The Modern Ku Klux Klan

by Henry P. Fry

In August, 1921, it was announced that “the Invisible Empire” had amended its constitution so that women would be eligible for membership. This is a further point of dissimilarity between the two organizations, for while women were of great assistance to the original Klansmen in making robes and in giving information, the more serious work was done by the actual members who were men. In announcing that women were to be admitted to membership the “Emperor” said:

“First. The influence of women over the youth of the land shapes the destiny of the nation, and it is in the cradles of the American homes where the principles and ideals of Americanism should first be instilled into the minds and hearts of the young. To the preservation of these principles the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is dedicated.

“Second. The loyalty of the women to the original Klan of the Reconstruction period convinces us that as members of the Klan today there will be equal loyalty and devotion to the fundamental principles underlying the Order.

“Third. We know women can keep a secret, because they made with their fingers 160,000 robes for members of the old Klan and not one of them ever disclosed the identity of any man who wore one of those robes.

“It is through the influence of women today that we have some of the strongest men in the Order. And the time has come to give the women recognition and to allow them to partake of the honor and glory of membership in the organization.”

In his statement, however, the “Emperor” failed to elucidate point Number Four, which was no doubt the principal incentive that caused the admission of women. Each lady Ku Klux will be required to donate ten dollars to the “noble cause,” and the admission of women doubles the number of “prospects” to whom the Ku Klux “gold brick” can be peddled. It is doubtful if the effort to “work” this new field will prove successful, as the women of the South are more or less antagonistic to the movement. The Daughters of the Confederacy of Virginia, at a convention held in the spring of 1921, passed a resolution condemning the organization, and asking the Virginia authorities to suppress it. It is hardly likely that the daughters of the women who “made with their fingers 160,000 robes for the old Klan” would care to become associated with the Gate City Manufacturing Company, which is selling robes to all members at $6.50 a robe, with a handsome profit on the side. Women, as a rule, are good buyers, and it is hardly probable that they will look upon membership in the “Invisible Empire” as a bargain even at ten dollars. Women are also the chief supporters of the churches of the country, and it is doubtful if they would care to go through a “Naturalization” ceremony that is a blasphemous and sacriligious parody on the sacred and Holy rite of baptism.

Another point of comparison between the two organizations lies in the attitude of the old Klan and the new in reference to allowing members to study their constitutions. We find, in the case of the original Klan, the following edict:

“Every Grand Cyclops shall read, or cause to be read, this Prescript and these Edicts to his Den, at least once in every month; and shall read them to each new member when he is initiated, or present the same to him for his personal perusal.”

Here we have openness, frankness, and a disposition to take every member into the confidence of the Order, so that each Klansman, at all times, would have an opportunity to study and to understand the laws of the organization under which he was working. During the time I was an active member and worker in the modern Ku Klux Klan, the constitution was a secret document. Members under me repeatedly asked for a copy of it, and I transmitted their requests to my immediate superior who could not comply with it for the reason that he had never seen a copy of it himself. It was only after he had served as King Kleagle of Tennessee for six months that he was permitted to have one copy for which he had to give an iron-clad receipt. I was allowed to glance through the booklet comprising the document, which afforded me the opportunity of noting a few salient points, but this happened just as I was leaving the work. The officials of the organization dare not permit the booklet I saw to be generally circulated among their members.

As a final comparison of the two organizations it is interesting to note that the leader of the old Klan recognized that it was brought into being for the accomplishment of a specific, a definite and a concrete purpose. It fulfilled its mission, and as soon as it became evident that this was the case General Forrest ordered its disbandment. He stated that with the courts properly functioning and the government properly established, there was no longer any need for the Klan’s existence. The new Klan, on the other hand, aside from taking money away from the public, has not made any public statement as to its real intentions. In some of the pronouncements printed in the official organ, there is an indication that the “citizens” of the “Invisible Empire” generally understand that the movement has a definite national mission. It is a matter of serious conjecture as to what kind of mission a secret, military, “Invisible Empire” can have in the United States. That there is no intention of disbanding the organization is evident by the fact that every attack made upon the system has so far resulted in a redoubling of efforts by the propagation agents. Statements reiterating the idea of “pure Americanism” and giving expression to high-sounding and sanctimonious platitudes come in unending streams from the pen of the “Emperor,” who brazenly insists that his organization intends to enforce law and order.