The Modern Ku Klux Klan

by Henry P. Fry

In several cases of violence the white caps, after finishing their work, have left on the bodies of their victims the letters, “K. K. K.” either burned on the body with acid, or printed on placards tied to the person maltreated. In cases where private warnings have been sent through the mails the same letters have been used, and in public warnings placards have been posted conspicuously bearing the actual name of the “Ku Klux Klan.” Taking these facts into consideration, the evidence shows that the outrages were committed by men actuated with the spirit of Ku Kluxism, whether they were all committed officially by Klans in Simmons’ organization or not. That remains to be determined, but one salient fact stands out very suspiciously and it is this: outrages committed in this fashion have only been epidemic since the “Invisible Empire” began its propagation in the States affected. In this connection, it might be well to recall the conversation I had with the King Kleagle of Tennessee in May, 1921.

Charters were about to be granted to three Klans in upper East Tennessee. I asked the King Kleagle this question:

“My people want to know what to do when they get their charters. What shall I tell them?”

“Tell them to clean up their towns,” he replied.

Among the first reported cases of violence on the part of masked men occurred in Atlanta, Ga., the headquarters of Ku Kluxism, the home of the “Invisible Empire.” J. C. Thomas, a white man, received an anonymous letter advising him to “leave alone” a certain woman named Myers, upon penalty of action, but paid no attention to the warning. One night Thomas was enticed into entering a motor car in which were several strangers, the false representation being made that the “Chief of Police wanted to see him about some bad checks.” The car was driven to Lakewood, an amusement park, and Thomas was ordered to get out. He refused to obey the order, drew his knife, and put up a fight, killing Fred Thompson, one of his abductors and wounding another. The Grand Jury of Fulton County failed to indict Thomas, but did indict two of his captors.

Simmons admitted that Thompson was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Numerous cases have been reported in Atlanta where threatening letters have been sent and received. A young Scotchman was threatened for making improper remarks about social equality, while a physician was warned on account of alleged neglect of his family. According to J. H. Leavitt, an Atlanta lawyer, who was himself threatened, not only was he himself marked for violence but included in the same category were Dr. C. B. Wilmer, the Episcopal clergyman and Ex-Senator Hoke Smith.

In Durham, North Carolina, a Greek restaurant proprietor received an anonymous warning signed “K. K. K.” ordering him to leave town. It appeared that he had permitted the intermingling of the races in his place of business. The Greek refused to take the matter seriously, employed a lawyer and laughed the incident out of town. Nothing came of it.

After a careful and searching investigation made by the New York World, there have been disclosed a large number of cases of violence and lawlessness in the South, and a study of the synopsis of these cases is interesting. It will be noted that the majority of outrages have occurred in the State of Texas, where the masked regulators have been extremely active, and where the Ku Klux Klan is strongly organized. These outrages have been so numerous in Texas as to attract the attention of the entire country, and have caused an upheaval in the Lone Star State. Some of the really law-abiding Texas people, who do not believe in “invisible government” and irresponsible censorship of morals, have attempted to secure some sort of action at the hands of the Texas legislature. Their efforts in the summer of 1921 were not successful, one legislator even going so far as publicly to defend the Ku Klux Klan. Other indignant citizens announced that they would band themselves secretly together and wage war on Ku Kluxism.

A chronological summary of the published cases of lawlessness in the South, indicating the methods of Ku Kluxism, is as follows: