diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-0.txt | 4925 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-0.zip | bin | 108763 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h.zip | bin | 965863 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/66917-h.htm | 5407 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 20538 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus01.jpg | bin | 52641 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus02.jpg | bin | 39333 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus03.jpg | bin | 44795 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus04.jpg | bin | 65419 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus05.jpg | bin | 40304 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus06.jpg | bin | 33013 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus07.jpg | bin | 193782 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus08.jpg | bin | 26288 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus09.jpg | bin | 43754 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus10.jpg | bin | 45519 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus11.jpg | bin | 38641 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus12.jpg | bin | 39187 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus13.jpg | bin | 50065 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus14.jpg | bin | 68105 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66917-h/images/illus15.jpg | bin | 46018 -> 0 bytes |
23 files changed, 17 insertions, 10332 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..81e5540 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66917 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66917) diff --git a/old/66917-0.txt b/old/66917-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4b2ff04..0000000 --- a/old/66917-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4925 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Klan Unmasked, by William Joseph Simmons - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Klan Unmasked - -Author: William Joseph Simmons - -Illustrator: J. A. Murdoch - -Release Date: December 9, 2021 [eBook #66917] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KLAN UNMASKED *** - - - -[Illustration: WILLIAM JOSEPH SIMMONS - -Founder of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and Emperor Invisible -Empire] - - - - - THE KLAN - UNMASKED - - - _by_ - - WILLIAM JOSEPH SIMMONS - - _Founder of_ - - THE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN - - AND - - EMPEROR OF THE INVISIBLE EMPIRE - - - PUBLISHED BY THE - - Wm. E. THOMPSON PUBLISHING CO. - ATLANTA, GEORGIA. - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1923 - by - - The Wm. E. Thompson - Publishing Company - - Illustrations by J.A. Murdoch, Atlanta, Ga. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - Chapter Page - - Foreword: Why I Write a Book 7 - - - PART ONE - - Organization and Methods - - I. The Klan Yesterday and To-day 18 - II. We Americans--A Vanishing People 26 - III. Fraternalism of The Klan 38 - IV. The Klanishness of The Klan 46 - V. Is The Klan Anti-Semitic? 55 - VI. Is The Klan Anti-Catholic? 64 - VII. The Terminology of The Klan 79 - VIII. Symbolism of The Klan 87 - IX. The Rendezvous 97 - - - PART TWO - - The Fading Hope of Democracy - - X. Democracy as a Social System is on Trial 103 - XI. Our Cities a Menace to Democracy 113 - XII. The Failure of Democracy in Central and - Eastern Europe 119 - XIII. Foreign Outposts in The United States 126 - XIV. The Racial Limitations of Democracy 139 - XV. The American Negro as Ward of The Nation 147 - XVI. We Americans are a Peculiar People 161 - XVII. Giantism--The National Disease of America 174 - XVIII. Drifting 184 - - - PART THREE - - A Salvaging Policy for Americanism - - XIX. "The Federal Union--It Must be Preserved" 198 - XX. Our Country's Part Among the Nations 212 - XXI. We English-Speaking People Must Stand - Together 219 - XXII. The Nemesis of Immigration 230 - XXIII. The Problem of Restricting The Suffrage 248 - XXIV. National Solidarity Through Education 260 - XXV. The Conservation of The American Home 274 - XXVI. A Final Word 284 - - - - -WHY I WRITE A BOOK - - -Various representatives of the press, as well as many of my colleagues -in the organization of which I have the honor to be the Founder and -head, have repeatedly asked me to make a public statement, descriptive -of our organization. It was anticipated in certain quarters that we -should at once make specific reply to the embittered attacks upon -the Klan. Although abundant space in the press was placed at our -disposal for this purpose, we did not take advantage of the offer. -It is no part of the policy of the Klan to enter into heated public -controversies--even in self-defense. We felt all along that a clear and -simple statement of facts concerning the form of our organization, -its methods and ultimate purposes, while perhaps due the public, was -not due the instigators of the attacks upon us. We are not as yet aware -of the exact source of these attacks. Yet, I may say, the membership of -the Klan universally welcomed it, realizing that sooner or later the -Klan must be under fire. Whether or not we are enemies of our country -and of freedom we are quite willing to leave for the public to decide. - -Meanwhile, the direct effect of these attacks upon the Klan will -not be without interest. Our ranks have been rendered more firm and -steady. The public has been rather amused than affected seriously by -the reams of villification which were heaped upon the Klan. It now -remains for us to tell what the Ku Klux Klan really is, how it came -into existence, and what it purposes to do through the organized power -of its membership. - -We have been outrightly accused of maintaining secrecy in the conduct -of our organization. We ask, in rejoinder, for how long has it -been a crime or a misdemeanor in the United States for a fraternal -organization to employ secrecy in the conduct of its affairs? We have, -literally, hundreds of secret organizations in this country. The fact -that a number of persons draw themselves together in an organization -for mutual aid, for mutual confidences, and for mutual effort, implies -that they have something in common which they do not wish to share -fully with the public. So has every family and almost every business. -Then, too, the element of secrecy no doubt develops the interest of -the membership, adding to the charm as well as to the value of their -fellowship. Concerning this feature of our organization, I feel assured -that we might appeal to the common sense and fairness which Americans -are always and everywhere ready enough to show. No one expects the -Masonic fraternity or the Knights of Columbus,--to mention two large, -well-known and respected fraternal organizations in this country,--to -exhibit all their forms of salutation and other formalities to the -public. We simply claim the same rights and privileges which other -fraternal organizations share, both under the law and in the esteem of -the public mind. - -New organizations and movements usually draw the fire of the -uninformed. People are inclined to be suspicious of that which they do -not understand. When Masonry first assumed its larger importance in -America it was the object of attacks so bitter that some of the members -were placed in danger of their lives. An Anti-Masonic party, nearly -a hundred years ago, acquired material importance and sent several -members to Congress. Just preceding the War Between the States, the -Know-Nothing, or Anti-Catholic party ran through its brief but stormy -career. This party was caused by the fact that the Catholic Church was -growing in certain parts of the country where it had hitherto been -almost unknown. When we Klansmen reflect upon these historical facts we -are much consoled. It remains only to say, in this connection, that we -bear our recent detractors not the slightest ill will whatever. They do -not understand us. That is all. - -We confess that the Ku Klux Klan has been organized in order to help in -the accomplishment of a great task. Neither the magnitude of this task -nor its vital importance to the future of our country are yet widely -realized. Our American citizenship is usually earnest and active with -regard to the discharge of its more simple duties. With reference to -larger social problems, however, problems which sometimes assume the -form of great national dangers, our country is often enough soundly -asleep. The Ku Klux Klan proposes to wake the sleeper and make him at -least sit up, look around, and ask the time of day. - -Whether or not we are enabled to accomplish all that we have set out -to do remains for the future to decide. But I may say that the growth -of the Klan and the universal spirit and activity of its membership -indicate pretty clearly that neither our hopes nor our efforts, thus -far, have been in vain. The Klan is growing in the North and West -more rapidly than in the South. It has been carefully and permanently -grounded in nearly every large city. It will eventually spread to -every town, hamlet and country cross-roads. With our six years of -organized effort and our present status in mind, we may be pardoned for -saying that we feel that there must be some need for an organization -which has, in so short a time, shown such phenomenal strength. The -Klan exists because it satisfies a most vital need in our national -public life. Our opponents have tried to indicate that our position and -purposes are purely negative. Nothing is farther from the truth. Any -candid, logical and patriotic mind which will reflect upon this and the -following chapters of this book can not be our enemy. - -In order to first clear the way of the trivialities which have been -placed there to clog our footsteps, I wish in this foreword to state -most positively certain facts with reference to our organization. -The Ku Klux Klan has not been organized or conducted in opposition -to any religion or religious sect, or against the members of any -race or language group, either within or without the borders of our -country. Upon this point let no doubt be left in the mind of any -American. It has been falsely stated that we are fanning the flames -of hatred against the Negro race. Exactly the opposite is the truth. -To our fellow citizens of the Jewish or the Roman Catholic faith, and -to other groups too numerous to mention, we enter a flat denial to -all those pure fabrications which have seemingly given them so much -alarm. It is, indeed, quite true that our membership is restricted. It -includes only citizens of the white race. So does the membership of the -Clan-na-Gael and of B'rith Israel. If it may be truthfully said that -our membership is also restricted to Christians and to Protestants, -this is due purely to the fact that certain deductions may be made -from certain paragraphs in our Constitution and By-Laws. We have not -yet ceased wondering why attacks should be made upon us in the public -press on that score. The membership of the Knights of Columbus is, -I believe, restricted to members of the Roman Catholic Church. Is -there anything especially dangerous or wrong about that? I should -not say so. Catholic Churchmen have both a legal right and a moral -right to organize and conduct a fraternal order by and for themselves -alone. Moreover, the Knights of Columbus as an organization, and in -the personnel of its individual members, would be well within their -rights in demanding that they be saved from slander, villification -and unjust attacks of every sort, because of the restriction of their -membership to those of one faith. Since the end of the war various -German organizations, such as fraternal orders, singing societies, -etc., have begun to re-establish themselves. These organizations are -fully protected by the law and their members do not lack the esteem of -their English-speaking fellow citizens. Hence, I would most candidly -ask--and would that my voice could be heard throughout the length and -breadth of the land--since when has it become a crime for a body of -American-born, English-speaking, white citizens to organize themselves -into a fraternal order? What has happened in our country which seems -to bring our particular racial and social group so much into disrepute? -Since the House of Representatives in Washington has investigated us, -why is not a resolution presented asking the House to investigate -other institutions of a similar nature? However that may be, since we -have been duly investigated, and the investigation has ended without -the slightest accusation or criticism, so far as we know, on the -part of the House Committee, we would now ask our accusers, in their -turn, to be candid enough to do one of two things. They must either -present further facts to substantiate their accusations or retract the -accusations. - -We repeat most emphatically--The members of the Ku Klux Klan, as -individuals or as Klansmen, are not the enemies of the Negro. We are -the best friends the Negro has, here or anywhere. Our organization -makes opposition to no religious sect or creed, as such. Our order -is based squarely upon the Constitution and laws of our country. We -hope never to be unmindful of the basic fact that both the Federal -and State Constitutions guarantee freedom of religious belief and -practice. We invite our fellow citizens of every faith to join us in -the protection of so valuable and sacred a right. Every statement made -at any time that we would deny this right to others than ourselves is -an absolute and unmitigated falsehood. In conclusion, let me emphasize -that the Ku Klux Klan conducts its activities not only within the -law, but in active support of the law. Our general organization would -not tolerate for a moment any illegal act on the part of any of our -local organizations. The Klan has not been formed to express little -hatreds but to study crucial problems and aid in the execution of large -national policies. - -I might add a further word. We take pride in the fact that our -national and local organizations have conducted themselves, generally, -within the bounds of the strictest discipline. Perhaps it has been -because of the ease with which crimes might be committed and our -local organization unjustly blamed therefor that we have suffered -from a certain sort of criticism and attack from the uninformed and -the misinformed. We are now taking steps to make the Klan perfectly -secure against such criminal misuse of its name and regalia. Suffice -it to say here that we take the keenest pride in our record, and in -challenging our opponents and detractors to present the facts which -their allegations demand, we ask of them in the most kindly spirit. We -take much for granted. We can not be misunderstood for long. We know -that many of those who unknowingly oppose us to-day will be our best -friends, in many cases, indeed, our ardent companions of to-morrow. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -The Klan Yesterday and To-day - - -In many questions, from all sources, I have been asked as to how the -Klan of the Sixties was related to the Klan of to-day. The original -Ku Klux Klan sprang from the urgent necessities of the Reconstruction -period. At the close of the War Between the States, the South was -prostrated and devastation was spread from the Potomac to the Rio -Grande. Following hard upon the collapse of the Southern Confederacy, -hordes of bad white men, generally termed "Carpet-Baggers" and -"Scalawags", came into the South to prey upon the prostrated people -of that section and to fatten on the ruins of war. This crowd of -men had been loyal to neither the Union nor the Confederacy, and, -in most instances, traitors to both. The tremendous upheaval had -thrown them from obscurity into publicity. They availed themselves -of the conditions that obtained to establish themselves and utilized -the recently emancipated race of slaves to further their ends. -Negroes everywhere were organized and taught to hate the white people -of the Southern states. Under martial law they controlled all the -elections that were held in the South. From these was elevated to -our legislatures and courts an alien race, untaught, unskilled and -incapable of government. White men in the South who had borne arms -in defense of the Confederacy had the hostility of the so-called -Union League directed against them. Their property was invaded, their -homes were menaced and in many instances the white women of the South -became the prey of Negroes who had been inflamed by the teachings of -"Carpet-Baggers" and "Scalawags." The evident purpose was to establish -for all time the supremacy of the Negro over our Anglo-Saxon people and -civilization. - -[Illustration: LT. GEN. NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST - -The Grand Wizard of the Original Ku Klux Klan.] - -To meet this condition and arrest this menace, the Ku Klux Klan sprang -into existence. The white man's civilization that had been thousands -of years in the building was imperilled. The blood of the white man -ran like lightning. Tremendous forces leaped from the ashes of defeat -and drove like the whirlwind throughout the land. Civilization sounded -the note of wild alarm. An empire covering half a continent took form -in an hour and more than a half million men were mobilized in a single -day in defense of the white man, his home, his civilization and his -freedom--against the rise and assaults of an inferior race, many of -which within the century, had been cannibals, and some of which were -still speaking the jargon of the jungles of Africa. - -In the formation of the original Ku Klux Klan there was no thought -or purpose in the mind of the white men of the South which made for -the suppression of the misguided Negroes by violence. Wise men they -were who founded the Invisible Empire and directed the movements of -its citizenry. They knew the superstition of the Negro. Interwoven in -the Negro's life, religious, social, industrial, was the fantastic -belief in the supernatural and the grotesque. To him the ghost was -very real and not at all unusual in appearance. In all their folk tales -there was a weird intermingling of ghostliness. Rather than intercept -by violence the movement of the Negro toward supremacy in the South -under the leadership of vicious white men, the Ku Klux Klan devoted -itself to thwarting the movement by overawing the Negro through his -superstitions. Had this plan not been adopted, the Negro would have -been largely exterminated. - -This organization of the original Ku Klux Klan made a most thrilling -chapter in the history of the Anglo-Saxon civilization in America. -It has never been written. The organization has been maligned, -misrepresented, and misunderstood for more than fifty years. The -Congress of the United States instituted an investigation of the Klan -that totaled forty-six volumes in reports and findings, but not in a -solitary instance was an outrage or an atrocity in the South fastened -upon the organization. The supremacy of the white man was established, -the purity of the Anglo-Saxon race was maintained, and both races, -white and black, settled down side by side in peace and contentment to -work out their essentially different destinies. - -The present Klan is a memorial to the original organization, the story -of whose valor has never been told, and the value of whose activities -to the American nation has never been appreciated. In a sense it is -the reincarnation among the sons of the spirit of the fathers. It is a -flaming torch of the genius and mission of the Anglo-Saxon committed -to the hands of the children which the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan are -again holding aloft. - -The name of the old Klan has been taken by the new as a heritage. The -regalia and insignia of the old have been adopted by the new as a -mantle of one worthy generation might fall upon the shoulders of its -successor. Beyond this point the connection and similarity between -the two organizations do not extend. The ritual is not identical. The -purpose of each organization, while having a common impulsion, is -not the same in extent. The old Klan never intended to reach beyond -the horizon of the Southland. The present Klan has purposed the -supremacy of our heritage of ideals throughout the nation. There is -no intention on the part of the present Klan to intimidate or overawe -by spectral, ghostly garb, or to accomplish its aim by demonstrations -of force or acts of violence, or by a supergovernment under disguise, -or by moving in the darkness of the night. But there is a purpose -underlying the entire organization and pulsing in every fiber of its -being, to maintain Anglo-Saxon civilization on the American continent -from submergence due to the encroachment and invasion of alien people -of whatever clime or color. There was not in the old organization a -solitary motive except to save the civilization of the white man that -had been wrung out of the thousands of years of his struggle upward. -There is not a single motive actuating the new Klan except to save the -heritage which the fathers have left for us in the present to transmit -to the generation yet to come. - -A moment's reflection will indicate how natural it is to see the new -Klan take form first in the South. With us the issue and the conflict -is an old one. Instinctively we scent dangers which our brethren -in other sections of the country are apt, as yet, to ignore. For -centuries we have been forced to deal, in one form or another, with a -problem which always seemed to us and still appears to some of us to -be insoluble. I mean the race problem. Yet in this, as in all else, -our kinship with our fellow citizens of the North was made evident by -an outstanding fact of Reconstruction days. The original Ku Klux Klan -was almost as strong in the Union army, maintaining martial law in -the defeated states, as among the men who wore the gray and went down -to glorious defeat. Had it not been for the active and sympathetic -co-operation of large numbers of the Union forces, the achievements -of the Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction period could not have been -accomplished. The time has now come, once more, to bring to our whole -country a sense of this great issue. And this issue, the causes of this -crisis, has broadened and deepened to a degree which threatens the -complete destruction of our civilization. