Rev. Straub, State KKK Lecturer, Say Press Unfair and AP Is Catholic, July 29, 1924

Flays the State Press Rev. W.L. Straub, state lecturer of the Ku Klux Klan, flays the state press for publishing news about the Klan, and says they are unfair, and also insists the Associated Press is Catholic from beginning to end.

This shows that Mr. Straub is not informed at least as to the personnel of the newspapers of the country. The Associated press is composed of newspapers from all sections of the United States. It is the greatest news gathering agency in the world and is considered the most reliable and most complete.

The newspapers, the members of the Associated Press, have each one vote in the shaping of its policies and the framing of its constitution and by laws. It could not afford to be other than fair, and so careful is it in the dissemination of news to its members that it seeks not to color the news or give its opinion, but simply facts regarding all matters.

The Associated Press, of course, has nothing to do with the editorial policies of its member papers, and nothing to do with the editorial opinions of its editors.

But the Editors of its member papers have something to do with the Klan, for the operations of Klan have much to do with order, good feeling, the enforcement of laws, and general peace and quiet of the country. When it or any other organization assumes the right to interpret laws, and run the government, it may then expect to have its acts criticized. They would nave no right to criticize the Klan if the acts of the Klan were confined to the activities of its order.

From the editorial page of The Wilson Times, Tuesday, July 29, 1924

newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073953/1924-07-29/ed-1/seq-3/#words=July+29%2C+1924