Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-29

and order and the courts and the
government, thus giving to the gov
eminent and the courts of the land
a body of men that would be an I'M
seen but powerful and influential
moral factor, serving to stabilize the
courts and the government at all
times and to be particularly service
able in times of stress or trouble Of
any kind.
1.-The thing which alarms me most
in connection with the organization
is the apparent trend of thought in
side the ranks of~the membership Of
the organization toward disregard
for, law and order and the qteudcncy
on the part Of the membership to
seek 20 assume local, stale and ma
tIonal political dictatorship. and in
my judgment, when any powerful
secret organization assumes either
Of the above attitudes it Immediate
ly becomes a real menace 20 free
government ami the rights, priv
leges and liberties guaranteed under
the constitution to the citizens C
the United States of America.
THE position I am taking in this
matter is n oneW one for me. but
is the platform 1 have stood upon
since the day 1 first joined the khan
and is in harmony with the oath l
took when / became q klansman
four years ago. When l was assist
ant as imperial wizard pro tenn CT
the organization I unhesitatlngly re-
voked charters of branch organtza-
tons, banished klansmen from tel
lowship in the khan and threatened
at one time to revoke the charters
Of every khan in a whole state I'M
less klans and klansmen respected
their oath as klanSmen and commit
ted no violations Of law either as
individuals or as bodies of men and
kept themselves free from political
entangIements except as individuals
voting for what they individually
considered right as citizens of the
country. AS a matter Of public pol
icy also I at one time prohibited an
entire state from holding any furth-
er parades and restricted within that
state the wearing Of the costumes
Of the khan exclusively to the lodge
room because / felt that a wrong
Interpretation was being placed by
the public upon the parades of the
khan. and tina tit was not good for
the public morals Or welfare for khan
parades to be further allowed in that
state.
Finds Radical Changes
"It is after an absence of six or
eight months made necessary by or
ders of my physician to rebuild my
health that 1 return to find that the
active membership of the khan has
changed, certainly in some states,
if not in all, from men of the type
who listened to and applauded the
sentiments expressed in my speeches
in Pennsylvania, to a class at pres
ent in control whose energies ap-
parently are directed to paruclpa'
ton in whipping parties. threats
and character assassination and the
formation Of political machines.
'In the face Of this condition, and
as an American citizen and having
taken a solemn oath as a klansman,
and as the builder Of the khan and
the leader of the former controlling
element IN the khan whose aims and
ideals were and still are the same
as outlined above in this communica-
ton, I feel that I can do no less than
come to you as the supreme head OF
our government, and speaking for
myself and the hundreds of thou
sands of magnificent men who fol-
lowed my lead and who came into
the organization because of the proc
lamation of it's high ideals and prin-
ciples and purposes, and tender to
you any assistance in my power to-
ward forcing the lawless element out
Of the khan, thus permitting it to
function as intended as a high-tone
character building active fraternal
organization; or this being impossl-
bic to do, toward the stamping out OF
the menace which the knights Of the
Ku K1ux Khan has become through
the prostitution of it's high purposes
ideals and principles by those who
are either industrious or incapable
of controlling the situation from in
side the khan.
II purpose to Immediately issue a
proclamation to klansmen calling the
better element of the khan to take
heed Of the situation and recognize
its seriousness and to either take
hold and remedy the existing evils
and remove from the nation the
menacing aspect Of the khan or else
TO meet in national assemblage and
dicha nd Fha nroa MIA tioH