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -We Americans--A Vanishing People - - -We Americans are nothing if not humanitarian. We have in the United -States many varieties of organization for the assistance of the various -foreign racial and national groups upon our soil. We have also done not -a little for the succor of the peoples of the old world who are now in -such great distress. The larger humanitarian motive is as a guiding -star to millions of Americans. It leads them and lights their way. -To many such it may seem unnecessary, to some preposterous, for the -organization of which I have the honor to be chief to be founded and -developed. But a sober second thought is required here. Let us grant -that a people which, in its weakness, faces permanent injury, requires -help that it may survive and grow. Then indeed, it follows that we -Americans, as a people, need to help ourselves first of all. _As a -people and a nation we are face to face with dissolution._ In the Ku -Klux Klan we have an institution designed to help in the stupendous -task of saving ourselves from failing and falling. - -We Americans as a peculiar people face extinction upon our own soil. -Let me be fully understood. I do not wish in the least to appear -sensational. I wish only to state a few simple facts which should be -apparent to any American who investigates, ever so briefly, the true -condition of his country. So often, during the past twenty-two years, I -have been oppressed in heart as I have seen how little public interest -this crucial matter has aroused. If my tendency has, at times, been -somewhat pessimistic and fearful, I claim that there is cause enough -for fear and pessimism. Surely there is great need that intensest -sadness and sorrow strike deep into the hearts of Americans, if we are -now to help ourselves and live. - -We Americans are a perishing people. From the point of view of history -we are being wiped from the face of the earth with a rapidity which -almost staggers hope. First let me clearly define what I mean by -the phase, "We American People." I mean by that phrase those white, -native-born citizens of this country whose ancestry, birth and training -has been such as to give them to-day a full share in the basic -principles, the ideals and the practice of our American civilization. -I do not mean that a foreign-born citizen can not be a good citizen. -On the contrary, many of our foreign-born are excellent citizens. Yet -I most positively mean what the title at the head of this chapter -distinctly suggests. We, the American people, we whose breed fought -through the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States, the -people by whose courage the great American wilderness was penetrated, -and by whose painstaking industry that wilderness was subjugated and -made fruitful--that this people, who gave to the world Washington and -Franklin, Jefferson and Hamilton, Andrew Jackson and Daniel Webster, -Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln--this people, our people, is on -the downward way to the early ending of its remarkable history. The -mighty length and breadth of the soil made sacred by our struggles and -our victories is now being given over, with ever greater rapidity, to -various peoples of a totally different mold. I am not saying that these -other peoples are bad in character or in any way unworthy. May Heaven -witness for my colleagues and myself of the Ku Klux Klan that we bear -them no ill will whatsoever. I hope that none of us as individuals -or as an organization may do them aught but good. We wish, above -all, to be moved in all things by that Christian spirit upon which -our organization is founded, and which, I trust, moves its humblest -member. But we have come to sound a warning throughout the length and -breadth of the land--a warning which everyone of our own people from -Newfoundland to California and from Florida to Alaska must hear and -heed. _We are perishing as a people and the land of our fathers shall -presently know us no more._ Emerson once said, "What you do speaks so -loud I can not hear what you say." Let me here change the words but -not the meaning. The facts cry out so loud that we can not hear the -vain and wordy opinions of the theorists and the sentimentalists. The -prattle of these sentimentalists, be it ever so noisy, can not prevent -us from both seeing and hearing the real drama. We are witnessing the -greatest tragedy of the ages. - -[Illustration: Only Americans May Pass] - -To place these facts in their proper relation, one to another, we must -study the map of the United States. That map, hanging on the wall of -the old school-house, or facing us over our desks in the library at -home, seems always to appear so big and brave and bold. To the child -at school it appears to flaunt its very bigness in the face of all -the world. My fellow American citizens in all the states, study that -map carefully. In terms of the civilization of the whole world it -will richly repay investigation. Let us move with the sun from the -valley of the river St. Johns in Maine, to the far-off mountains of our -California. Incoming masses by the hundred thousand flood New England. -They do not speak our language, can not know our laws, and do not mix -with our native people because there are hardly any natives in New -England left to mix with. In dozens of schools built for the children -of the great city of Boston and its suburbs the English language is -not even taught, not to speak of as being used as a means of acquiring -knowledge or of taking loyal and useful part in our national life. -Throughout twenty varieties of the stupendous foreign sections in -all our great industrial cities of the North, the very conditions of -life prevent millions from learning the English language or taking an -American breath into their nostrils. From St. Louis and Chicago and -Milwaukee on the West to New York and Boston on the East democratic -American political life is now almost impossible--unthinkable. To this -we shall recur in later chapters. Just now we must proceed rapidly -to other parts of our map. In our Far Western territory, where a -million square miles of mountain and valley are beginning a marvelous -development, we Americans are fighting one of the most desperate and -crucial social conflicts in the history of our country and of European -civilization. Our Western people are striving for the very salvation -of our soil as the heritage of the white American. This conflict rages -day by day--week by week--year by year. Our brethren of the West are -misunderstood and their crying call for help is largely rejected by -the East. There are counties in California where more Japanese babies -are being born each year than white babies. The Japanese in California -are multiplying at the stupendous rate of sixty-nine per thousand, -annually, while the white people of California increase at the rate -of eighteen per thousand. But the eighteen per cent. includes the -relatively high rate of the foreign-born whites. The American white -people of California increase by an annual rate of less than ten per -thousand. Look you well, fellow Americans, to this part of our map. Go -on in your indifference and carelessness, and these western valleys -and mountains will, in the days of your children, be blood-soaked by -one of the most desperate of interracial wars--a war at once civil -and international--in the history of the world, and despite all your -treaties of peace. - -In the Southwest are over eighteen hundred miles of boundary line -between ourselves and the people of Mexico. I know that I am expressing -for my colleagues of the Ku Klux Klan who dwell along that eighteen -hundred miles of boundary line their inmost thought, when I say that -they wish only peace and fellowship and mutual aid and generosity to -mark all our relations with the simple and kindly people of Mexico. -But we are here marshalling the facts--the staggering facts which -the American people must know and ponder well to-day. Nearly half a -million Mexicans, speaking various dialects of the Spanish and Indian -languages, have recently come across our Southwestern boundary line. -Surely it is not with any ill will in our hearts that we say with all -the power we have that these thousands can not share our American -democracy with us in this generation. In Mexico these people can be -ruled in such a way and take such measures of progress as may befit -them. Granted time and they may evolve a successful democracy all -their own. But in this generation they will make democracy impossible -wherever large numbers of them settle among us. If immigration -continues through the next generation THEY WILL FOREVER ENCROACH UPON -AND OCCUPY OUR SOUTHWEST. The native-born, white American will either -become a small ruling class, or fade from sight altogether. There are -factories in Texas with practically none but Mexicans employed. There -are sections of the Southwest where, in town and on the countryside, -there are many Negroes, Mexicans and Japanese, few Americans. - -Finally, we come to the South. Leaving the burden of this argument to -future chapters, we can here take but a rapid glance at the inexorable -problem of the Southland. May Providence give to us men and women of -the South the power we need to place our problem before our fellow -citizens in other sections in such a way as to win their minds and -hearts by the goodness of our cause. If I but could, I would move my -hand along that ancient and deadly line which separates us from our -country-men and wipe it out forever. Our problem of the Negro, men and -women of the North, is your problem. If we fail, you fail. We plead -with you to join with us in freeing all our minds from bigotry, all -our hearts from unworthy passions, and all our thoughts from sectional -misunderstanding. - -The larger fact which I seek in this connection to strike into the mind -and conscience of my country is as simple as the multiplication-table. -The Negro of to-day is less in numbers than the white inhabitants -in all states but one, for a single reason. That reason is the high -average mortality among the Negroes. The enormous birth rate of the -Negro population would rapidly submerge our white population if the -Negroes were not decimated by a high death rate. The Negroes' numbers -are kept within the number of our white population by various dreadful -diseases. Though these diseases afflict us all in the South, the white -people are generally far more immune than the blacks. We are somewhat -behind the North and West in the practice of medicine, sanitation, and -the general prevention of disease. But we are making great strides -in this as in other means of progress. As all our people, including -the Negroes, are progressively saved from the ravages of disease, the -Negroes' birth rate will be more and more relentlessly shown in the -census of the living. As night follows day, the Negro will, in the -future, move on toward larger and larger comparative numbers in the -South. - -And so this map of our beloved land, which, as school children, we -gazed upon with deep longings toward the future greatness of our -country--this map to-day, section by section, is discolored and fading. -So do our hopes, too, fade and fail. We Americans are a perishing -people, and the things we have inherited and hold dearest in our hearts -are on the way to dissolution and total loss. Of all the greater -people of history, we Americans least deserve even the pity which is -the portion of those who fail. The glory of our rise, the large part -that is ours in the present, the majestic hope of the nation which -prophesies such a resplendent future--all this is our heritage. We lack -only understanding of ourselves and the public spirit required to take -action. The Ku Klux Klan, in garb of strange device, marshalled under -the flag of our country, has thrust itself as a dire warning across the -downward pathway of the American people--our own people, whom we love. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -The Fraternalism of the Klan - - -Surely there can not be in this frank statement of the principles and -the purposes of the Ku Klux Klan any ground for the criticism that -the organization was founded on racial and sectarian animosities and -hatreds. The Klan is neither anti-racial nor anti-sectarian. It is -pro-American. We concede to every distinctive organization in race and -religion the same rights of restricting and qualifying its membership -that we claim for ourselves. If, in the light of all the past, and -in view of the present, we are insisting upon an organization of -native-born white American citizens, we do not, by stipulating the -conditions of membership in the Ku Klux Klan, avow hostility to any -one class or company who may not, for one reason or another, qualify -for membership in our organization. Indeed, as Americans we not only -have the right to organize under the law and in keeping with the law, -but far more than that--in the exercise of that right the Klan is -positively committed to vouchsafing the same right to any other class -of people on the American continent who desire to organize themselves -for patriotic, social, fraternal or religious purposes. Only this -too is also stoutly maintained: Any organization that is formed and -fostered under the flag of our common country must not be inimical to -our democratic government and institutions. - -There are numerous organizations in America to which members of the -Klan would not be admitted. These organizations are racial, social, -political and sectarian. There has never been any complaint against -these organizations. They have never been subjected to scrutiny by the -Department of Justice of the United States Government. They have never -been brought under Congressional investigation. They have lived and -grown and pursued their purposes of organization without restraint or -interference from the outside. All this is in exact keeping with the -freedom that is granted under the Constitution and the laws. We realize -only too well that when organizations have arisen that have threatened -the peace or morals or health of our social life, or, for any purpose, -inveighed against the basic institutions of our country or the orderly -conduct of our people in obedience to constituted authority, such -organizations have been speedily suppressed. There are not a few of -the leaders of such movements in the penal institutions of our country -to-day, designated as political prisoners, because they undertook to -obstruct the machinery of the country in its war activities. The Ku -Klux Klan is committed so thoroughly--nothing remaining uncommitted--to -the full freedom of human life guaranteed under the Constitution to -American citizens that it can never interfere with the rights of -groups or individuals outside its ranks. It stands everywhere against -disorderly and disruptive movements which deny the authority of the -government and disobey its mandates whether in time of war or peace. -If there is one thing, more than any other, which we Americans must now -devoutly take to heart it is obedience to law. Perhaps we are rightly -accused by Europeans of being quite the most lawless among civilized -nations. This is indicated by nothing so much as by the series of -terrible race riots which have disgraced some of our great cities -during recent years--notably Atlanta, Washington, East St. Louis, -Chicago and Omaha. Space limits us here to the description of a single -case in which the Klan has been involved. At a small town in Florida, -a terrible race riot was precipitated on election day, 1920. It was -reported that one or more Negroes, disqualified by law from voting, -were nevertheless demanding that they be permitted to vote. This -incident led to others, and resulted in a terrible race riot. More than -a score of persons, mostly Negroes, were killed. The white men, having -defeated and dispersed the Negroes of their own community, thoroughly -inflamed, proceeded, late in the day, to march upon --------, for -the purpose of attacking the Negroes of that community. The Klansmen -notified by a member of the ---- Klan, of the approach of a force -of armed whites, armed themselves and placed their services at the -disposal of the officers of the law. They met the oncoming force just -outside the limits of their own town. Unhappily, the attackers were -not turned back without an armed conflict. In this affray two Klansmen -were killed. The mob was driven back. The Klansmen lost their lives in -defense of the law and while protecting the Negroes of their town. - -On another occasion one of the largest and soundest local Klans ever -founded by our organizers was instantly dissolved, because our rules -and regulations in these things were violated. The Klan in question -wished to find a remedy for a serious local disorder. A tradesman in -the community was conducting a thriving bootlegging establishment which -grew to be a scandal to the whole town. The Klan, recently organized, -and not fully comprehending our methods, posted notices warning the -culprit to leave town. They emphasized their warning by posting along -side certain signs of the Ku Klux Klan. For this interference with the -orderly process of justice in this case the local Klan in question was -quickly disbanded by our headquarters. - -With this and other similar incidents in mind the reader may well -imagine the thoughts and feelings of Klansmen everywhere when they -are told that their organization has been founded for the purpose of -"Lynching Niggers." We have been accused of crimes in towns where we -had no local Klan within hundreds of miles. In such cases the lynching -accusations are often carried on the wings of great organizations of -the press. Our denials we find ineffectual. But of this I am certain: -The truth will sometimes overtake the lies and the evil will recoil on -the heads of the evil-doers. - -But in addition to the purely patriotic principles of the Klan, which -are fundamental, it is a fraternal organization. A Charter for the -Klan was granted by the State of Georgia. All of its activities are -subject to scrutiny by the State and review by properly constituted -authority. The Charter may be revoked at the will of the State. -Where-ever irregularities are shown in the conduct of the Klan, or -wherever the Klan departs from the purposes of its organization as set -forth in the Charter, the Klan may be disbanded by due process of law. -It is therefore not an organization that has sprung up over night, -without responsibility, claiming independence of the law of the land. - -The Klan offers its membership a graduate course in fraternalism. -There are several orders administered and each of these orders marks -an advance in devotion to our common country and in those fraternal -relations and responsibilities which bind us to our fellow men. There -can be nothing in this organization, as there is nothing in the many -fraternal organizations in this country, that is inimical to the -highest sense of social order. Indeed, underlying the fraternalism -of the Klan is a consecration to the American home, the preservation -of its sanctity and the maintenance of ideal family life. From -this a sympathetic helpfulness flows out to those in distress and -discouragement, and a force of strong men is thrown about the weak and -helpless without respect to color or creed. This is the service of love -and sacrifice to our age and generation which is symbolized by the -fiery cross. