New Bern, Jan. 9—Henry A. Grady of Clinton, newly-elected judge of the Superior Court, opening the January term of court here, disappointed those among the large crowd in attendance if they expected any “radical expressions” in his charge to the grand jury. Following publication in a New York paper than Judge Grady held a prominent office in the order of the Ku Klux Klan, and his practical admission of the fact, much interest has centered about him and his methods of procedure on the North Carolina bench. When confronted with the allegations of his membership in the klan, Judge Grady has refused to make denial, preferring to state that his membership in any secret organization was a personal and private matter that should concern no one but himself. It did not develop that he held membership in the klan until after his election to the judiciary from the Sixth District.
Invites Criticism
At the opening session of court here Judge Grady’s charge to the grand jury was forceful and comprehensive, embodying some salient phases of the law which are generally overlooked. His declaration for the supremacy of the white race was pointed and impressive. He condemned “the atrocious curse of the bootlegger.” In the course of his address he declared that he did not belong to any organization—secret or otherwise—whose oath of obligation conflicted with his position as a judge or a law-abiding citizen of the Commonwealth of North Carolina. “I am holding an elective office as judge of the Supreme Court, and in the conduct of that office I invite the criticism of the press. The only purpose that I have and the only feeling that will actuate me in the discharge of my duties will be to see that equal justice and exact justice is ??(word obscured) all parties and litigants regardless of their race, color or creed.
Loyal to Government
“I am willing to assert that I am not a member of any secret or fraternal organization whose oath, obligation or ritual is at variance with my oath as judge of the Superior Court, or as a citizen of North Carolina. But, to the contrary, each and every organization to which I belong requires all of its members, over and above every other part of the obligation, absolute loyalty to the government of the United States an the laws of North Carolina, and the constituted authority under which we live.”
Denounces Bootleggers
In his charge to the jury, Judge Grady paid his respects to boot-legging, and said that in his opinion, “it was next in the catalog of sin to the four capital felonies. It produces,” he declared, more perjury than any other offense, and no man is safe against a liar. Men will report an adulterer for the sake of decency, they will arrest a thief and bring him to justice, they will form posses and hunt down murderers, but they will shield and defend the worst bootlegger in the community, and call it honor.
Laborer Worthy of His Hire
“Remember, the laborer is worthy of his hire. In the division of profits the white man is the dominant factor, and injustice on this score, serves but to add one more fagot to the flame of race hatred that so unfortunately exists in the State. The white man is the negro’s superior morally and intellectually, and the latter has nothing to do with governmental affairs as a race, but under charged with a sacred trust. It is his duty to see that the negro gets justice.” This was the substance of his discussion of the negro’s legal status.
The first case to come before him was that of a young white boy charged with store-breaking. The court accepted his plea of guilty, and allowed the defendant to pay the costs, provided he would report to the court good behavior for two years, under a $200 bond.
From the front page of The Daily Free Press, Kinston, N.C., Tuesday evening, Jan. 9, 1923
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