The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-01
KHAN OPEN GUNS
 UPON AFFIDIVITS
(Continued From Page One)


 and H. w. Evans, imperial wizard, told of these negotiations and of how five members of the klonciliun were appointed by the commission. five by the imperial wizard and five selected by the imperial wizard from i list of ten supplied by the emperor. The imperial wizard he said, under the constitution could appoint all fifteen members of this body, which is the governing body of the klan.
 O O O
 Denies MismanagemeMt Charge.
 MT. Orbison told how in a meeting on May 2, 1923 the kloncilium ro- viewed the consent decree in the Sim Evans litigation. At the close of the meeting, he said, the kloncilium was told that a number of persons were present who wanted other mat ters taken up. but said that no charges were filed against anyone and no one appeared. Thoy were told, he said. that Te--nessee, Oklahoma and Louisiana delegations were in the city but that as no charge had been filed. it was decided to notify them that chargSs should be filed properly and they would te heard at kloncinum in July. He flatly denied that there was any refusal to hear any enc. In closing he asserted that he hat- clos1 personal knowledge of the affairs of the klan and denies that there was a. waste or mis- management as charged in the r>- ceivership suit.
 T. J. Shirley of Birmingham, Ala, said that he had been a member of the imperial kloncilium virtually ever since the order was founded and that on the night before the klonvocat ton here, W, J. simmons, then imperial wizard, had called meeting in a 11I4 q announced that he intended to resign as imperial wizard and to create the office of emperor separate from that of imperial wizard. Simmons later announced this decision on the floor of the klonvocation he said and told the delegates that his choice for wiz ard was H. w. Evans. He said that all the members of the imperial klon- cilum resigned but that Evans re- fused to accept the resignation pend ing further appointments. Nine of the present kloncilum members, he said were members of the old body, He also denied charges of waste and nismanagement and the klan had prospered more under the Evans re- giine than ever in its history. At torneys for the defense read only portions of afidavits, skipping over much matter relating to events of the past prior to the time Dr. Evans took charge at the imperial palace. As a result the hearing proceeded much more rapidly than had been expected. Affidavit On Resignation.
 Paul s. Ethridge. also member of the kloncilunn, also made an aftida- wit regarding the resignation of w. J. Simmons. In another affidavit MT. Ethridge declared that charges that various persons tried and were re- fused the right to file charges against
 
 were untrue He said that he called w E. Thompson, who made an affi- davit regarding the filing of charges and offered as attorney for he klan to accept any charges and that MT. Thompson promised to file them but did not do so until he (Ethridge) went to Thompson's office and Thompson then signed and delivered the charges to him. He said that the kloncilum met in Atlanta on July l9, 1923, to consider the charges but that neither Thompson nor @anyone else appeared so made an affidavit in which he told Of visit to Helen K. Steele. who has filed suit for breach of promise aganist E. Y. Clarke. made to his of Gee and how he told her that neither ne nor the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan would have anything to do with her suit.
 Imperial Wizard Evans also made an affidavit in connection with the Steele matter in which he denied a statement in an affidavit made by the woman that he had asked that she call him on the telephone. He said that a woman called his residence on the telephone and told him that she wnted to see him about E. Y. Clarke and that he told her he would have nothing to do with anything relating to Clarke. Thereupon, he said, sne ~. ( .o1 t1,n1 1r1 ft he referred her to Tom Akers. He then instructed Akers to take her to the office of Paul E. Ethridge, klan attorney, and that MT. Ethridge would determine whether or not the klan was interested in the suit.
 Denial Of Election Corruption.
 MT. Evans also denied an assertion made in an affidavit made by E. J.. Jones that he had told Jones that he expected to make $100,000 out of the klan and that he doubted whether he would last year. He also de nied spending any money in the Chi cago election of last spring or in any other election anywhere and also de- nied that J. c. Jett or ]. A. McKerley had been in the employ of the klan since he became imperial wizard. He also declared that Tom Akers never had been an official of the klan but merely had been an employe of the bureau of investigation.
 Imperial Wizard Evans also de- nied that funds had been supplied for political campaigns or for any espionage system, adding that no eff fort had been made to build up a. po- nIitical machine, or for an espionage system. He declared that fluids had been used only for necessary ex- penses and to spread the principles of the organizations.
 H. C. Montgomery, a klar official, declared that during the Clarke-Sim- mons control at imperial palace, the