By the Associated Press
Atlanta, Ga., June 5—Establishment of the Order of Knights Kamelia as the “primary order of Knighthood with a government separate and distinct from the government now controlling and directing the affairs of the first or the probationary order of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan” was proclaimed by William Joseph Simmons” in the exercise of the authority vested in me only as Emperor of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Inc.”
Referring to the actin of the imperial kloncilium in leaving out his “kamelia” among the women’s organizations authorized to become affiliated with the Klan under the title of “Women of the Ku Klux Klan,” Emperor Simmons’ statement said:
“This action on the part of the imperial kloncilium in repudiation by explicit designation the Kamelia an d by adopting other numerous organizations of women, was not only n violation of contract between H.W. Evans and myself, but was also in violation of a decree entered in the superior court at Fulton county, Georgia, and further still was a violation of the original charter which defines that male members only shall be admitted to the order.
“The establishment of the primary order Knights Kamelia means that the members now on probation in the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan are under the administration of the imperial wizard and the imperial kloncilium, while the order knights Kamelia, will be under my control and direction, such men as I may designate as members of my cabinet. The order Knights Kamelia therefore will be absolutely free to inaugurate its policies, to establish its principles and to realize its ideals under my supervision and direction and free from interference from any source of hostility within or without the invisible empire.
“I am impelled to promulgate the Knights Kamelia because of the restiveness that obtains among probationary klansmen throughout the country. There has been no way open to advancement—no progress has been made—no constructive work has been done. Klansmen identified with the organization from its foundation have been held in a state or probation for years. They have not been indoctrinated with the principles or the philosophies of the order. They are unfamiliar with the purpose of the great order. They have been given no definite object to be obtained. Meanwhile there has bene a continuous demand for another and higher order that these worthy American citizens might pass from the probationary stage into actual knighthood and into active service in the invisible empire.
. . . .
From the front page of the Winston-Salem Journal, Wednesday, June 6, 1923
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