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -The Klanishness of The Klan - - -It is perhaps not only proper but also necessary, in view of the -vigorous and persistent attacks made on the Klan, to discuss more -fully the apparent exclusiveness of the organization. I desire to -reiterate with emphasis that the Klan is a purely American organization -assembled around the Constitution of the United States, to safeguard -its provisions, advance its purposes, and perpetuate its democracy. -This definition of the Klan in its organization necessarily carries -the idea of exclusiveness. All men without respect to race, color -and religion may not be organized into a democracy. Democracy can -not be established by outside pressure. It is something which must -be developed in the individual consciousness, and is of very slow -growth. We speak loosely when we talk of the Anglo-Saxon having grown -into a democracy through a thousand years of struggle. Five thousand -years would be a more accurate statement of the fact. During all the -slow processes of the development of the white man's civilization, -there was something inherent in his life that slowly pushed its way -up into the consciousness of the individual until it found expression -in constitutional government, in freedom of thought and speech, and -in all the elements of political and religious liberty. One of the -most developed expressions of this growth into democracy is our -American Government with all its complexities and intricacies. It -should go without saying that all men, without reference to origin or -history, can not be thrust into this country, and, under restraint -and repression, be forced into our ways of thinking and living and so -attain the true value of American citizenship. To begin with, a great -many people, living under one form of autocracy or another, have never -been awakened to a sense of and desire for democracy. In others the -sense has begun to stir, but has not had the opportunity or the time -for that sure growth that would transform them into a citizenship -capable of pure self-government. - -This fact has been demonstrated by the futility of the attempts in -Russia, first under the administration of Kerensky and now under Lenine -and Trotsky. The bolshevist camarilla attempted to take that nation, -which has been subjected for ages to one of the simplest and meanest -despotisms on earth, and organize it into a sort of democracy. This -proposition is still further illuminated by the experience of Germany -in her attempt to build a democracy on the ruins of her old autocracy. -The best thinkers in the German nation, notwithstanding the superior -intellectual, economical and industrial qualifications of the people, -predict that a real democracy can not be established in Germany in less -than fifty years. If these two nations, both white, the one having -the most robust physical manhood in the world, and the other the most -vigorous mentality, can not rise from autocracy into democracy, how -absurd it appears that we should take great masses of the untaught, -underfed, inferior people of all the lands and undertake to precipitate -them, in masses, into our very peculiar and intricate national -democracy. - -[Illustration: The "Starry" Flag and the "Fiery" Cross Shall Not Fail] - -The Klan, organized to protect and advance the cause of our native -institutions, is therefore exclusive in the restriction of its -membership to white native-born Americans. We believe that only one -born on American soil, surrounded by American institutions, taught in -the American schools, harmonized from infancy with American ideals, -can become fully conscious of what our peculiar democracy means and be -adequately qualified for all the duties of citizenship in this republic. - -In order to become a member of the Klan one must subscribe without -reservation of any sort to the Constitution of the United States. -Loyalty to the Constitution must be so thorough that no ultimate -allegiance to any foreign institution, power or country can be -retained. Committal to Americanism is so absolute that nothing is left -uncommitted. The Ku Klux Klan is patriotic to the last and highest -degree. We believe that the principles upon which this republic was -founded, and around which the great War Between the States was waged, -should be constantly reaffirmed and emphasized. - -The American nation has acted as a great magnet. The American city in -particular has been an irresistible lure to the unhappy and oppressed -peoples of the world. From all shores great tides of immigration have -flowed in upon us. The alien peoples have not been distributed over -the vast area of our common country, but have, for the most part, -been congested in our great centers. Many of them can not read and -write their own language. On the average they are three times as prone -to pauperism and nine times as prone to crime as our native-born -Americans. Because of their numbers, as well as their nationalistic -tendencies, they organize themselves into separate communities and -often breed hostility to American institutions. How natural that such -foreign communities should spawn all forms of social and political -vices. - -Of course this plethora of population violates the fundamental law -of our social life. This nation grew strong and took on its peculiar -virtues out in the open fields and under the gleaming stars. Granting -that the possibilities of democracy are inherent in many of these -aliens that have been admitted into our country, the possibilities can -not now be realized in the great cities of the nation. We believe that -one can never be wholly patriotic or thoroughly democratized until -he obeys God's great first commandment and settles upon some spot of -ground and subdues it and makes it yield its secrets and its wealth. -Permit these people that have come to us to segregate in cities by race -and tongue, and continue to live in squalor and dirt, often accursed -by disease and ignorance, foreign in habit and thought and pursuit, -understanding our country only as an unrestricted opportunity for -license, and it presents the gravest problems that our nation was ever -called upon to solve. This is especially true since these aliens have -been permitted to qualify for citizenship and given suffrage within -a space of time so short that they can not even become acquainted -with the outward manners and customs of the American people, not to -mention the basic intellectual and spiritual factors of our national -consciousness. - -More than fifty per cent. of the votes cast in the last presidential -election were cast by cities. For the first time in the history of -this country the urban population exceeds the rural. This vast alien -population now holds and exercises the balance of political power. HERE -IS A CHALLENGE WITH TRUMPET VOICE TO EVERY NATIVE-BORN AMERICAN TO FACE -THE CRISIS AND PRESERVE OUR DEMOCRACY FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME. - -One other condition is imposed on all men who would be associated with -the Klan, and that is subscription to the tenets of Christianity. -We are in no sense a religious organization. There is no purpose -of founding what has been suggested by our critics, a new American -church. The Klan does not interfere, through membership, with any man's -interpretation of religious truth or his connection with any branch or -denomination of the Christian church. In fact, the Klan has nothing to -do with dogma, creed, or ritual. Yet the Klan does insist that every -man becoming a member shall strive to carry himself by the code of -conduct promulgated by Jesus Christ. It is a high standard of living -that the Klan undertakes to maintain, and at the very threshold of the -organization one must accept this highest standard of ethics and morals -that the world has ever known. - -There are many who can not accept these stern conditions. But certainly -it is not an arbitrary discrimination against any class, or sect, -or race. We believe that, interwoven into the entire fabric of real -Americanism, are the principles of Christianity. Reverent recognition -of this fact has been made in the Bills of Right and in nearly every -state constitution of the Union. In 1895 the Supreme Court of the -United States, in a decision on the Alien Labor Contract Law, declared -this to be a Christian nation, and the Court was very careful to -establish its decision by referring explicitly to the principles and -declarations of Christianity which run through all the organic laws of -the country. So, believing as we do, that our patriotic principles and -Christianity are inseparable and indivisible, we hold steadfastly to -the Constitution and the Sermon on the Mount. It goes without saying -that men who repudiate either can not look for fellowship in the Klan. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -Is The Klan Anti-Semitic - - -Referring to the exclusiveness of the Klan, I am not quite prepared to -admit that the conditions stipulated for membership in the organization -set up the insuperable barrier that some people suspect. It has been -pointed out in many hostile criticisms that the Semitic race is -excluded from membership in the Klan. It is not true, for instance, -that the Klan has set up arbitrary barriers to the admission of the -Hebrew; but it is true that the orthodox Hebrew has established around -himself barriers that preclude his admission into the organization. - -The orthodox Jews are perhaps the most exclusive people in the -civilized world. Their racial pride exceeds the pride of any nation or -any land. They have a right to be proud in view of all their history. -The Hebrew literature, the Hebrew religion, the Hebrew commonwealth, -and more than all, the Hebrew jurisprudence, much of which has been -adopted by our western society, entitles the race to hold to its -distinctive qualities and characteristics with a pride that all the -world respects and admires. They have everywhere been a peculiar -people. Because of marked racial distinctiveness, not to say eminence, -they have drawn a boundary line about their social and religious life, -shutting themselves in and the rest of mankind out. - -Perhaps there is no patriotism in the world comparable to that of the -Jew. His attachment to his ancient home-land and to his institutions -has been through the ages a consuming passion. In the early history of -his development, when defeated in war, reduced to slavery and crushed -under mountainous oppression, his loyalty to his country and his creed -never wavered. There is no picture in history more pathetic and, -indeed, more inspiring than that of the Jew in bondage. Toiling in the -brickyards of Goshen, taunted with the despoiled glory of his country, -the taskmaster demanding, as the burning lash was laid upon his bared -shoulders, that he sing the songs of his native land, his intrepid -spirit was unconquered and his superb loyalty unbroken: "If I forget -thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning, and if I do -not esteem thee above my chiefest joy, let my tongue cleave unto the -roof of my mouth." - -The Jew has brought his religion to America, establishing his temple -worship and clinging tenaciously to his creed of Theism. He has been -welcomed with a hospitality such as has been tendered the Jew by no -other nation. His religious institutions have had all the protection -of the law thrown about them, and they have been covered by the broad -mantle of American liberalism. He has been granted the right to worship -Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience, with none -to molest him or make him afraid. But he has organized in America no -system of evangelism to convey his religious message to the people -without the pale. He has made no proselytes or attempted to make any. -He has held his church exclusively for himself and his posterity. -To the orthodox Jew his religion is entirely an expression of his -nationality. He has never invited men without creed to inquire into -his dogmas and his doctrines. Indeed, he has held to his religion as -a heritage that belongs to the Jew and to which none other than a Jew -could subscribe as a matter of right or even as a privilege. A highly -intelligent and influential Gentile sect, the Unitarians, has built its -religious life about the doctrine of Theism. There are no fundamental -or essential differences between the orthodoxy of the Jew and that of -this Gentile sect, but even the Gentile theist has had no invitation -to Judaism, and has been tendered scant cordiality by this proud, -exclusive race that took its religion from the visible and audible -presence of Jehovah and preserved it inviolate for themselves and for -their kind. - -In coming to America the orthodox Jew has brought with him all the -racial pride that distinguishes him throughout the ages. He does not -undertake to mingle his social life with that of the native people of -the country, nor does he invite those of other racial lineage to cross -his threshold. He marries and intermarries only with his kind. If the -offspring of the orthodox Jew marries a Gentile he is excommunicated -with drastic and fearful ceremony. So does the Jew keep himself apart. -Even in the remote and sparsely populated sections of the country, -where a single Jewish family is established in a village or at a -cross-roads, selling merchandise, when the time comes for the marrying -of his children, he does not seek or desire that the people with whom -he has been trading, or that the children with whom his children have -been taught in the common schools, shall be introduced into Jewish -family life. He seeks to mate his children with members of his own -race, even though the mating has to be done at long range. Sometimes a -suitable husband for a marriageable daughter, or an acceptable wife -for a marriageable son, has to be obtained in New York or Chicago or -San Francisco, from a thousand to three thousand miles away. - -Perhaps this Jew has understood for ages what some of our American -sociologists will not learn from biology; that is, that the -amalgamation of two distinctive race types may lose, in the offspring, -much of the distinctive good of both. A people of mixed race is long -in establishing both the fact and the sense of unity. Its individual -minds tend to instability. Witness, for instance, the results due -to the divergent people who inhabit Ireland. Racial stability, as a -biological fact in the realm of psychology, is a precious result, -perfected only by long, very long unity of blood. A mixed race finds, -for a long period, difficulty in attaining individual balance and -social peace. With the orthodox Jew another racial purpose inclines -him, with relentless will, toward racial segregation. His people are -the chosen of Almighty God. They listen through the centuries for the -voices of angels proclaiming the advent of the true Messiah. To mix his -blood with that of the Gentile is to lose his vision, his hope and his -immortal soul. - -The Klan organizes itself around the principles of Christianity, which -diverge widely from the principles of Jewish orthodoxy. If it requires -that those seeking admission into the organization should subscribe to -the tenets that are Christian, it can not be construed into hostility -toward the Jewish race. We believe that, side by side, a few Jews and -many Christians, or a few Christians and many Jews may live in peace -and contentment. For in either case the minority can never, by power -of number, challenge the basic things of civilization of the majority. -Let me here emphasize with all the power I possess: in America the Jew -must ultimately mix with the Gentile. One million Jewish immigrants -and their descendants can be, and will be, through the centuries, -absorbed into the great body of our American people. Here we touch -upon the true cause of the modern Zionism. His exclusiveness forbade -the Egyptian, the Babylonian, the Roman, and the Russian, to destroy -his racial identity. To-day he is surrendering in Western Europe and -America to the liberalism of the younger generation of Jews and the -neighborliness of the modern Gentile. Liberalism and Americanization -will eventually break down the exclusiveness of even so large a number -as we now have among us. But if practically free immigration continues -and five millions, or ten millions, of Jews come to us within the -next generation--then we shall have a people within a people, a state -within a state, and the sad conditions of Poland or Roumania will -be re-enacted in America. A two per cent. Jewish population can be, -ultimately, thoroughly Americanized. A ten per cent. Jewish population -will lead us from danger unto danger. We shall have absolute Jewish -separatism on the one hand, and anti-Semitism on the other. We -shall then witness all those profound and terrible reactions which -relentlessly mark the sharp contacts of two vitally different societies -upon the same soil. I submit that when the Klan as an organization, -holding to the tenets of Christianity, provided that any white -native-born American who subscribes to its conditions may enter into -the Klan, the Jew was not arbitrarily excluded. In fact, there are some -native-born American Jews who have accepted Christianity and have at -the same time become eligible to membership in the Klan. But the hard -and fast racial organization of the orthodox Jew does not permit him -to go outside of prescribed boundaries in either his social or his -religious life. We have not excluded the Jew. The orthodox Jew has -excluded himself. - -The Klan not only protests that it is not anti-Semitic. The Klan -seeks the execution of a policy which will prevent the growth of -anti-Semitism in America. