By Maxwell Gorman
Raleigh, Feb. 21—The initial parade and open meeting here of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and address of the Imperial Kleagle, attracted more notice than you could shake a stick at and caused some 3,000 white citizens and a few negroes to gather in a city auditorium.
As an advertisement it was a success for the Klan, but if the intentions of the Ku Klux of this late day amount to nothing more practical than some of the organizers tell about, it is neither a thing to be feared, worshipped or to be bowed down to.
One of the daily papers of Raleigh on the eve of the meeting charged that one or more of its most active solicitors for members was a Catholic baiter. That religious intolerance was a factory of the order. All readily recognized the individual termed a Catholic baiter, a man who holds most most radical views as to Catholic people and church. He was present at the meeting, conspicuously present.
But when the Imperial Kleagle read an extract from the Raleigh paper’s reference to the subject, he disclaimed that any such thing existed. “Why,” said he, with outstretched arms, “the two best friends I have in the world are Catholics, one of them my business partner. I do not subscribe to some of the tenets of his belief and he does not concern himself about my views as an officer in this order.” Our friendship is not disturbed.
Continuing, the Imperial Kleagle (who was representing the Imprerial Wizard, Colonel Simmons, detained at home by illness) said that if any such person in the Raleigh aggregation of the Ku Klux was guilty of this thing, and any reputable citizens would make affidavit to that effect, the alleged ‘baiter’ would be instantly discharged and expelled from the order.” So somebody is probably in an unpleasant position at the first shot. Not only did the Imperial Kleagle say all that (I heard it with my own ears), but he assured the good class of negroes ho had representatives present, that the Klan was not their enemy as a negro, but that the Ku Klus were the enemies of “evil doers of every race.”
This writer holds no brief for anybody more intimately concerned than himself, as a white man, but he is bound to conclude with the morning paper here, that if, as supposed, the primary object here to tackle the whiskey sellers and makers it is a laudable undertaking if they can add anything (under the law) to decrease the infamy that has made this city and county odious for the last year or thereabouts. Men who will debauch their own private homes into bar-rooms where event he stranger is invited to call and pay $10 for a quart for deadly poison, ought to be “dealt with” by some method. The law now allows such a thing to exist in this city. It even allows murder to be committed by murder gangs of bootleggers who peddle poison that has killed outright more than one person in this city and county. Others have been burned out by poison sold them and are ruined for life, though walking the streets of Raleigh today.
|The new-comer white president, Mr. Peacock of the negro “Shaw University” hero, and the alleged “editor” of a Raleigh negro paper, and some other negroes who are constantly baiting race prejudice, waited on the Mayor and City Board of Commissioners and demanded that the Klan be not allowed to hold their meetings, open to the public. The order, in my opinion, has been maliciously lied about. Social equality Yankee-Negro clubs fear the Ku Klux. The good and general run of negroes here do not express either their fears or enmity.
After the Bolshevists
Some fellow in the audience, commenting on the statement that the Klan was confined to no section, that its habitations extended from Maine to California, and adverting to the “yellow race menace,” up and said, he did: “| believe these here fellers are really after the Bolshevists,” whereupon several in immediate range shied at the remark visibly. Americanism stands first said the Imperial Kleagle. There are things going on covertly against the government that you know nothing about. There are secret societies in existence today with negro membership that are the property body and soul of a Jap scheme in the United States. Without knowing who I was, one of these agents bragged of it to me in a recent Southern tour, and impressively added, “But the niggers don’t know it, not yet.”
So, some may observe the warnings--”Look out, for the Ku Klux will find you out.” Others will not care a kitty if they do. But on the “dead quiet,” if we were selling poison liquor to boys from my private residence, or carrying it to them over a school lot across the street, we wouldn’t be surprised any blue lightning night to get 30 lashes if not a coat of tar and feathers. The Ku Klux will probably not thank us for saying this much, but it may be considerable of a favor to several durn scoundrels in the city of Raleigh and elsewhere.
From the front page of The Alamance Gleaner, Graham, N.C., Feb. 24, 1921
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