The Modern Ku Klux Klan

by Henry P. Fry

CHAPTER XV

Suggested Legal Remedies

The task of ridding the United States of the “Invisible Empire” will not be an easy matter. The people are prone to wait until the horse has completely disappeared before they begin to look after the security of the barn door. Until public sentiment is thoroughly aroused over the dangerous possibilities of an “Invisible Empire,” such as is now being developed, it is unlikely that even the first steps will be taken toward suppressing it. The idea is so foreign to all the established order in this country that people will be slow in realizing what it is all about. Appreciating this fact and knowing that I possessed but limited facilities for bringing the matter to public attention, I felt prompted to turn over to the New York World all the information I possessed, and have that great newspaper inaugurate a nation-wide investigation followed by a publicity campaign that would make the “Invisible Empire” visible.

Exposure of a system, however, marks but the first step in eliminating that system. Publicity must be followed up by official action aimed at the accomplishment of concrete results, for unless this is done, the public mind is soon diverted from the subject, and the exposure becomes merely a newspaper episode. In the present instance, exposure of the “Invisible Empire,” without legal action, will have the effect of advertising it without harming it in the slightest degree—and swelling its ranks with thousands of new recruits.

In my opinion, the authorities of this country should use every available piece of legal machinery to stop the propaganda, and new laws should be immediately enacted rendering it impossible to promote such a scheme in this country in the future. It must be remembered that the men who have launched this proposition have built up a large organization, many of the members of which are fanatics. The promoters have already seen the possibilities of the scheme as a business proposition; they have the names of the present members, which can be used again; they have a fully equipped plant for future operations; and in the event the Ku Klux scheme fails, they will probably try another one along similar lines. The system itself must be destroyed and prohibited from further action, either in its present costume or in any other. Several lines of action suggest themselves, but they may be broadly classified under the two heads: Federal and State. There should be concurrent action on the part of these two governments.

I believe that Congress should enact legislation directed specifically at organizations of the character of the “Invisible Empire.” It should be provided that all organizations, secret or open, engaged in promoting racial or religious discord, should be prevented from sending their literature through the mails. The statute should be broad enough to include any kind of organized attempt to stir up class hatred, and officials of all such organizations should be held to strict accountability for the accuracy of statements sent through the mails. Misrepresentation of facts as to national, state or local conditions should be the basis of Federal action in breaking up such organizations. In the exercise of a national police power, Congress should be able to give the Federal Government the right to act against the heads of organizations, as well as a few individuals. In the cases that have come to light where there has been acknowledged violation of law by local Klans, Simmons has side-stepped responsibility by revoking and suspending charters. If Congress will pass legislation declaring that national officers of secret organizations are responsible for acts of their subordinates, and are subject to indictment, an important step will be taken in the right direction.

Since the chief asset of the “Invisible Empire” is its secrecy, Congress should pass an act providing that all secret orders or societies using the United States mails or engaged in the business of interstate commerce—as the “Invisible Empire” undoubtedly is—should be required to furnish the Government with a list of names of their members. The list should be required to be in duplicate, one copy to be placed on file, for public inspection, in the office of the local postmaster, while the other copy should be placed on file in Washington. The Government should also have the right to inspect all books of account, showing funds that have been derived from members either by interstate commerce or by the use of the United States mails. This removal of secrecy would, to a considerable extent, lessen the danger of Ku Kluxism as a political force, and requiring publicity as far as membership rosters is concerned would materially aid in making the system harmless. I am quite sure that a publicity statute would not work any great hardship on the existing standard fraternal orders for most of them have a yearly printed roster for distribution.

Under the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Attorney-General of the United States can maintain actions against the “Invisible Empire” on account of its activities in Texas, and have no doubt that an official investigation of alleged outrages would show some interesting facts. In order to make the matter effective, however, the investigation must be gone into very carefully and all of the facts uncovered. In August, 1921, the United States District Attorney in Chicago announced that he intended to investigate the Ku Klux Klan. In a few days, according to newspaper reports, he stated that he had been shown the charter of incorporation and other literature of the organization, and that he could not discover anything upon which he could base legal action. The charter of the organization does not tell all the facts, as has been demonstrated in the preceding pages.

Concurrently with the action of the Federal Government, the States can do some valuable work in stamping out Ku Kluxism, and preventing both the present “Invisible Empire” and its future imitators from operating. The “Invisible Empire” is known legally as the “Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc.” and was incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia. So far as has been published in the newspapers, the only State in the Union where it has been granted a license to do business outside of its home state, has been in Indiana, where its charter was filed in August, 1921. In every State where it has not filed its charter and complied with the corporation laws it has no legal standing whatever. Actions could be brought by the Attorneys-General of the various States restraining the Klan from further operation and also indictments might lie against the promoters for operating without compliance with the law.

As soon as it can be conveniently done, the legislatures of the States should enact various laws for the purpose of killing Ku Kluxism, laws directed against membership corporations stirring up religious and racial prejudice, against secret membership, against unwarranted interference with the law-enforcing branches of the Government, and against going about the community in disguise. More stringent laws should also be enacted providing for the registration of foreign membership corporations seeking to do business from another State, especially where money is taken from the public. If the passage of “Blue-Sky” laws has had the effect of protecting the public from being victimized by all kinds of stock-selling schemes, surely legislation could easily be enacted to carefully scrutinize all alleged fraternal orders.