The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-09-30
WHAT AILS FERGUSON?

TRADE, was delivered, in the st.
Paul auditorium by speaker
whose name is given as Dr.. G.
Lewis Fowler. On September 20,
some hundreds of persons were
RECALLED by this gentleman with a
slanderous, malicious, lying, ig-
norant, deceitful, biased, preju-
diced-Oh, pshaw, with cheap
appeal to old world fanaticism.
The declanner on this occasion
sought to extol the glories Of the
ku Klux Khan. He succeeded to
the utmost satisfaction, we are
sure, Of the most daintily clad
knight Of the nightie.
Rev. Mr.. Ferguson, commission
err Of education i'll this benighted
city-minister by profession, poll
tician by choice, one time army
chaplain (why did he leave the
army?), was approached by a COM
mittee Of local Knights Of Column
bus acting merely as citizens,
with respectful request to
refuse permission to DR.. Fowler
to besmirch our fellow citizens.
The commissioner remained OBJ
durate. and the learned Doctor
gloated over this triumph for the
cause of the Khan.
Now, it is passing strange that
a clergyman Of the Gospel should
be ignorant of the purposes of this
secret organization. True, it is
claimed that many ministers
(Fowler says thirteen thousand)
are members Of this obscure So
ciety. Is Rev. Ferguson one Of
them? In any case, our commits
sioner Of education should possess
sufficient knowledge Of the tenets
of the KluX to know that they aim
directly at the liberty Of American
Catholics, Jews and Negroes. He
knew that the Klan had been ex-
coriated, and rightly so, in the
highest quarters of this country,
including officials Of the army and
navy. AS an army man himself,
Mr.. Ferguson should shudder at
the thought Of even indirectly
countenancing an organization
which aims at secret, indepen-
dent judicial and executive au-
thority in this country, a power
granted by neither law nor tradi-
ton.
Fowler apparently made good
use Of the permission graciously
accorded him. An expert court
reporter was present and took
down his speech verbatim, copy
Of which lies before us. 1t is a
congeries of lies, deliberate decep-
ton, gross calumny, ignorant mis-
statements Of history and a slob-
berry appeal to ''protect our Amer
lean womanhood." Well, was a
certain. well known Khan leader
protecting American womanhood
when he was arrested in hotel
with woman not his wife?
This man Fowler did his level
best to arouse antagonism against
the big Three" Catholics, Jews,
and Negroes-Oh, yes, we forgot,
also aliens. It was but a thinly
disguised effort to attack Catho-
lies, since they are the chief OBJ
ject Of hatred involved in the
Klan movement.
In sugary terms, Fowler speaks
of "our good friends, jews" etc.
He declares that "No man who is
a member (of the Klan) is al
lowed to disclose his IDENTIFY"
this excludes the sacred persons
of Fowler and some thirty others
| perhaps they belong only to the
third order).
Who are the Kluxers? Wouldst
know? Fowler will tell: "By
We we mean the white, native
born gentle Protestant man S
heart of this nation. There,
now, is this religious war? Yea,
verify and forsooth. also most as
suredly.
| The Doctor thinks along reli-
gious lines, indeed. He says
"We can very easily divide the
citizens Of this country of ours
(get the 'ours') into four
groups: the colored, the Jewish
race, the Protestant people, the
Catholic people and the foreigner
unnaturalized /" Note that the
last two go together, presumably
they are synonymous. Fowler
adds that the Catholics number
around thirteen per cent Of our
population OUR Again? Sta
tistics give us about twenty-one
per cent. But what s eight per
cent more or less?
Get this, brethren. every ne
| gro in the United States, If he is
worth the powder to kill him chow
much powder does it take to
bump off a negro?), belongs to
a secret fraternity of some kind,
and there are fifty-two organiza-
tions right today among them,
AND EACH ONE OF THEM IS
TTJS 4 TNIHn Nv TT5CyTrTu, -, WI 4