of the great secret So
ciety whose unmuttered orders, are
silently and mysteriously carried out
by invisible agencies which are su-
perior to the constituted and elected
law officers of the commonwealth.
There is among men in this part
of the South whispered speculation
as to what course Of action the fed
eral government will pursue. The
state of affairs to be disclosed by
Governor Parker is so out of the
whole ordinary experience of Amer
leans as to be fairly Supplying. The
very courts of justice are paralyzed.
State Government Ds6ed.
Governor Parker will disclose
that the state authorities have now
become powerless to cope with the
situation. His administration cannot
move hand or foot to enforce the
laws, the administration of which
in Louisiana under the statewide
sway Of the invisible empire of the
certain parts Of the state has passed
into the keeping of secret govern
ment superior to the state, which
sets the state itself at defiance.
Not only has the invisible empire
usurped the function of government,
but at every turn are disclosed evil
dences that in many instances the
sworn officials of the state are them
selves members of the Ku Klux
Klan.
The powers of the federal govern
ment which Governor Parker will
seek to invoke are embodied in Sec
tion 4 of Article Nv of the Constitu-
ton of the United States, which
reads as follows:
"The United States shall guaran-
tee to every state in this union a re-
publican form Of government, and
shall protect each of them against
invasion; and on application of Leg
islature, or of the executive-when
the Legislature cannot be convened
against domestic violence"
The extent Of domestic violence"
of the Ku Kux Klan may be disclosed
in the confidential communication to
be made by Governor Parker and by
the attorney general of the state,
who has accompanied him to WASH
ington. 1t has been reported that
there have been a great many MUIR
ders and other acts which, without
a full possession of all the facts,
would be classified ~ outrages
against citizens.
1t is a significant fact, however,
and this must be borne in mind,
that there is every evidence that the
klan enjoys the support and conf
dence of thousands of the best and
most law abiding citizens Of the
state. The very scope which the se-
cret society has attained bears tes-
timony to this fact.
Claims On Behalf Of Khan.
It is claimed on behalf Of the khan
that it stands for the maintenance
of law and order and Of Anglo-Saxon
supremacy, that its actions setting at
naught the law itself have been die
tated by the highest feelings of pa
triotism. That it has punished the
lawbreaker and the violator of the
sanctity of the home. That it has
driven from the community the
worthless and the degenerate ele-
ments. Thus the system has its de-
tenders, and has been able to ex-
tend its sway with such absolutism
as to choke off and stifle the mach
inery of the law which stands in the
way of the exercise of its will.
> Terrifying To The Lawlsss.
The mystery which envelopes the
whole situation Of invisible govern
ment constitutes one Of its most baf-
fling characteristics. Nobody knows
who belongs to the khan, nobody
knows when or where it will next
strike. Its aspects, as q super-gov
eminent, taking the administration of
the law out of the constituted of-
ficials of the law and administering
justice according to its own concep-
ton of what constitutes civil and So
eial justice, render it peculiarly ter
rifying to the lawless and those who