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -Is The Klan Anti-Catholic? - - -The Catholic colony of Maryland, under the Calverts, was composed of -a most excellent type of freedom-loving Englishmen. Cardinal Gibbons, -who recently passed to his reward, was a fine example of this type. -These people were seeking, as were so many others who then came to -America, liberation from tyranny, bigotry, and intolerance. They -brought with them a spirit not unlike that of the Cavaliers to the -south of them, to whom their destiny was to be indissolubly linked by -ties that remain unbroken to this day. These brave Catholic settlers in -the wilderness, many of whom were people of refinement and education, -invested themselves whole-heartedly in the early development of our -country. No well-informed student of American history doubts that their -large contributions to our American nation have seldom enough been -sufficiently recognized. - -[Illustration: Klankrest--Home Donated to William Joseph Simmons by -Klansmen of the Nation "As a Token of Love and Esteem."] - -In the great battle of Long Island, in the summer of 1776, Washington -stood upon an eminence and watched the Maryland brigade as it strove to -cut its way through the encircling forces of the British. "Good God, -what brave fellows I must this day lose," he said, as he observed their -desperate position. Later in the day, when he saw them fall, like the -leaves of Autumn, he is said to have wept over the loss of the very -elite of his army. Of such stuff as this were the Maryland Catholics -in the American Revolution. The historian, John Fiske, describes that -terrible and unhappy day (Battle of Long Island, 1776) as follows: "In -this noble struggle, the highest honors were won by the brigade of -Maryland men, commanded by Smallwood, and throughout the war we shall -find this honorable distinction of Maryland for the personal gallantry -of her troops fully sustained, until in the last pitched battle, at -Eutaw Springs, we see them driving the finest infantry of England at -the point of the bayonets." - -Just a word more with reference to this sort of American Catholic. In -the spring of 1921 a distinguished assembly of educators and savants, -representing nearly every country, assembled with the University -alumni to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the -University of Virginia. The opening prayer of the first public meeting -was offered by the Catholic Bishop of Richmond. In that invocation the -Bishop returned thanks to Almighty God for that great deed of Thomas -Jefferson which led to the separation of Church and State in Virginia. - -To such Catholics as these all true Americans, whatever their religious -beliefs, are bound by ties so indissoluble as to make perfect our -fellowship in Americanism. It is to this section of Roman Catholic -believers, no matter what their ancestry may be, that the Klan makes -especial appeal for understanding and co-operation. - -Catholic Maryland won for herself the high distinction of being among -the three colonies which permitted and protected religious freedom. -So we can acclaim the Catholic colonists as among the very first to -realize the full meaning of Americanism, not only as to the outward -things of government, but also as to the inner things of the human -soul. It should not be forgotten, too, that these same advocates of -political liberty and freedom of conscience were themselves grossly -offended and injured for a time in their own colony by a period of -Protestant oppression. American history is a strange, strange story. To -understand our America of the present, and her problems, we must look -deep into the records of the past. With an unbiased mind we must set -ourselves to seek out the truth. - -In the State of Maryland one still finds in remote hamlets the original -Catholic edifices, with their sacred symbols, gracing the countryside. -Wherever we find such an American Catholic church, the American public -school is seen in the immediate vicinity. When the American Catholic in -Maryland, or in any other state, goes to the ballot-box, he votes as an -American citizen, not being under ecclesiastical control. We members of -the Ku Klux Klan, positively insist upon making this distinction among -Catholics. We ask, and who can say that we ask too much, that our whole -Catholic population bring its American citizenship up to these high -standards set by the original American Catholics. When this is done, we -shall surely find the greatest pleasure in rendering to the Catholic -Church that full measure of esteem which shall be its due. - -During the past two generations great submerging waves of European -immigrants have rolled in upon us. One wave brought with it loyalty -to the German Kaiser and treason to America. Another wave threatened -to smother our working people with the noxious poison of Bolshevism. -Still another sought to make a bitter animosity toward England and -the British Empire the main-spring of all its political and social -activities in America. Is there anything remarkable, anything -inexplicable, about the fact that millions of illiterate peasants -from the more backward parts of Europe, if they happen to be Roman -Catholics, should continue among us their backward European methods? -The peasantry of Poland were, until the Great War, practically a -serf population. Why deny the most evident facts? They are still, in -general, verminous and insanitary, illiterate and stupid. The theory -that they can quickly be made into Americans is the thought of a -fool. The view that their church can conduct itself like the American -Catholic church in Maryland is equally ridiculous. - -This immigrant element has been misused in two ways. Its clergy has -kept it ignorant of America by keeping its children out of our public -schools; and it has been used in our elections as a mass vote by those -who exercise control over its votes through the political power of the -church. - -With reference to the public schools our American position is as simple -as it can possibly be. Having established the public-school system -as the veritable cornerstone of the nation's democracy, we request, -in the most brotherly spirit, all our immigrant peoples to give it -whole-hearted support. We invite their children to sit beside our -own children and receive the education needed to insure their good -citizenship, their self-support, and their self-respect. And then there -are those who say that we of the Klan hate the immigrant and seek to -deny him his rights! - -These immigrant children, sitting side by side in the same school, will -be received as guests in one another's homes. They will form those deep -and lasting friendships which will make for true social unity. When we -open our arms and our hearts to receive them and to give them all we -have, it is they who reject us. They deny themselves the best gift we -can possibly offer--a free public education. How often are we Americans -made unhappy--sometimes, I fear, a bit displeased--when we see on one -side of the street a beautiful, spacious and sanitary public-school -building, and on the other side of the street a poorly constructed, -insanitary and overcrowded parochial school. Our own children go to -the public school. The immigrant children go to the parochial school. -Our own children are taught by teachers carefully selected and trained -for their service. In the overcrowded and insanitary parochial school -the teaching is usually of a standard incomparably lower; often it is -unworthy to be called education. Has the world ever presented a more -curious and perplexing problem than we have here? We see American -citizens of property and influence anxious to tax themselves in order -to present to the child of the Sicilian, Hungarian, or Polish peasant -the best common-school education in all the world. And then we see, -to our unutterable amazement, this peasant serf, or city wastrel, -misled by his clergy, rejecting the only worthy means we have of making -Americans out of his children. To an average American this whole -situation is both perplexing and distressing. - -As regards the use of the Catholic vote in elections, the facts, while -startling enough, are more easily understood. In 1917, to mention a -single instance, all the country watched the Catholic church of New -York City defeat one of its own distinguished members, Mr. Mitchell, -for Mayor. No informed person longer seeks to deny the political -influence of the Catholic church. Very recently Archbishop Hayes, of -New York, personally directed the New York police to break up a public -meeting called in the Town Hall by American citizens. The police -appeared before the meeting began and actually went so far as to -prevent its beginning. The law could not have been violated because no -chance was given to violate the law. Archbishop Hayes simply decided -that he would not permit this meeting, which had nothing whatever to -do with any church or religious issue. So he ordered the doors of -the building which had been hired for the purpose to be locked and -the crowd driven away by the police. All we can say to our Catholic -fellow citizens is just this: DO NOT FORCE US TO RESIST YOU. If you -take direct control of the police power out of the hands of the duly -constituted officers of government, then we, as Americans, must -eventually resist your police power in defense of our liberty. Gifted -with an infinite desire for peace and with great patience, we shall -wait until we do not dare to wait longer. Meanwhile we plead with you -daily: Do but accept the basic principles of our Americanism and all -arguments, all unpleasantness, will vanish in a single hour. - -In a democracy the separation of church and state implies much more -than the abolition of state support of the church. Separation of -church and state must mean with us that the individual citizen shall -permit neither the state to interfere with his religious worship nor -the church to interfere with his duties as a citizen. Only a developed -political mind can understand the nature of this very modern duality -of attitude. The outward separation is, after all, largely a form of -law. The inward separation, the state of mind, is the true source of -the freedom both of the church and the state. When the individual -walks into his church he must enter with his body and his mind free to -worship according to the dictates of his conscience. When he enters the -voting-booth, when he enters the court-room, when he opens his mouth to -mix his thoughts with his fellow citizens as regards things political, -mind and mouth and hand must be free from the control of the church. - -To understand our problem fully we must never forget the platitude -that our immigrant people are not Americans. They are Europeans. -Immigrant Catholics are European Catholics. In almost every country of -Continental Europe there is a Catholic party. The Catholic political -party of Germany, of France, of Italy, of Belgium, of Austria, or -of Hungary, seeks to win the elections and control the government -outright. Again, to repeat myself, is there anything strange about the -fact that when these immigrants form themselves into enormous foreign -communities in our great cities or industrial districts they should act -here just as they act in Europe? I do not think so. It is all simple -enough. Its outward effects, at least, are as easily understood as a -Mississippi flood or a San Francisco earthquake. We must either put an -end to this thing or this thing will put an end to our democracy. We -can not have a Hungarian, a Polish, an Italian, or an Irish peasant -Catholic party among us and still preserve the political system of our -American nation which has been created by three centuries of democratic -evolution. A political system run by sectarian ecclesiastics and an -Anglo-Saxon bill of rights can not live on the same soil. In these -things there can be no compromise. To surrender an inch is to surrender -all and yield to the executioner. - -As regards this whole matter, our American humility and false modesty -has already worked us great harm. These matters must at last be dragged -into the open and publicly discussed. Hence this exceedingly plain -statement. If some of our citizens wish their children to attend -parochial schools, then we want those parochial schools properly -inspected. We would like to know what textbooks are being used. The -public ought to know just how much education, and what manner of -education, the fourteen-year old immigrant boy or girl is possessed of -when he leaves school. What does this boy or girl know about himself? -How much reading and writing and arithmetic has he laid hold of? What -has he learned of American history and American institutions? We -Americans of all sections confess, not without shame, that we have -not as yet done nearly enough for public education. But the means we -have provided we wish to have used; the standards we have set, none too -high, we wish to have regarded; and what we are seeking to do for the -immigrant we would like to have fully appreciated. - -We seek for all our more recent immigrant peoples such a blending with -our people as shall find in religion and the church no hindrance to -Americanism. We expect, that, more and more, we shall be united by the -lasting bonds of a common patriotism, a common morality, and common -social ideals. We crave the development among us of such a Catholic -church as will not make intermarriage with those of other faiths -impossible or difficult. To throw such a chasm between our young people -as is never bridged by the marriage tie would be a lasting curse to our -country. Let us seek by every means to make all Christians ready for -that more perfect unity of the entire Christian church which should -ever be an ideal with all of us. - -The reader will find repeated again in this book, until it perhaps -wearies him, a certain expression. This statement represents something -which I have made fundamental in all my thinking. We Americans must -approach this and similar tasks in a spirit of the utmost fellowship -and gentleness. Our every act must partake of kindliness and -consideration. We expect to find, side by side with us in this matter, -the American part of the Catholic church. Together we shall work out -the problem and then forget it. This difficulty is, after all, but a -passing phase of our complex social process. In a generation it will -have been left behind us. The difficulties, even the tragedies, of -one century often furnishes amusement to the historians of the next. -So let us, in this thing, take thought of the morrow, too. May the -execution of the policy we have declared be everywhere so inwrought -with honorable motive and worthy purpose that presently none shall have -the slightest cause to be against us or deny to us that fellowship and -affection we seek to win from every American. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -The Terminology of The Klan - - -Diligent inquiries have been made into the peculiar terminology -used by the Klan to designate its purposes and mission. Why is the -word "Imperial" employed to characterize the chief officers of the -organization? Why is the organization designated as an "Invisible -Empire"? Does the Klan contemplate, perhaps, a nation-wide organization -that at the height of its strength means revolution and the overthrow -of our present republican form of government? These and other similar -questions--some intelligent, others less so--are being asked by both -the enemies and the friends of the Klan. - -The words "Imperial" and "Empire" find no friendly place in the -vocabulary of a democracy. Whenever used they are connected with -autocratic government and centralized power. These terms, as usually -employed, are in sharp contrast to the principles of our great American -democracy. We have everywhere and always held that imperialism is -a despicable thing, a survival of despotic power that came up from -the caveman and was exercised always by force. Germany and Russia -were the last great exponents in Europe of this imperialistic idea -of forcible conquest. Nothing has been more revolting in America -than the suggestion of centralized power by which a nation was to be -governed and directed. Even the temporary expedient of taking the -Philippine Islands into our keeping, as a necessary sequence to the -war with Spain, and holding them under military rule until the people -could be developed into approximate democracy and govern themselves, -found strenuous opponents. During all the twenty years that we have -maintained the mandate, it has caused dissatisfaction among the nations. - -[Illustration: The Imperial Symbol of the Klan] - -We of the South know only too well what the reign of the bayonet -means. The tragedy of American history was the untimely death of -Lincoln. Had he lived the story of the Reconstruction would have been -different, very different. Following the "deep damnation of his taking -off," the white race of the South was subjected to the supremest test -to which Anglo-Saxon worth was ever put in the history of the world. -The test did not result from the defeat of the Confederacy, or in the -devastation of the states over which the armies fought, or in the -appalling loss of life during the four sanguinary years. It was in the -Reconstruction period, when the armed forces of the victorious North -occupied the entire Southland and secured to the Negro a lordship over -Anglo-Saxon democracy, refinement and civilization. The mute anguish of -those years can not be put into any form of speech. But let me speak -no word of blame. My people of the South hate every form of coercive -government as they love the freedom of our great democracy. There is to -us one symbol expressing the deepest loyalty of the Klan, elevated even -above the Fiery Cross. It is the American flag. To the Klan it is the -emblem of human liberty and security, guaranteed to every citizen of -the land and signalled to all the world beyond our borders. So jealous -is the Klan of the American flag that it is unwilling to share its -place with the flag of any other nation. We are unwilling even that the -colors of the nations to whom we are bound by ties of both blood and -gratitude shall in this country mingle their colors with the American -flag. We desire no confusion in the minds of American people as they -look upon the emblematic flags of different nations as to that place -of supremacy in our loyal devotion which we hold for the American flag -alone. - -But at the same time the Klan renounces no obligations or -responsibilities to the rest of the world. We believe that the world -is moving toward "That one far-off divine event," "the Parliament -of man, the Federation of the world," but even when this greater -fraternalism of the world is consummated, we should not be willing for -our colors to be commingled with those of other nations. The emblem -that symbolizes our sacrifices and our victories, our failures and our -triumphs, and out of which our common democracy has come, must have in -our hearts no lesser place, or even an equal place, with those of other -nations. With us the place of our flag is not below, or along-side, the -flags of other peoples. It must be kept apart and above. - -We are ready to interpose our will and our strength to prevent the -strong from oppressing the weak anywhere. We are ready out of our -abundance to distribute charity to the unfortunate to the uttermost -ends of the earth, without respect to race, color or clime. We are -quite prepared to promote a great democratic evangelism to the -oppressed and downtrodden peoples of all the earth, that they too -may become conscious, through democracy, of human worth, and achieve -something of the freedom which we enjoy. Yet everywhere we shall serve -under our own colors. All the nations of the earth shall continue their -separate existence and work out their destiny under the emblems into -which have been spun and woven the distinctive characteristics of their -race and their country. All this has been relentlessly brought home to -us through the resurgence of the nations during and after the Great -War. Nothing but absolute independence would satisfy the Poles. Ireland -must be free or perish in revolutionary effort. The smaller the people, -the greater its effort to prove its right to national independence, its -capacity for a separate government. With these facts in mind it would -seem superfluous for native-born Americans to explain or defend our -spirit of patriotism and nationalism. - -The phrase "Invisible Empire" means that the Ku Klux Klan undertakes -to establish and maintain a nation-wide organization in the thought of -our people. It plans a conquest only in the realm of the invisible -where men do their thinking. The mentality of the American people is -to be awakened, stimulated, and directed. It means the sovereignty -of Americanism, of the democratic idea, in every American mind. We -plan no system of coercion or outside pressure by which the American -people are to be forced into this "Invisible Empire." I may modestly, -and not irreverently, say that the idea underlying the establishment -of the Klan and its principles in America was taken from one of the -leaders in the early Christian Church, who said that the propagation -of Christianity was without force, noise, or violence, without army -or treasury, but that the Great Leader had established an everlasting -kingdom by taking captive the thoughts of men. So the Klan holds that -anything constructed by force may be destroyed by a superior force. -Anything impressed upon unwilling subjects by outside effort may be -rejected and thrown off in the springtime of returning power. Anything -and everything that is established by such exercise of force is -marked and destined for decay and return to the dust. But that which -is once established in the deeper thought, from the spiritual need, of -mankind is indestructible because there is no manner of force that can -lay hold of it. Alexander said, "Philip, my father, gave me life, but -Aristotle taught me to think." It is not the blood of Philip, through -Alexander, that pulses in the arteries of the world's civilization -of to-day; but it is rather the thought of Aristotle, which, despite -all the Alexanders of history, runs through the story of the world's -civilization in all the lands and all the centuries. It is the idea -possessing the spirit which vitalizes all our basic institutions and -movements toward human freedom which animate the noblest endeavors of -human life. It is in the thought of the American people that the Ku -Klux Klan undertakes to establish its "Invisible Empire," mighty in its -ultimate consummations, indestructible and glorious forever. