Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-09-08

charge that ne injected tho AidH ID
sue into the campaign. and declar-
| ed that Governor Baxter first raised
| the issue. He called upon the voters
to keep Maine in the Union, free OF
| the control Of the Invisible Empire
of intolerance. He branded the ad-
| vertising which has been sent out
from the office of the Republican
State Committee as fraudulent. and
declared that II the voters OF Maine
have any regard for the truth. he
will win in the election today by
1900 votes.
| Senator Underwood declared that
! even IL Senator Ralph o. Brewster
was not q member of the Khan he
would be expected to carry out the
Khan policies II elected and that the
people Of Maine should support Mr..
| Pattangall who was avowedly anti
| Khan. Senator Underwood pointed
| out that Mr.. Pattangall had propos-
| ed an amendment to the Constitu-
ton of the United States at the last
Democratic convention in New York
| CITY and that In his speeches dueing
| his present campaign he had made
It clear that he was antagonistic to
| the Khan.
! Here in my home city of Augusta.
| in the concluding hours OF fight that
has been waged for the most important
moral issue that has ever come into
Maine politics. l am privileged to say
my last word to the voters OF this
State" said Mr.. Pattangall. Il feel
assured that the voters of Maine, real
izing the Importance Of this issue. Will
vote according to the dictates OF their
| rti oo
| background for the moment and for
| that reason I am confident of my cleo
ton on Monday.
"Is the Khan an issue? / have been
accused throughout this campaign of
| having injected it into the politics or
| the State. In the first place. f. Eu-
gene Farnsworth came to Portland
scar and a half ago-a man who did
| not own a dollars worth of property In
this State. who paid no taxes and yet
man who had tho audacity to tell the
| voters that he would name the next
governor of Maine.
Following the fling OF Brewster's
| nomination papers, the Maine klans-
men, the local organ Of the Khan. ana
| ths Fellowship Forum, the national
organ. and other Khan papers. appear
| ed with notices to their readers that
Senator Brewster was the Khan candf-
date for governor and deserved their
| support.
"The governor Of Maine and the lead
| ing Republican newspaper OF Maine
stated the real issue long before l did
1t was on February 18th. 1924. that
Governor Percival> P. Baxter made a
speech before the Lincoln Club in Port
| land which was later reprinted In a
pamphlet signed by the governor on
which was the great seal of the State
of Maine. I will quote to you from
| this document which I show you At
this time:
"'The most uncertain element in
Maine politics today Is the Ku Klux
Khan, whose members claim to be 1000
Americans and who openly state they
| will control the next legislature and
| elect their own governor. Its program
| Is we'll defined and its leaders Aggres-
tive
"And they say that I brought the
| issue into Maine politics!
THE following day, February 18TH
the Portland Press Herald published an
/ editorial in which 1t agreed with Gov
ernor Baxter In regard to the Khan is
sue. and said IN part:
"If a candidate supported BY the
Khan is nominated. then the issue in
the candidate nominated by Khan in
fiuence and 4 Democratic candidate
nominated by anti-Klan influence. Par
ty lines will be overlooked. The great
issues upon which the national will d.
vide In the November election will
have no bearing On the State election
"At . meeting over in Skowhegan
the other day at which 16 masked
brothers sat on the platform. . clergy
man of that town said that the Khan
stood for the Golden Rule, the starry
flag and support Of the public schools.
II that Is all 1t stood for. we could
have little objection to 1t. All good
people believe in the Golden Rule: we
all believe that We should do to others
as We would have them to to US We
all reverence the nag and everybody
believes In the support Of the public
schools. You don't have to wear q mask
to believe in the Golden Rule. to rover
encs the nag or to support the public
schools. I don't: do you?"
'Thar my friends, Is not the real
object OF the Khan. What the Khan
really stands for may be stated in q
single sentence. It divides our peo-
pie into two classes. those who are
100 per cent Americans and those
who are something else. On the one
side are the native-born. white.
Protestant. On the other. foreign
born. Catholics. Jews and Negroes.
The real principle of the Khan Is
to prohibit all foreign born citizens,
all Roman Catholics. all Jews and all
Negroes from civil preferment In the
United States. Under the rule Of the
Khan. many people would be pre-
vented from giving valuable public
service.
Il have here . poster, which Il
took the liberty OF taking from o.
post IN Knox County advertising q
meeting Of the Khan for . lecture ON
theosubject q True Americanism.
Down At the bottom in bold type are
the words FOR Men Only For ma
dve-horn. Gentle. Americana It u
. queer idea Of Americanism that
80 only Be taught to men and which
ptNAindt1 women and children from
.leeIningsanything shout 1t.
~ ff3end4 ifsyou cannot think