(They shake hands with the left hand)
Klasp, Klannish Loyalty A Sacred Principle,
Kabark, Konstantly Applied By All Regular Klansmen.
The Exalted Cyclops then instructs the newly-made Klansman in the Countersign and Password, which at the present time are the words “White,” and “Supremacy.” The citizen is then solemnly instructed in the “MIOAK,” or the Mystical Insignia of a Klansman, which is a cheap little celluloid button that is supposed to be the real innermost secret of Ku Kluxism. The MIOAK is red in color, and contains the letters KOTOP, with a square, and an extended open hand, and constitutes the emblem of the Klan. No explanation of the real meaning of the mystic words has ever been given, although the Kleagles generally tell their victims that it stands for “Knights of the Open Palm,” a designation arising no doubt from the eagerness with which the open palm of the Kleagle is extended to receive the ten dollar “donations” so necessary in the manufacture of “citizens” from the “alien” raw material. The word Kotop is also used as a hailing word, its answer being “Potok,” a reversal of the previous word. This is followed by the presentation of “Imperial Instructions,” which is a booklet, “The Practice of Klanishness,” containing many pages of the same wordy stuff with which the ritual is filled. This book enjoins the members to stick together in all things, but more especially to render at all times the greatest respect to the “Emperor” who is working day and night for the “cause,” and for whom the “cause” is also working.
There is a long-winded, verbose and ridiculous “lecture” at the end of the “Kloran” that endeavors to give a history of the original Ku Klux Klan.
In the last two pages of the “Kloran” are to be found “titles and explanations” of the various officers and subdivisions of the “Invisible Empire,” which have no importance to the general reader. It might be interesting, however, to note with what modesty “Emperor” Simmons speaks of himself when he writes:
“Imperial Wizard—The Emperor of the Invisible Empire; a wise man; a wonder-worker, having power to charm and control.”