The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-09-27

quite Illuminating, for it throws suf-
ficient light upon its methods to reveal
the mask, the boycott and the anony- |
nous letter as essential parts of its
equipment. The Christian gentlemen
who are members of this Khan must
greatly enjoy their association with
an organization which employs such
refined and civilized instrumentalities
Possibly, it never has occurred toI
their minds that when churches are
made the recipients of ostentatious
gifts of money, some one is putting
on the livery of heaven to serve the
devil in" The Palladium need not
stand in fear of boycott. These gen.
tlemen who threaten to use this in
strument may seem to flourish for a
time, but just as soon as the people
become thoroughly aroused and take
an active interest in the matter, just
as soon as they canvass the methods
and grasp the purpose of the Khan, II
will meet with the same fate as the
old Know Nothing party, and go to
! pieces under the whitening condemns
ton of an indignant public senti-
ment, for no movement can long sur
vive in a free country which is found
ed in error, and seeks unjustly to dis
! criminate against men because of their
race or their religion.
/ HENRY u. JOHNSON.
| To the Editor of The Palladium:
| l congratulate you upon your reply
to the Ku Klux Khan, especially on
the final sentence, "True Americans
need no masks We must have no
l secrecy in regard to public questions.
People may ask, why is it that
i other secret societies, such as the Me-
sons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights OF
i Pythias, the Elks, Moose, Red Men,
and many more are not objected to,
while the Ku Klux Khan is opposed
by so large a portion of our COM
munity?" But these other societies
are organized for social and benevolent
purposes. A man has right to choose
his social companions among those
who are congenial to him and what he
lawfully does in their companionship
is nobody's business but his own.
But where they are organized for
public purpose, and especially where
they oppose certain other classes in
the community, there their member
ship and their acts ought to be public
} also. Our government is a democracy.
In it the people ought to rule and the
choice of our public officials and all
public measures ought to be determin.
ed by public reasons submitted openly
to the public. A political secret soci-
ETY. is essentially wrong and those who
join it ought not to expect public sup
, port, either as candidates if they run
. for office, or as individuals who hide
their political conduct from the scrut
my of their fellow citizens.
The worst feature of this organiza
top is not that its mere proceedings
are secret, but that it's membership
, is secret also. Neither Masons mol
Odd Fellows nor any other members
of our local fraternities ever hesitate
to avow their membership. They are
neither ashamed nor afraid tc confess
, that they belong because they know
| that it will not reflect discredit upon
| them among any class of their fellow
/ citizens. Where, however, a man i:
J not to be personally responsible fol
) what his organization does, that is O
itself reason why he should not be
) long to such an organization.
> They claim that they are hooded
. and gowned because the opposition
l would boycott them if the roster wa
oApoSeu. why So, IL Iney were no
doing something that would injur,
others? How can it be that they ar,
bravest men the country has" if the,
are unwilling to show their faces anC
be responsible for what they do? |!
! 1t not just as true now as in the day,
when the Bible was written that me.
t love darkness rather than light be
: cause. their deeds are evil?"
u Yours,
a w. D. FOULKE,