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -Symbolism of The Klan - - -Much ado has been made about the strange symbolism of the Klan. -I stated at the beginning that the regalia now in use by the -organization, like the terminology, was selected as a memorial to the -original Ku Klux Klan. It has been generally regarded as grotesque -and ghostly, designed to intimidate and terrify persons against whom -the displeasure of the Klan might be directed. But the only purpose -in adopting the white robes and incidental trimmings was to keep -in grateful remembrance the intrepid men who preserved Anglo-Saxon -supremacy in the South during the perilous period of Reconstruction. - -The regalia of the Klan, however, expresses something more in the -present organization than a mere memorial. Its symbols convey to the -initiated the highest sense of patriotism, chivalry and fraternalism. -These symbols were designed by myself during the years that I pondered -a revival of the old order, and contemplated the endangered position -of the native-born American throughout our commonwealth. Every line, -every angle, every emblem spells out to a Klansman his duty, honor, -responsibility and obligation to his fellow men and to civilization. -None of it was wrought for mere ornamentation, and none of it designed -as mere mysticism. All of it was woven into the white robes of the Ku -Klux Klan for the purpose of teaching by symbolism the very best things -in our national life. - -Emblematic robes are not uncommon to organizations of men banded -together for either religious or fraternal purposes. My affiliations -with the church and my connection with a number of fraternal orders -have convinced me that the impelling truths which grapple and hold -the loyalties and convictions of men are taught better by symbolism -than ritualism. The Roman Catholic church proclaims the authority of -its mission to the world through the insignia of its clergy and its -rulers; while its service of sacrifice and sanctity, of separation and -consecration, is expressed in the robes of its nuns and its celebrants. -In that colossal pile, St. Peter's at Rome, the most splendid edifice -of Christianity in all the world, is to be found a vast collection of -stones and gold, an array of art so magnificent that it dazzles even -the imagination, an amazing accumulation of trophies torn by conquest -from pagan temples--all symbolizing the universal dominion of the -church not only over all things material but also over all things -religious. The robes of the cathedral are elaborate and impressive -throughout all the grades and ranks of service, from the drab garb of -the keeper of the portals to the flashing parti-colored uniforms of the -Swiss guard, and on through the white, red, and black trappings of the -attendants in the inner courts to the vivid scarlet of the cardinals -and the gorgeous purple of the pope. All are designed to express some -function, or mission, or doctrine of the church in its vast system of -evangelism. - -The Anglican church of Great Britain and the Protestant Episcopal -church of America, as well as various other Protestant organizations -have found it to be impressive and inspiring for the clergy and the -sisterhood to wear robes designed to mark them as men and women set -apart for service to humanity. Perhaps the Greek Catholic Church -has the most elaborate system of teaching great religious truths by -symbolism of any other religious organization. It undertakes to convey -to the world the idea of its virility as a Christian organization by -an extensive and artistically wrought out symbolism in its robes and -insignia. - -It goes without saying that nearly all, or perhaps all, of the great -fraternal organizations of the world are characterized by the robes -they wear. There are different robes of different orders and various -robes for the same order in different degrees. These carry the message -of fraternalism in the garments that are worn. Why should we, Knights -of the Ku Klux Klan, be singled out and condemned for adopting a -symbolism altogether unique, to represent our particular service to the -age in which we live? - -Some objections, probably not wholly misdirected, have been made to the -mask that is worn by the Klan in public parades and demonstrations. -The objections would have all the more force if it were true that the -membership of the Klan were concealed from public scrutiny; but this is -not true. Every local Klan has the custody of its roster and the roster -may be given to the public at the option of the local Klan. Besides, -it is overlooked that the Ku Klux Klan is a chartered organization--in -fact twice chartered under the laws of Georgia. - -Its membership is subject to the scrutiny of the State at its will. In -addition to all this, the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan in respective -communities are well-known, responsible and representative men, and -their connection with the Klan is generally known to the community -at large. So influential and conspicuous are those men that their -leadership is a guarantee of the worthy and orderly purposes of the -Klan. However, the matter of removing the mask from the Klan whenever -it appears in public is under consideration, and it is not improbable -that the Klan will be authorized to remove the mask whenever a public -demonstration is given. - -Outrages and atrocities, expressing various forms of prejudice and -hate, have broken out in some parts of the country during the past -twelve months. Often they have been charged to the Ku Klux Klan. It -is the same old story repeating itself. During Reconstruction days -crimes were perpetrated by men wearing regalia similar to that of the -Ku Klux Klan. The government spent much time and money investigating -these crimes, and compiled altogether forty-six volumes in reports, -but wherever the perpetrators of an outrage against order and decency -were uncovered, they were found to be not Klansmen but Scalawags -and Carpet-Baggers who had used regalia like that of the Klan under -which they might enact their dual purpose of committing a crime and -blackening the reputation of the Klan. At the recent investigation in -Washington numerous crimes were charged to the present-day order of -the Ku Klux. These had been heralded in startling stories by the press -throughout the land. I vigorously denied that a single crime had ever -been committed by the authority of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. I -repeat that it is not an order that can tolerate or condone disorder, -violence or lawlessness. It pledges itself now and always, here and -everywhere, to the protection of society under constituted authority. -It holds itself in readiness to serve the best interests of society, -not despite the law, but always under the law and through the law. - -Symbolism teaches the great principles of life, and being, and destiny, -better than any form of speech. There is in human nature an element of -mysticism that responds to suggestion and intimation when no logic or -philosophy could reach it. The mightiest movements in our human nature, -those which transform the character and transfigure the spirit, have -their seat in a realm deeper than where man does his thinking or even -his willing. It is in that part of human nature where the loyalties -and affections, the prejudices and the passions are kept, and it is -only the mystical, the mysterious, the intangible that can reach these -forces in human nature, arouse them, and put them into action. It is -poetry and art and music that move and stir the best that is in us and -make us conscious of what we may do and be. It is not strange then that -symbolism has been used by the church in order to stimulate reverence -and devotion; that it has been used by lodges to awaken fraternalism -and humanism; and that it has been used by every great patriotic -organization to arouse passion for native land and freedom. Indeed, -every cause that has ever lived and flourished in the world, whether -religious, fraternal, or patriotic, has been highly spiritualized and -all the fiery forces of the inner man have been elicited and organized -in its service. There must be in every real movement something of the -fervor of the Crusaders. Without this every spiritual effort of man, -whether great or small, has had its ardor grow cold and the bright -light of its enthusiasm go out in darkness. - -What, indeed, could be more appealing to the finer things in human -nature than the fiery cross? "By that symbol we conquer." It carries -the idea of illumination and sacrifice. It symbolizes a love that -lights the way to the noblest service; it symbolizes a service that -is impelled by a burning love. Here lies the only way forward. The -world's amelioration is proclaimed by the glowing cross. We sometimes -think of the cross as remote, as belonging to the past, as an -isolated event. The cross is now and here, and it is an essential -part in the advancement of the world's civilization. It means, in -the highest sense, freedom--the freedom of all mankind. But there is -no emancipation in all the world that comes as a gratuity. Wherever -human life is freed a ransom price must be paid. When it comes to the -liberation of human thought and the breaking of chains from immortal -souls, there is no ransom that will pay the price except that into -which men mint their lives, and out of which they coin their higher -selves. All this and more the fiery cross of the Ku Klux Klan conveys -to the Klansman. It means the supreme agony of love through the -sacrifice of life, to the end that freedom and democracy may be secured -to all mankind forever. - -[Illustration: Stone Mountain--The Klan Rendezvous] - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -The Rendezvous - - -Once a year, to be exact, on the sixth day of May, the Klan from -all over the country makes a pilgrimage to Stone Mountain. Men from -every walk and station in life leave their daily pursuits and journey -to the Klonvocation. They come from the pulpit, the schoolroom, the -market, the bank, the mine, the factory, the shop, the farm, and -from high offices of public trust and authority, and meet at this -unique rendezvous. Stone Mountain is sixteen miles south of Atlanta. -The place of assembly is not without interest. It is a huge boulder -compacted into solid granite and thrown up, ages ago, by some terrific -convulsion. The stone is three miles in circumference and something -more than a mile in altitude by the trail leading to its summit. Its -frowning and forbidding front is scant of foliage. Soil which the winds -have brought and deposited in its crevices and on its craggy sides -has no deepness. Adventurous shrubs and trees that have sprung up from -time to time have been beaten back by sun and storm because they had -no anchorage in the earth. To this mountain boulder of solid granite -the Klan resorts for comradeship and consecration. The pilgrimage is -not unlike that conjectured by a noble and worthy order which takes its -initiates to the far East, travels them through the unmarked desert, -over blistering sands, and under a sky of brass, while the breath of -the winds is like that of a furnace, scorching the weary pilgrims as -step by step they fight on to the Mecca. The Klansmen make their way -along the poorly defined and jagged trail of Stone Mountain, climbing -upward, always upward, every step taken requiring a step higher, until, -among the elderly members, the last ounce of fortitude and endurance -is expended in the ascent to the top. There on the bald crest, far -above the insistent clamor and demands of daily life men are alone -with each other and in the presence of the infinite. It has sometimes -seemed to us to be a place where two eternities met, the past giving -its solemn command to the men so isolated and elevated, and the future -beckoning them on to still further achievement. First, there comes a -sense of tranquillity. The men look out upon the peace and harmony of -the stars and seem to feel in their souls something of the strength -and orderliness of the planets in their courses. Then comes, during -our preliminary ceremonies, a moment of marvelous moral tension and -exhilaration. The vast throng, with upturned faces, deeply moved to -eloquent agony of speechless prayer, catches a glorious inspiration. It -comes upon the multitude as a wind moving gently through the forests in -the autumn time. Every soul is thrilled. In this conscious moment each -man feels as if he were in a holy temple consecrating all that he is -and all that he has to a great cause. In response to his dedication, -new and secret divine forces begin to stir in his consciousness. I -have looked upon the whole assembly of strong men, a few of whom had -jeopardized life unto death on the fields of war in the Sixties, and -a larger number of younger men who had just carried themselves like -demigods in the fierce fighting in France, and I have seen the tears -rush unbidden from their eyes and trickle down their cheeks, while -here and there a sob that could not be controlled shook the frame of a -man unafraid of either life or death. It is the time and place where -all pettiness and meanness is submerged and washed out by the great -surge of the profoundest sense of human worth. It is a moment in which -all hates and animosities and prejudices die and in which love and -sacrifice and altruism are reborn. It is a time in which all that is -coarse and unchaste and unrefined in human life is consumed by a holy -passion, and all that is noble and courteous and divine is made regnant. - -In the execution of such ceremonies, the Klan evidences its practical -nature and its concrete knowledge. Americans can not be aroused by -the mere citation of facts. Our minds are stuffed unto bursting with -facts. We want action. And we do not propose to wait a generation -as has been so often the case, and then weep because it is too late -to act. We seek to draw the souls of men into a service which means -sacrifice. This service is vital to the nation, and essential to -the salvation of our civilization. The language of symbolism is the -language of the soul. - -The Klan disperses, goes back to mingle with men, to meet all the -stresses and the exigencies of life. But in each man there is a light -that never before fell on sea or shore, that will lie upon the task -that he is set to do, and, however hard and menial it may be, will -transform that work into a beatitude. More than this: We have daily -evidence that this light, in honor, kindness and charity, falls upon -our fellow men along the pathway that they and we walk together. Surely -there can be no hidden dangers in the assembling of men under such -conditions, impelled by such motives, capable of such inspiration. - -If we undertake to build or maintain a civilization in which the -moral and social idealisms of men are not mixed with the mortar in -the structure, we shall most surely build for decline and decay. But -if Americanism becomes a holy cause in which the souls of men are -enlisted, in which service of our country and our country's service of -the world is made first and foremost, then we shall build an empire -indestructible; because, mingled with the cruder material there will be -the elements that are everlasting. In such workmanship alone can there -be security for those American institutions which we seek to save by -the consecration of all we have and all we are. