3,000 Hear Dr. W.L. Staub On Value of Ku Klux Klan, July 13, 1925

West Jefferson Klan Hear Noted Speaker. . . 3,000 Ashe County Citizens Hear Spirited Address from Lips of Organizational Leader. . . Dr. W.L. Staub of Kinston Addresses Great Assemblage at West Jefferson Under the Auspices of the Ashe Klan No. 107—Four Score Robed Klansmen Parade the Streets—Occasion One Long to be Remembered

Jefferson, N.C., July 14—Dr. W.L. Straub of Kinston addressed 3,000 citizens of Ashe county last night at West Jefferson, under the auspices of the Ashe Klan No. 107, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. One of the largest crowds ever assembled in West Jefferson gathered under the spreading oaks in a kind of natural amphitheater on the hill above the town. The crowd was variously estimated at from 2,500 to 3,500.

Only a portion of the Klansmen assembled were able to get robes, but about 75 robed Klansmen paraded the streets just before the speaking. They were immediately followed in the procession by 40 or 50 children robed and hooded, ranging in age from 15 down to four. Several of them rode ponies, while the last one, a little tot, drove his goat and wagon. Dr. Straub was introduced by Rev. Connelly Greer of Leaksville, a former resident of Ashe county. The crowd filled all the space within hearing of the speaker’s platform while during a portion of the address a great burning sign of “K.K.K.” cast brilliantly colored rays over the crowds.

Dr. Straub’s address was received with great enthusiasm. He was often interrupted by bursts of applause, and it was received with unanimous approval. He spoke forcefully of the principles of the order of the mystic circle, and drove home his points with timely stories and illustrations He charged his hearers that order stood for 100 per cent Americanism, free public schools, separation of church and state, white supremacy, law and order, and above all true allegiance only to the stars and stripes. He said a Catholic could not join the Klan for the reason that he could not take the oath that he owed no foreign allegiance; and that whenever a Jew admitted the divinity of Christ and accepted the New Testament as his rule and guide, he was fully qualified to become a Klansman.

It was an interesting spectacle. Sitting there beneath the spreading oaks, lighted by the occasional bursts of sky-rockets, and the rays from the signs of the order. Two Klanswomen were present, and it is said that not only many men applied for application cards, but many women applied for membership in the women’s organization.

There are two lodges in the county, one at Lansing, having a large membership, and one at West Jefferson. It is generally estimated that the two lodges now have a membership of from 300 to 400 and constantly growing.

From page 3 of the Carolina Jeffersonian, Durham, N.C., July 14, 1925.

newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073001/1925-07-14/ed-1/seq-3/