The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1924-01-09
xxx


Knights of the Invisible Empire.
Dec. 4, 1928.
A Reply
Mr.. Frederick R. Barkhurst,
st. Louis, Mo.
My dear Mr.. Barkhurst:
1 have your letter of November End,
in reply to my editorial on "a Fair
Analogy" Your letter, am glad to
say, bore little if any, of the vindic-
tiveness and harshness that some
times get in opposition to articles
that indulge and it is therefore with
more readiness that l make my ans
wer. You intimate, indeed you say,
that I am writing without knowledge.
Just there is the difficulty. The men,
bership of the Klan being secret, their
operations behind closed doors, and
masked faces, it is rather difficult to
know just what they are-or are not
doing. There is this remarkable thing
however, that with the coming of the
Ku Klux Khan, the threats, warnings,
and even punishment upon individuals
has been in vogue throughout the
country. Grant that the Klan is not
responsible for all of this irregularity.
You must admit that it furnishes a
mighty fine cloak, behind which those
so disposed can wreak their personal
animosity and charge it against the
Khan.
There is an old verse in the Bible,
much quoted-"If meat make my
brother to offend, l will eat no meat
while the world stands"-which
means that if my example will lead
others to wrong I will change my
action. It is pretty good doctrine
to 60 by. The Kan being secret, and
making in secret, furnishes an op-
portunity for other individuals to
offend in grievous fashion. It seems
to me that this is a point to be con-
sidered.
The immediate suggestion for my
editorial came after a visit to a
minister down-state, who if not a
member of the Klan, was a sympath-
izer, and who voluntarily related to
me two or three instances in his own
community where the Klan had done
that very thing-driving out often
ders of the law in one way or an
other or by threats caused them to
reform. This is not the only case
that has come to my attention. If I
sense the situation correctly, the Khan
is not the same in all communities. It
is possible that they are changing in
their attitude toward the individual.
There is no doubt in the mind of the
American public but that in the past,
the negro of the south was waited
upon from time to time with sugges-
tons or warnings from the Klan as
to what to do and how to do it.
Whether they do this to the negro
now, I do not know, of course have
no evidence; how could I?
There is only one way to solve this
one question and that was given by
Mr.. Mellette in the November At
lantic Monthly, when he proposed
PUBLICITY. Are all the things which
the Ku Klux Khan say against the
Roman Catholics true? The Roman
Catholics say they are not. The Ku
Klux Klan say they are. Mr.. Mellet-
te suggests that there be a represen-
tative, organization or committee to
run down every charge made against
the Roman Catholics concerning their
part in politics, their supposed i'm
moralities and blaze the truth to the
public. I really believe that that
church itself would cooperate in this
matter. If not, then do it alone, for
a people cannot live on mere rumor.
! have failed to write half dozen
times about the Klan where I have
written once. I cannot accept the