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -Democracy as a Social System is on Trial - - -In a preceding chapter I stated that we Americans are barely -reproducing our numbers on our own soil. In comparison with the colored -and foreign elements our percentage is every year being reduced. -In full view, within a few decades at most, lies the new America. -Perhaps it has been fear of giving offense to others, more likely it -has been pure carelessness and individual selfishness on our part, -which has prevented us from discussing our country of to-morrow. The -new America, if the present tendencies continue, will be a nation -composed of a majority of American white farmers only in the middle -western and plains states. Black farmers will ultimately predominate -throughout the coastal regions of the South and the Mississippi Delta, -and Japanese farmers will rapidly multiply their numbers on the Pacific -coast. But the ever-increasing city population already numbers over -half the nation. This city population in the North and East contains -to-day about fifteen per cent. of original Americans. Presently this -diminishing element will count only a few capitalists and professional -persons. The majority of the business class, even, will be composed -of Greeks, Jews, Germans, Italians and their descendants. The great -working class of the cities is even now composed of two elements. -First, there are the skilled workers, mainly British, Irish, Germans, -and Scandinavians, with their immediate descendants. The unskilled -working people of the cities, always tending to submerge the skilled, -are composed of Italians, Negroes, Slavs, Jews, French-Canadians, and -thirty-odd other elements from the south and east of Europe and from -Asia. Recently seventy-two Americans, members of a literary club, in -a small industrial town in New York, took a census of their children. -They discovered, much to their surprise that altogether they were -rearing exactly fourteen offspring. Meanwhile fourteen children is not -an uncommon number at all for an Italian or French-Canadian couple to -add to the citizenship of our country. - -Questions arise here which it is quite necessary for us to answer at -once. Why, indeed, do we Americans lay such great store by our peculiar -racial heritage? Are not our recent immigrants, taken as a whole, as -"good" as we? If we do not desire to bring children into the world, -should not our country be left to others who are willing to undertake -the responsibilities of parenthood? Hence, why are we not disposed to -accept our dissolution silently and go to the grave with a smile? - -The answer to these questions is implied in the title of this article. -It is the cherished belief of the members of the Knights of the Ku Klux -Klan that democracy--democracy in all its aspects, the social spirit -of democracy, the practice of democracy, the regeneration of the soul -of mankind through democracy--that this is the greatest of all values -created by modern civilization. We hold further that the part played by -the American people in the evolution of democracy has been of primary -importance. Despite all our mistakes, and they have been many, we have -succeeded. And our success, even with its limitations, has been, we -fully believe, as a light and as a leading to all the world. It was our -glorious privilege to unlock the prison door of France when our sister -republic was first created in the French Revolution. It was largely the -success of universal, white, male suffrage in America which impelled -our brethren of the British Empire to undertake the same colossal -experiment. No doubt our history has been the subject of far too much -fervid eloquence and vain boasting. We have not often hesitated to tell -all the world about ourselves. Here I am seeking merely to state the -simple facts, because without them the standpoint and argument of the -Knights of the Ku Klux Klan could not be understood. - -Among the most false of theories which sane minds ever gave themselves -over to believing, has been that which claims that the democratic -system, if only put on trial, will work among any people at any time. -Indeed, many persons otherwise well informed still accept this folly. -They believe that democracy is a sort of "universal truth." All that we -must do is to preach it to all mankind as a sort of saving gospel. All -the heathen need do is to accept it, believe it, and forthwith practice -it. Oh, vanity of vanities! It has been three hundred years since the -English Bill of Rights was signed by King James First and nearly one -hundred and fifty years since our American Declaration of Independence. -And now the Great War has ended with our seeking to ram democracy down -the throats of nations which do not want it. What blows in the face our -optimism receives from the simplest facts of history! One hundred and -thirty years ago the French revolutionists attempted to pull down every -throne in Europe and plant democracy in every land. And then only -seven years ago the hosts of the Kaiser made their plunge toward Paris -in order to destroy the French Republic and establish absolutism and -kultur in its place. - -No! The practice of democracy does not spread around the world as -rapidly as we can tell people how nice it is and how much we like it -ourselves. Democracy has been a slow, delicate and perishable growth -among a specific group of Europeans. These peoples have been much -favored through a peculiar heritage. No doubt, ages ago, it took the -ancestors of man a long, long time to stand upright. Some quadrupeds -seem to have tried but never could learn the new method, so they still -amble along half the time on all fours. So to-day it seems to take a -considerable period for the masses to learn how to rule themselves -successfully. Yet we ought not to be utterly discouraged. If the facts -indicate that some peoples can never learn, that is no reason at all -why we should surrender our own learning and growth in order to be -equal again with the weaker brethren. - -Democracy is on trial. It is on trial in America just as much as -anywhere else. It is being weighed and revalued before the whole -world. We have seen many a European people after being overurged to -accept a republican form of government, again returning to autocracy. -The Greek majority which recently voted to bring back the Kaiser's -ally, King Constantine, and the Kaiser's sister, the Queen, was rather -staggering in its size. If a vast majority of the Greeks in their -home country joyously accept monarchy and Hohenzollernism, how can -we expect our Greek immigrants here in the United States to enthuse -over our republican institutions? They come, like others, as everybody -knows, to avail themselves of the opportunity to advance their material -interests. This has been true with the majority of our immigrants for -over fifty years. Who, indeed, can blame them for taking advantage of -economic conditions in America? Indeed, these immigrants of every -sort and kind are well within their rights. If some of them seem to -make too much money out of us, is it not because some of our employing -class first urged their coming in order to make money out of them? We -brought them in because we thought they would be cheap and profitable -to us. Some of them have proved in the long run to be very dear and -unprofitable. - -Let me here make a general observation regarding the attitude of -my colleagues and myself in connection with this whole matter of -immigration. Where, in these chapters, mention is made of any -particular race or group of immigrants, not the slightest offense is -intended. But too often our squeamish fear of giving offense to the -over-sensitive has prevented our discussing this most crucial of our -national problems. Everyone feels free to-day to discuss Russia, to -investigate Russia, to come to conclusions with reference to what is -being done in Russia, and to make suggestions as to a Russian policy. -Why, then, we ask in the name of all common sense, should it be an -offense to anyone to discuss the millions of Russians who live in the -United States? How do they make a living, and what is their percentage -of national increase? Are they or are they not desirable immigrants? -The same holds good of the Germans, the Irish, and of every other -racial element which is increasing among us. All this is interesting -to us and greatly important. It is interesting and important in more -ways than one. What the immigrants may and should demand, what the -Negro or the Japanese are quite right in demanding of us, is that we -as native-born, white Americans should discuss these questions of -population in a way that is at once honorable and kindly. We must -stick to the facts. We may indulge neither in slander nor in base -insinuation. Those of our immigrant population who have been received -into citizenship may ask especial consideration. We, of the Klan, on -our part propose to bring facts in support of a policy. There may be -those who wish to disagree with us publicly. If so, we shall expect to -be asked to consider only facts brought in rebuttal. As man to man, -marshalling fact for fact, let us sit down together and seek to sift -this matter to the bottom. - -[Illustration: The Emperor Addressing First Imperial Klonvokation.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -Our Cities a Menace to Democracy - - -Referring again to the menace of the American city to American -institutions, I desire to remind the reader of the thought of some -of our most profound thinkers on the great problems of democracy. -Some of these views expressed at different periods of our history -were prophetic, and some of them were conclusions, as though the -visions of the seers were being fulfilled. In the early days of the -republic when there were no great cities in our country and when the -tide of immigration had just begun to flow to our shores and settle -in the growing centers along the Atlantic seaboard, Mr. Jefferson -said, "The American city is a cancer on the body politic." He seemed -to foresee, at the very beginning of the republic, the deadly poison -of anti-democracy generated among the alien people congested in our -cities. In 1866 Wendell Phillips, a powerful advocate of emancipation, -said, after the great conflict was ended and the Negroes free, "The -time is coming when the American city will strain the government -as slavery never did." He, too, foresaw the virus which the city -would spread to the entire nation, attacking and consuming the great -principles of democracy upon which the republic was founded. In recent -years, Lord Bryce, Ambassador of Great Britain to the United States, -after years of study and careful investigation, wrote that classic -entitled "The American Commonwealth." In this work there was much -commendation of American institutions, but the book was not without -candid criticism. He said that "the conspicuous failure of American -democracy is in its great cities." The clear meaning of the eminent -Englishman was that the American people remained really democratic -only in the rural sections and the villages. Already conglomerate -population from every clime and shore had destroyed democracy in our -congested centers. Only recently Mr. H.G. Wells, one of the most -conspicuous, progressive thinkers in the world, looked upon New -York with its seething millions, heard its Babel of languages, felt -its delirious fever, and then calmly announced that Petrograd in its -rust and desolation was a picture of New York in the future. In our -greatest city, this profound student of social and political life saw -unmistakable evidence of the real and seething madness of Bolshevism -which meant the overthrow and the utter collapse of all things -democratic. - -We are told to-day (1920) that millions of workers in our great cities -are unemployed. I reflect at once upon the figures which are placed -before us. In round numbers we have, this winter, about six millions of -unnaturalized foreign working people living in our cities, and almost -exactly the same number of employed on our hands. What would they have -us do? Are six millions more to come to us and thus give us a total of -twelve millions of unemployed? What would these people all do for a -living? There are simply not enough jobs in the cities for them, and -it seems evident that there will not be in our generation. It is these -masses, which, by sheer force of number, gave us the present insoluble -problem of the city. Our cities can maintain their large populations -only if the country population is increased to supply them food and raw -materials on the one hand, and with markets on the other. - -Overgrown cities are in themselves a menace. When the surplus is -composed of unassimilated and unemployed aliens the menace is -doubled,--nay, it is multiplied tenfold. The great city as at present -constructed and conducted corrodes the very soul of our American -life. Factory work, with every new invention of automatic machinery, -progressively selects those who are more and more unfit to be -Americans. A factory manager in Chicago recently amended a new rule for -the selection of employees. He would hire no blondes. The big blonde -people, he said, "would not stay at their machines until the whistle -blew." He was evidently hunting for a people who could be trained -never to move a foot, or an eye, for ten hours a day. The growth of -an American is ordinarily impossible under the conditions of either -great wealth or great poverty. The city simply can not furnish the -character-building elements which must needs go into the making of an -American. Every American child should be born to a vast heritage. This -heritage should include a fine healthy parentage, clean birth, gentle -care, proper nourishment and opportunity for play and education in the -open country. - -Is there no cause for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan among the robust, -native-born folk of the countryside? Is not the menace of the city to -our ideals and institutions an urgent demand for the organization of -our unspoiled rural life to save the nation from infection by the great -cities? - -It may be that we are too late in starting this movement of "America -for Americans and Americans for America." No doubt it should have been -begun thirty years ago. But if we can find some method by which, after -ten years of entire rejection, immigration can be narrowly and rigidly -restricted, and by which the surplus population can be distributed -over the vast, uncultivated area of our great country, and slowly -wrought into our social life, there is yet a hope left for our country. -But if alien populations are permitted, as in the past, to flood our -land, colonize in our great cities, and propagate their kind with such -amazing rapidity, while only native-born Americans continue to till -the soil and propagate their kind in an appallingly decreasing ratio, -then our country is lost and everything the fathers strove to build for -posterity will sooner or later be wiped out. We do not in the least -seek to hide the fact that the Ku Klux Klan is making a last stand for -America as the home of Americans and Americanism. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -The Failure of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe - - -To the average country-born American the period of the war has been -a time of painful disillusionment. There may have been among us some -who, before the war, had some accurate knowledge of what was going on -in the world; but the great mass of Americans were very much shocked -by the succeeding event. We took the statements of the leaders of the -people in Germany and Russia at their face value. It seems to me to be -very much worth while, at present, to trace the various events by which -we were led into knowing what central and eastern Europe were really -thinking and doing. Let us recall our first period of disappointment. -We had always believed that the parties of the people in Germany, -especially the great social-democratic party, had the power to prevent -the Kaiser from undertaking a war of conquest. The declaration of war -was to be the signal for a revolution and the creation of a republic. -This was rather taken for granted, without investigation, by reading -people all over the world. When we saw the entire German nation, with -hardly an exception, turn quite insane with the war spirit, we sat back -and wondered what this people was really like. - -It was also a generally accepted theory among us that the German -immigrants who came to us had left Germany because they disliked -the tyranny of its government. Then, in 1914, with a suddenness -that quite took our breath away, came the propaganda of "Kultur." -The entire German nation, through every means it had of speaking to -the outside world, informed us blandly that it possessed a system -of society infinitely more efficient and desirable than democracy. -"It is Germany's duty under God," wrote Bernhardi, "to give her -superior culture (Kultur) to all inferior peoples." Indeed, the war -itself was generally interpreted by Germans as an act of charity and -self-sacrifice upon their part. At the time the idea was so new to us -that it took us just three years to really comprehend what was going on -in Europe. Even President Wilson, in 1916, declared publicly that we -did not know the real causes of the War. - -We may or may not have completely destroyed the Germany autocracy; but -we may be sure we have by no means done with the system of Kultur. -It is all too easily put into practice. The stupendous machinery and -organizations of modern industry presents a perfect maze of social -problems for solution. Kultur is, by far, the easiest way out. The -direction of the whole business of life is simply turned over to a -"great man" or to a small clique. People everywhere are naturally lazy -and morally irresponsible. For the thinking and characterful minority -there come times of mental anguish and disillusionment. To-day the -times tempt us to despair. We are almost driven to lose faith in the -majority and so in government by the majority. "Why not try a change," -"it could not be worse;" we hear it said on every hand. So, perhaps, -we in America may yet try Kultur. Certainly we shall if we again have -unrestricted immigration. When democracy fails, some form of monarchy -will be our only salvation from oligarchy; and an oligarchy is more -dangerous to freedom than monarchy. A monarchy, with our peculiar -industrial development and our great propertyless masses, means Kultur. - -In the midst of the Great War came the Russian revolution. We sat -back and said, "How fine! Now they are going to follow our example -by building a great Russian Republic, which will soon break down the -German autocracy." Even now most of us do not begin to understand what -has really happened. What we do know is that the Bolshevists have not -only created a state of universal starvation, disease, and despair -throughout Russia, but they have also tried to spread their system -throughout Europe and the world. To this end they have made foreign -war and conducted an enormous and costly world propaganda. As I write -we learn that, while we were voting credits and collecting funds for -the starving in Russia, they were paying $30,000 to a single agent to -execute a single murderous bomb-plot in New York City. - -In our last chapter we quoted Mr. H. G. Wells's statement that New York -City will be the next Petrograd. This observation can be, by no means, -taken jocularly. Go in our present course, and Bolshevism will be, in -all our larger cities and industrial districts, the natural alternative -for monarchy. Compelled to choose between the two, our original -American people will probably divide and civil war will result. Lenine -and Trotsky did not create Bolshevism. Bolshevism grew as naturally -as a rank weed on a dunghill. It sprang from ignorance and poverty -and despair. It will appear wherever ignorance, poverty and despair -are mixed together. Quite likely we shall have, with unrestricted -immigration, a Bolshevist revolution first, then monarchy and Kultur. - -A great many persons are disposed to compare the present state of -central and eastern Europe with the conditions in France at the time -of the French Revolution. I, for one, am not at all impressed by this -easy explanation. The French Revolutionists represented and advocated -a movement toward democracy for all Europe. Both the Germans and -Russians have burst out upon us shouting that, in their peculiar system -of tyranny and slavery, they had something better than democracy to -proffer us. The average reading American throws up his hands and cries, -"What in Heaven's name, will China next urge upon us, or Africa?" - -What has happened to us is, after all, upon reflection, quite simple. -We are placed on the defensive for democracy. And we have wisely given -over trying to urge our point of view and our peculiar system upon -those who not only reject it but openly despise it. No doubt this has -been a severe shock to our ancient national conceit. Let me again -emphasize that democracy seems to be, for the present, limited to the -boundaries of certain peculiar nations. Other peoples may evolve into -democracy later. But their steps will be slow. Their experience will be -gained gradually. We can not help them much, if at all, by urging them -merely to follow our example. Meanwhile, if there be anything precious -in democracy for us, we had better bestir ourselves to save what we -have left of it. