The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1922-02-01
cHAerea
ORGANIZATION Or the XVI kIux
KHAN


CONTINUED from yesterday
Like many other srsat orEanisa-
tiOns. the Ku Klux Khan started with
q very humble beGtnnlmg.
The original Ku K1ux Khan was OF.
ganixed In Nuy. 1855. IN the town Of
Pulaski, Tennessee. Life was dull =
Pulaski. Tennessee, in 1866. At. that
time II was q mere village. The writ
er visited Pulaski. which Is now a
thriving town Of about 5000 people.
Some Of the first Ku K1uxers are still
alive. In that month and year. six
| young men, some of whom were for
mer Confederate soldiers. happened
! to meet together In an Office one night,
and as time hung heavy on their
| hands in such q small village as Pull
aski. one Of these young men (whose
| name has not been preserved to pos
| terity) suggested that they organize
a society for the purpose Of mutual
entertainment Old residents Of Pull
ask differ on whether the meeting
was held in the Office Of a young law
yer Of the town, or in the Office oil d
physician over drug store, or wheth-
err il was held in an old abandoned
brick house. At any rate the young
men held the meeting and decided Ia
organize the new society. Probably
nothing was further from their
thoughts when they met that night
than that the organization was des
tined to grow into what it afterwards
became.
At this meeting one OF the young
, men suggested they call the new soc
iety "kuklos,' from the Greek wore
7 "Kuklos." meaning Circle and an
other young man suggested an i'm
: provement on that name. 50 that d,
unanimous consent they decided u
call the new organization "ku klux.
Someone then suggested that III,
! word khan" be added in order I.
: make an alliterative name. Storie
published later to the effect that tn
Ku Klux Khan had derived its nam
: from the ancient Scottish clans ar
erroneous. This idea probably startc'
a from the fact that part of the para
phernalia in the ritual work OF tn
Ku Klux Khan includes a fiery cross
u The Scottish clans. when they sur
< moned their men to war, sent IL mes
II senger around who bore a blaZin
:, cross. and from this fact writer's cor
, corning the XII klux Khan fell int
the error that the klan's fiery eros
IS originated with the Scottish cross.
n Another meeting was held by tn
I Young men. and the organization wa
perfected as far as it went then. Va
ious devices we're invoked to arous
G the curiosity Of the public and SUI
round the organization with an atmo
Il phere OF mystery. An oath was devise
which bound each member to abst
lutte secrecy regarding anything pc
u tanning to the Khan, and he also swor
n that he would never tell he was
# member OF the Ku Klux. nor would
ever dislose the name OF any othe
member
u At the third meeting Of the ne
organization it was decided to have
II fesalia consisting of long whit
robe. with white mask. and yer
tall hat made OF white pastcbnar
!, with a projecting spike in the crow
=, TIL" officers Of the original organic
re ton of the Young mems society il
cluded a Grand Cyclops" who Wa
the president or presiding officer,
Grand Magi.r who was a sort
:. vice eeident: a Grand Turk WI
the marshal or master Of cercmonic
The Grand Exchequer' was IL
treasurer. There were two LictOi
: who were the inner and onter guart
L on the meeting place. which was cal
lie ed the Den" The meetings thei
- were always held at night in an o
brick house. which had been desertt
for some years. on the outskirts
u Pflns',i
" 80. ians trin the only businc.
8. conducted by the parent kn XII
n Khan was the initiation III new mer
bers, and the only purpose Of the q
~ ganizaticn then was to have an g
" iovable time and to mystify the inha
il itants of Pulaski.
re Newspapers in Giles County.
which Pulaski is located began
- discuss the new organization, al
IN within a few months the memherslt