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -Foreign Outposts in the United States - - -Four distinct national elements in the United States showed, in -lesser or greater part, disloyalty and pro-Germanism during the War. -These were the Germans, the Jewish Bolsheviki, the Sinn-Feiners, and -the French-Canadians. Of course these four were no different from -most other foreign-speaking elements. Only their standpoints and -loyalties were clearly brought out by the war--that was all. Italian or -Portuguese, Greek or Slav, in case their home country had been lined up -against the United States, would have acted in just the same way. - -Here we must touch upon a fact which is pretty widely known or taken -for granted. There is a fundamental difference between this later -immigration and that of the middle portion of the nineteenth century. -The Germans, Hungarians, and Italians of 1848-70, for instance, -came to America for the same reason as most of the original British -and Irish. They were seeking freedom and democracy. Their purposes -were idealistic. They sought in the new country not only economic -opportunity but political liberty which were denied them in the old. -They were Americans at heart before they left their old home. - -The new immigration is totally different. This later swarm has come -mostly to get jobs and money. Among them, no doubt, there are a few -who are gifted with qualities of mind and character which make this -description inapplicable. I am referring to the many, not the few. -In Southern and Eastern Europe they form the lowest grade of the -working class and include a large percentage of beggars and peddlers, -of thieves and criminals. The average immigrant of this sort has -been accustomed to a condition of poverty unknown to, and almost -unimaginable to, the average American. His physical standards of living -are such as to make his competition with the original American worker -unfair and deadly. Great masses of them have come without the slightest -intention of remaining with us and adopting American standards. Herded -together under the most unsanitary conditions, hoarding up their wages -with a greed incomprehensible to an American, crowds of them rush back -to the country of their origin as soon as their savings are sufficient -for their purposes. Meanwhile they are replaced by others until the -standards of living of the American-born wage-earners are hopelessly -undermined. Each immigrant who comes to us under these conditions -prevents the founding of an American home and the birth of American -children. Let us hasten to add that their coming and going can not in -any way be held as an accusation against themselves. Responsibility -lies entirely with us. Employers who bring them over, or prevent their -rejection, under the conditions stated, are guilty of a monstrous crime -against civilization. This crime is comparable to only one other in -our history--the African slave-trade of the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries. - -[Illustration: Where the Water Gushes From the Rock Klansmen Assemble -Each Year to Drink the Libation of Fellowship.] - -Meanwhile every conception and institution upon which our social and -political life is established is torn from its mooring and broken up by -the force of the inpouring waves. In Southern and Eastern Europe and -in the Near East, these masses are, or have been, until very recently, -ruled as they were in the Middle Ages. Rebellion against tyrants to -them means acceptance of Anarchism or Bolshevism, or at least German -state Socialism. East of the Rhine and south of the Alps they are -capable at present only of running wildly about from one tyranny to -another, from one stupid blunder to another and back again. If this -population in Europe is proving itself to be totally incompetent -to govern itself, how can we expect it to take an intelligent and -useful part in all the complexities of democracy here? If a million -Hungarians, for instance, have failed at every point of the political -compass in Hungary, how, in Heaven's name, can we expect them to -succeed in New York or Chicago? That mass of Hungarians, like Italians -and Germans, like Jews and Greeks, induces the vilest sort of boss -rule. They are largely kept away from our public schools by clerical -opposition to our school system. A slave population in Europe, they -become a slave population here. Politically they are the willing tools -of every hidden and dangerous force at work in our public life. - -It is no part of my purpose to arouse, in the slightest degree, hatred -of these people. Many of them are kind, innocent, simple, unknowing -creatures. As strangers in a strange land, they deserve every degree -of consideration, every means of help at our hands, which it is in our -power to give to them. Their natural inclination, as well as their -great numbers, are responsible for that separation from us which the -foreign quarter implies. The continued use of foreign languages, and -the clinging to foreign customs, are things which should never have -been tolerated on our soil. By herding together they bring up their -children in a foreign atmosphere, thus perpetuating and increasing the -weaknesses and dangers which they have brought into our national life. -I used the word "increasing" advisedly. In Europe each unit of this -backward and inept mass of poor is merged in a nation which understands -him and where he, in turn, somewhat understands his surroundings. But -segregated by language and nationality here, they are broken away from -their old moorings without binding themselves to the new. In the old -world they are led politically, sometimes, by men of education and -ideals. With us they fall easy prey to any fool and fakir and dishonest -representative of the political machine or vicious interest which may -seek to prey upon them and mislead them. - -A few particular facts concerning propagandistic activities among our -immigrant population may be illuminating if set down together. During -the war the pro-Germans organized and conducted a most elaborate and -expensive propaganda among our Ukrainian immigrants. This was done in -order to weaken Russia at home, both before and after the revolution. - -Sinn-Fein Irish, because of their inveterate hatred of the British, -were in many cases used to spread pro-German propaganda. This was -effectual both before and after we went into the war. - -A very large percentage of the Russian Jews in New York City and -elsewhere were, at the beginning of the war, pro-German because -they were anti-Russian. After we entered the war they were bitterly -anti-American because they were pro-Bolshevist. No possible turn of -events could make them take a pro-American position upon any issue -under the sun. This is the element, by the way, which used funds from -Russia to carry on its pro-Bolshevistic propaganda among our Negroes. -In certain places, including New York City, it urged the Negroes to -arm themselves and fight the whites. - -The French-Canadian immigrants among us number, with their children, -nearly half a million. During the war they were, strange as it may -seem, anti-French. The French-Canadian population is completely -dominated, politically, socially and intellectually, by their clergy. -These clericals still hate France and the French Government because the -French Revolution overthrew the power of the Roman Church in France. -They still belong to the ancient regime. So they naturally took the -side of the ancient regime, the German side. Among us, they were -largely passive. In Canada they actively opposed every war activity of -their government from start to finish of the war. - -Of the Asiatics there are two main elements--the Japanese and the East -Indians. Of the East Indians there are not many, but their number is -steadily increasing. They are being widely used to stir up an Indian -revolution against the British Empire. Whether this is or is not -justified we are not discussing here. The point is that this foreign -element is using America as a vantage-point from which to make war upon -another country. - -Finally, we come to the Japanese. Here we find the climax of this -whole matter. The religion of the Japanese immigrants is, primarily, -Mikado-worship. Sums of money to build the temples for this delectable -form of religious expression are furnished largely by the Japanese -government. When we ponder these facts we may well ask whether we as a -nation do not ourselves require a guardian. We resemble a five-year old -child with a purse full of money, sitting in a poker game with greedy -and astute gamblers. To carry our sentimentalism so far, to overwork -the theory of the brotherhood of man to such an extent as this, is -to court total disaster. We as a nation are asleep because selfish, -corrupt and designing interests among us have drugged us out of our -senses. These great interests want cheap labor. They are aided in their -designs by a crowd of well-meaning but ignorant sentimentalists, most -of whom do not dream that they are helping to destroy our American -nation in order to experience an emotional satisfaction. The employers -get their cheap labor, and the sentimentalists their self-satisfaction. -We, the foolish majority, are losing our freedom and our country. If -the facts do not cry us into action, why multiply words? All America -is hoping, praying and preparing for peace with Japan. But to further -permit even the smallest amount of Japanese immigration will surely -tend to war. In the event of war any American in Japan will undoubtedly -take the side of his own country. We shall fully expect him to do so. -For the same reason the hundred and fifty thousand Japanese in our -own country will prove to be a hundred and fifty thousand skillful -and resolute enemies. Making an American out of a Japanese under the -conditions above described is as impossible as making a sheep out of -a goat, or a dog out of a cat. As to whether or not we are superior -to the Japanese, is not the matter at issue here. The important fact -right here is that we differ greatly from each other in the basic -things of life, and these differences are largely inherited qualities. -Furthermore, these differences must surely make Japanese amalgamation -with our people wholly undesirable. Such a mixture of bloods runs -counter to a fundamental principle of biology which all high-school -children learn as a matter of course. The offspring of such a blending -of widely different stocks are likely to be unstable in mind. In -general they can not qualify as to either the physical, mental or moral -standards of either race. In amalgamation there is likely to be a loss -from the standards of either side. - -The Japanese child in the United States is sent to a school owned and -controlled by the Japanese Government. There he is taught the language, -ideals and duty of an abject subject of the Mikado. Finally, the -Japanese birth rate in California is sixty-nine per thousand annually, -the white birth rate nineteen per thousand. - -"But the pure descendants of the Japanese immigrants may surely change -and become real Americans," I hear somebody saying. Meanwhile, we -have just been informed that the son of German parents in Cincinnati, -who had accepted a Captain-Surgeon's commission in our army and gone -to France had not been perfectly Americanized. The fellow was hanged -for inoculating our soldiers with disease germs instead of typhoid -serum. This creature was born and reared not in the United States, but -in the German section of Cincinnati. With this in mind we expect to -Americanize the Japanese, the very breath of whose intense religious -emotion is the sacred worship of their absolute and august ruler, the -Mikado! - -Be it a million Russians or a million Japanese, a million Italians or -a million French-Canadians--either their importation or their birth -upon our soil prevents by the stifling force of economic competition -the birth of a million Americans. In the name of Almighty God and our -country, what has become of our brains? These facts are enough to make -any of us not totally bereft of his senses to go into the highways and -the byways crying for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, or if some man -has a better plan for safeguarding the nation conjuring him in God's -name to proclaim it. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -The Racial Limitations of Democracy - - -Democracy is the practice of self-government by the people. It is the -rule of law instead of persons; of the majority instead of the minority -or individual. As a system both of government and social life it has -but recently been either widely accepted in theory or established in -practice. A short three hundred years mark its very real advance in the -modern world. Only during the past hundred years has majority rule been -accepted as desirable or possible among a very few of the more advanced -countries. If we examine the political map of the world we find that -the triumphs of democracy are limited to but a few nations. We may -generalize by observing that a very few nations have but recently -succeeded in making democracy work. - -What part is democracy likely to play in various quarters of the world -during our present century? Are we to see, now that Europe and Asia -are torn from end to end by revolutions, a sudden adaptation of all -these backward peoples to the democratic method? All recognize that we -are just now going through one of the greatest of revolutionary periods -in history. Maybe the millenium of universal freedom and democracy is -even now at hand. Let us see. - -The practice of political democracy to-day is practically limited to -two main groups of nations--the English-speaking and the Latin. Of the -latter group, Spain alone tarries in the Middle Ages. Besides these we -have Holland and the three Scandinavian countries, which, while ruled -by kings, are democratic in both thought and practice. In a previous -chapter we have described the pitiful surrender of the German people -to absolute monarchy and state socialism, and their recent trembling -efforts toward freedom, as well as the sad miscarriage of the attempted -democratic revolution in Russia. - -Beyond the limits of Europe, the two Americas, and English-speaking -colonies over seas, there is little enough hope for the growth of -democracy anywhere in the immediate future. The most fulsome optimism -can not expect the Chinese republic to succeed in our day. For a long -time in the future, as in the past, the "white man's burden" is going -to include practically the whole of Asia and Africa. - -The limitations of democracy are set by many considerations. These -involve first the state of biological evolution in which a particular -race finds itself; second, the particular history of the particular -country under discussion. The African Negro can not realize democracy -to-day because he is psychically, and hence morally unfitted for its -responsibilities. The cause here is biological. The German people are -the first cousins of the English, being much the same in blood. The -difference between the two peoples are not biological, but historical. - -Democracy in practice requires certain mental and moral qualities. The -most outstanding among these are intellectual acumen and a knowledge -of public affairs. Among the moral essentials are a spirit of good -sportsmanship, a profound regard for the rules of common honesty, and -above all, a fine sense of personal honor. Democracy must be based -upon character. Every qualification we have mentioned necessitates a -large measure of economic freedom; for without this, the individual -is enslaved and driven in things political. They imply, also, freedom -from tyranny of intermeddling by any religious power. Unity of church -and state, or the interference in politics by a religious organization -for ulterior purposes, makes true democracy impossible. The individual -citizen must always have perfect freedom of political choice. For the -masses in any nation to acquire these qualities is to place that nation -in the very front rank of the world's political civilization. - -We now come to the most important element of all. In any well ordered -democratic country there must be a high degree of unity in both the -thought and feeling of the people. There is a principle of mechanics -involved here. If the machine is to run at all, its parts must -function together properly. If it is to run smoothly, without mishap -of any sort, then those parts must have been most carefully fitted -and adjusted together. If a population is seriously divided along -lines of race, language, religion, or social classes, in just so far -is a working democracy made difficult. Given enough differences and -the machine breaks down. For instance, Switzerland is often cited as -a country where democracy works even though the people are divided -into three language groups. Nothing is more untrue. In Switzerland -the entire population is united because almost everybody uses two or -three languages in common instead of one. Religious differences among -the Swiss are not dangerous to democracy because church and state are -completely separated, and it is taken for granted that no church shall -meddle in the slightest degree in political affairs. - -Any larger disunity robs a nation of its hope of democracy. Witness -the peculiar failure in the democratic effort in Russia, where the -fanatical sect of Bolsheviki has set up a dictatorship in the name of -the wage-working class alone. What a lesson can be learned from Poland, -where religious difficulties have recently resulted in bloody riots; -or in Italy, where Nationalists, Socialists, Communists and Catholics, -each organized into a party, have recently gone out seeking the blood -of one or more of the opponents. In this the famous words of Lincoln -forever come into mind. "A house divided against itself can not stand. -This nation can not endure half slave and half free. It will be all the -one thing or all the other." Democracy in America has been successful -hitherto because we have been enabled, first and last, at whatever -sacrifices, to preserve our national unity. - -[Illustration: THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE - -Where Country, Our Home, The Klan and Each Other are Secured] - -Democracy is limited to those nations whose citizens possess these -peculiar and lofty qualifications of mind and character. It is limited -to nations which are blessed with unity and solidarity among its -people. It is further limited to nations which have grown into the -practice of democracy during long experience. Instead of asking what -nations and peoples are likely to fail at democracy, we had better -start by inquiring as to what few nations are fortunate enough to -possess all of these qualifications which, taken together, make -democracy possible. - -Democracy, we shall all agree, can not develop among the Australian -bushmen. It will not develop among the gypsies. It will not develop, -for a long time, among the African Negroes. Democracy will grow slowly -among the white peoples of central and eastern Europe. It will probably -grow much more slowly among the brown and yellow peoples of Asia. We -can best advance the cause of democracy in our time by saving it and -developing it in those countries where it has been already pretty well -established. Surely the greatest possible service we can render the -cause of democracy among the peoples not yet wholly fitted for its -practice is to give them a high and striking example of its success -in our own country. The supreme battle for democracy in this our day -is taking place in the minds and hearts of American citizens. There -is no immediate cause for doubt and worry concerning the preservation -of democracy in Great Britain and France. There is cause for deepest -concern in our own country, whose democracy is threatened from every -side, by greedy and designing powers above, as by a great mass of -incompetent, unprincipled and undemocratic voters from below. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -The American Negro as Ward of The Nation - - -Grover Cleveland once declared that one American problem for which he -saw no solution whatever was the problem of the Negro. If we were in -The land of the beginning again, that country of our dreams, we should, -of course, not bring the Negro to our shores. It is easy to idealize -our American ancestors, but no doubt they made enough errors in their -time. Their most gigantic blunder, one to make Providence himself -almost despair of humanity, was the Afro-American slave trade. "Man's -inhumanity to man" brings at last the greatest of all sorrows upon him -who works the inhumanity. - -The first emotion that thought of the great problem of the Negro must -awaken in the hearts of all Americans is humility. Before Almighty God -we must resolve in this matter to do justice, and more than justice. -Here more than any other place, we must be moved by Christlike kindness -and love. The bane of us Americans, in all periods of our history, -has been carelessness. We have a tendency to let things drift from -bad to worse. Such has been particularly the case with reference to -our attitude toward the Negro. It is high time that we applied to our -public thinking some of that sounder knowledge of society and social -laws which recent years have given to us. - -Why should the simple truth give offense to anybody? The Negro in -Africa is a childish barbarian. Left to himself, he has never at any -time or place evolved even the beginning of a civilization. Do what we -may in the way of an education, the mind of the pure Negro, compared to -the white, on the average does not get beyond the age of twelve years. -To ignore this fact is to get into error from the start. Continue -to ignore this fact, especially in the execution of larger national -policies, and we shall invite, as we have done in the past, trouble -that is deep and dangerous. Two facts should be remembered if we would -make real progress in this discussion. The first is that only those who -live among the Negro and so learn to know him at first hand can really -understand his manifold traits. To sit down five hundred miles from the -nearest considerable Negro population and write books about the Negro -is not likely to help much. - -The second fact to be kept constantly in mind relates to our population -of mixed blood. Every distinguished leader of the Negro race in the -United States has been part white. In fact, a majority of the more -distinguished have contained only a small infusion of Negro blood. It -is the presence of this Mulatto element which clothes the whole problem -in porcupine quills. It is this portion of our colored population which -is restless and often unhappy to the point of bitterness because of our -present policy with reference to the Negro. If there were no mixed -population to consider our problem would not be nearly so difficult. - -I have always felt that superficial minds have a peculiar tendency to -lay hold of the Negro problem. For instance, witness the illogical -claims of some of those who think they are the special friends of the -Negro and who continually emphasize the necessity for an enlarged -sphere for Negro opportunity. On the one hand they boast of the very -great progress the Negro has made during his half century of freedom. -On one page they will emphasize Negro accomplishment. More than half -of our adult Negro population, for instance, can read and write. Tens -of thousands of Negro families own their own farms or city homes. An -even greater number of Negroes are attending high schools and colleges. -Then, on the very next page, the same author will take pains to show -that the Negro is most foully treated. He is kept in ignorance and -poverty. The wicked white population which surrounds him denies him -every advantage and means of progress. Of course both of these tales -can not be true at the same time. - -Those of us who grew up among the Negroes and have lived with them on -terms of mutual kindness and of helpfulness all our lives are inclined -to the conclusion that it is easy to exaggerate the progress of the -Negro. The record of what we people of the South have done and have -tried to do for the Negro during these fifty years is an open book to -all the world. It need not be described or analyzed here. Our task has -not been easy. In general, I think we have tried to do it in a way to -win both the approval of our own conscience and the commendation of our -fellow citizens of other sections of the country. Yet we have acted not -only according to our means, but also according to our knowledge of -what could be accomplished. In so far as we have failed we simply ask -that our fellow citizens of the North and West make special effort to -understand the true cause of our failure. - -This brings us to the main issue of this discussion. The Negro problem -is not peculiar to the South. The Negro problem is the burden of the -nation as a whole. The Negro was brought here during the seventeenth -and eighteenth centuries on the merchant ships which sailed mostly from -the ports of Great Britain and New England. Some few put forth from -Philadelphia and New York, but none from the South. This was not due to -the fact that all Southern people were morally above taking advantage -of the African slave trade. It was because commerce on the high seas -was not developed in the South. We were then wholly agricultural. -But the fact remains. The Negroes were brought to us by the ships -of old England and New England. For this terrible error of all the -English-speaking world of colonial times we in the South have paid and -paid and paid. We have paid by reason of the very fact of slavery, -which continued so long among us because no one knew how to make an -end of it. We have paid and are still paying in the form of the most -inefficient labor force in the world. We paid in the War Between the -States and during the Reconstruction, until extinction threatened us; -and we still pay. Not the least portion of our bill is the disesteem -in which we are often so wrongly held by those of our own language and -blood throughout the world. Yet we patiently await the day of complete -understanding, of perfect reconciliation. - -How long will it be before our modern knowledge of the fundamental -facts of American history are accepted and used in our political and -social thinking? Slavery continued in the South and died out in the -North not because our people were different at the start. They were -quite the same. But the climate was different. Crops were different. In -the South the slaves produced cotton, tobacco, and sugar-cane during -a long growing season, and hence slaves were profitable to their -masters. In the North where they produced only food and fodder crops -during a short growing season, slaves were an economic loss. Short -summers and long winters do not permit the Negro to become a permanent -inhabitant of Northern climes. So the few Northern slaves were mostly -sold South and total emancipation followed. - -Meanwhile, let it not be forgotten that during the period when cotton -was king, the North shared with the South in the profits of slave -labor. The economic system of our country was based upon cotton -and tobacco. For a full generation it took the following form: the -South sent her products to Europe, America received, in return, not -commodities but capital. This capital was invested in railroads and -other public improvements. Pennsylvania, New York and New England -furnished the articles of manufacture which the South needed at prices -much higher than obtained in Europe. These high prices were maintained -through a protective tariff. The profits of slave labor were thus -divided between the South and the North. When, in the Constitutional -Convention of 1787, Virginia led the border states in demanding the -Constitutional prohibition of African slave trade, the New England -delegates joined with those of the far South in keeping this nefarious -traffic open for twenty-one years more. When we say to-day that the -problem is in every sense a national problem, we base our statement -not only upon present necessity--but also upon the basis of historical -facts which lead to definite conclusions. - -Finally, the title of this chapter has a wider significance which I -would emphasize with all possible vigor. In maintaining that the Negro -is a ward of the nation I wish to place emphasis upon WARD. The Negro's -presence among us requires an ever greater interest and care on our -part. It is high time that the people of the South made a wider appeal -to their fellow citizens of the North and West. A stupendous moral -responsibility is involved in the presence of these ten millions of -black people. Not only the past, but the future, too, is looking down -upon us. All Americans may well realize that in this, as in so many -other matters, we are being weighed in the balance as a nation. As a -people we are fortunate in being quick to let bygones be bygones. We -of the South know that if other sections come to understand us and -our peculiar problem better, not only we, but they also, will be the -ultimate gainers. The sooner the nation unites in looking upon our -ten millions of colored folk as ten millions of children for whose -protection and care we are morally responsible, the sooner we shall all -be placed upon solid ground. - -Let me repeat here what I have been constantly touching upon in -these chapters. The maxims of our democracy are not for universal -application. Some Europeans are a hundred years, others five hundred -years, behind us in the process of democratic evolution. We may -guess, but we can not know, how long they will be in catching up. -How far behind them the Negro may be in these things I leave for the -anthropologists to determine or surmise. But what we of the South -assuredly know, because of our experience, is just this--to treat the -Negro as the political equal of the white is to do grave injustice not -only to the white, but to the Negro as well. We can not justly enforce -the laws among children that we make for adults. To enforce the white -man's law, in all cases, upon the Negro is an injustice so great that -the effort often causes sorrow to every normal mind among us. Cared for -and protected as a child, the Negro's better qualities are developed -and made evident by his works. But when he is burdened by moral and -legal responsibilities which neither his mind nor his character is -prepared to bear, in the vast majority of cases he breaks and falls -under the load. The errors of our mistaken policies during the past -fifty years have caused unfathomable suffering among our Negroes. Our -country took its foolish fling and sowed its wild oats of democratic -Utopia during Reconstruction days. We proved then that the vote is -an unmitigated curse to the Negro. From this curse he still suffers. -We were forced by Federal act to make him everywhere subject to the -white man's civil and criminal law. Often enough the white man's law -sends him to the penitentiary for twenty years when twenty days of -hard work upon the public highway would be punishment enough for his -unthinking crime. In this matter we have simply tried to put a gallon -of water into a quart bottle. So we have spilled much water and come -near breaking the bottle. The people of the Philippine Islands are, -on the average, much more highly developed than our Negroes. Yet the -better advised among them realize that they are not yet ready to get on -without our supervision and help. - -Let me not be misunderstood. I am not here trying to offer any -permanent solution for certain aspects of this problem. That solution -if ultimately sought will require, for many years, the painstaking and -united efforts of our best thinkers in all sections. I am now merely -stating certain facts and principles upon which any future solution -whatsoever must be based. All I ask is that we take these facts into -every phase of our argument. The Negro is not yet prepared, mentally or -morally, to share all the results of our civilization with us. Amid the -great complexities of modern social and political life, it is difficult -indeed to prepare our white electorate to bear the responsibilities -of government. Wherever the Negro numbers twenty per cent of our -population, his vote on election day would endanger democracy. In every -state where he lives there are and will be vicious white demagogues who -will work upon his credulity to mislead him and misuse him politically. -Where he numbers forty per cent of the population, his suffrage would -throw us back to Reconstruction times and make democracy impossible. -Let us not refuse to shoulder the full burden of this responsibility. -But the burden belongs rightfully to the Nation as a whole, not to -the people of the South alone. We of the South know full well that, -once rightly understood by thoughtful minds in other sections, we -can ask the nation to undertake those larger policies of reform and -readjustment which conditions undoubtedly require. - -[Illustration: Revealing the Mysteries at Midnight] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -We Americans are a Peculiar People - - -Even among the various nationalities of the white race there are very -great differences of character and temperament. To try to overlook -these, to declare that they do not exist, is both dishonest and -dangerous. Moved by the inspiration of a common cause in the Great -War, no doubt the American troops and the French people made every -possible effort to be agreeable and companionable. Still their very -real differences caused friction. We recognize all sorts of peculiar -characteristics among individuals. Why this folly of trying to deny -their existence among nations? Sound conclusions in any matter -are reached only by starting with facts. But the humanitarian and -sentimental purposes which some of us have in mind often lead to the -misuse of facts. Self-deception is the very last support upon which to -build a sense of international or interracial friendship and good will. - -Democracy, as a working system, as we have said in previous articles, -is peculiar to a few nations of the white race. As such it is perhaps -the greatest social and spiritual adventure in the history of humanity. -Democracy can thrive only where it sinks its roots deep into the -personality of the individual soul. In a successful democracy the -citizen must be free, honest, intelligent, informed, sportsmanlike, and -willing to be always active in the performance of his political duties. -These qualities can not be brought forth by the hocus-pocus of wishing -them upon anybody. They are the result of a long evolution. They -have grown, thus far, only in particular environments and only among -peculiar peoples whose whole history furnishes the essential background. - -It is often pointed out as an evidence of the success which follows -the mixing of our various nationalities, that we original Americans -have resulted from the greatest of all mixtures. We began, in Colonial -times, as English, Welsh, Scotch and Irish; as French, Dutch, German -and Swedish elements. The results of this mixture, we conclude, have -been entirely satisfactory. But right here we are apt to come to error. - -True, the original American people were formed by the mixture of -these various nationalities. Yet the success of out great experiment -was due to the fact of a much greater social unity than at first -appears on the surface. Our American people were drawn, mostly, from -a single European class. This was the class of small property-holders -and skilled workers. They came from the progressive countries to the -north and west of Europe. What members of the British country gentry -who came to Virginia and South Carolina were quickly unified with -those among whom they settled. Indeed, ever since Magna Charta, the -English country gentry were thrown together, especially in the House of -Commons, with the representatives of the small farmers and the towns -people. To ignore this fact of essential unity is to leave Hamlet out -of the play. The dominant group, the great majority in every colony, -was this mixture of gentry, independent small farmers, shopkeepers and -skilled mechanics. This was then the rising class of Europe, struggling -to find itself; hungering to give expression of its peculiar form of -civilization; ardent in its desire for larger freedom. These facts can -not be over-emphasized. - -The original settlers, in large part, came to America to find the -freedom and political opportunity they so richly deserved. If they -did not, at once, always grant freedom to others in their own -settlements, there was plenty of room for the others elsewhere. The -Baptists, driven out of Massachusetts, found refuge in Rhode Island. -The Quakers, whipped out of New England, discovered room and to spare -in Pennsylvania. The Cavaliers, forced into exile during the Puritanic -tyranny of the Commonwealth period, settled in Virginia and South -Carolina. When the French Protestants came, after the Revocation -of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, they were not really foreigners in -America. They possessed the same faith, they were guided by exactly the -same system of morals, they were the same class of people basically, as -those among whom they settled. One of the most liberal and democratic -groups to organize a colony were the English Catholics of Maryland. The -secret of understanding the beginnings of America is to know that there -was room for everybody and for everybody's beliefs. Even the bigot in -Europe eventually became the liberal here. The indentured servant, -of whom there were comparatively few, eventually found freedom and -acquired property in the wilderness. - -It was this abundant opportunity to possess free land which finally led -to the complete triumph of our democracy. The real America has always -been country America. The settlers came from Europe ready in mind and -heart for the great adventure. The effort required independence, -self-reliance and high courage. The weaklings failed and died. With -every movement into the wilderness these mightier qualities of body, -mind, and soul were renewed and developed. So our American democracy -came, at last, to its greatest triumph west of the Alleghenies. Here -the limitations upon opportunity which obtained in the coastal colonies -were not to be found. Here was, at last, rich soil in abundance for any -hand that could wield the axe or hold the plow. Under the leadership -of men like Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln there was finally builded -a great nation upon the broad foundation of universal white male -suffrage. Here came, with the nineteenth century, the realization of -the democratic visions of twenty-five hundred years. Here our American -vanguard of democracy, at last, placed the banner of its hope and its -triumph upon the topmost pinnacle. - -Sometimes we refer to these pioneer Americans as "common people." In -fact they were most uncommon. The wilderness environment made them -deeply spiritual, even mystical. In men like Andrew Jackson and Abraham -Lincoln their basic qualities, however crude the outward aspect, took -on the forms of genius. The mind and the spirit of this individualistic -American is seen in everything he was and did. He built his solitary -house, hidden among the trees, upon his own land. In physical form -and manner he came to resemble the native Indian quite as much as the -European. He grew to be slender, "rangey," keen of eye, and ready of -hand--a "Jack of all trades." This type to-day can not possibly live in -American cities as it is unless it keeps one foot in the country. - -As to unlovely qualities, we Americans have no doubt been richly -endowed. The frontiersman farmer readily enough fights his neighbor -with fists or firearms. The laws we make for ourselves we often find -too irksome to obey. We are careless, often inefficient, and most -wasteful of our national resources. Recently we have been led far -astray by the deceitfulness of riches. Finally we are apt to become -blind to the quieter graces and refinements of life. In certain -sections an original austerity gives way these days to pleasures that -do not really please anybody. Having conquered a continent with such -tumult and shouting, we have not yet learned how to live sanely or even -safely. The finer values of life easily elude us, even when we try to -seek them out. Yet, are we entirely in error when we claim that we, -as a people, have had something valuable placed in our keeping by our -history and evolution? Are we not worth preserving in the world? We -know that we are. Even in the moments marked by failure and humility we -can not lose our national pride and sense of worth. - -Assuredly, we Americans are a peculiar people. The conditions of our -European origin gave us a careful selection of personal qualities. Our -remarkable environment has upbuilded us. Infinite possibilities have -been opened up to us through the extent and resources of our country. -We have lacked nothing needful to a great destiny. Our future has -seemed so certain that we have never permitted it to be questioned. So -have we been prepared to become the ancestors of a glorious and ever -unfolding race. And now, within the short span of half a dozen years, -we are given over to every terrible doubt and misgiving. Ours has been, -were we but so minded, the wonderful privilege of continuing to select -the ancestors of America's future. We have shamelessly neglected this -privilege which is, indeed, the most sacred of duties. The ancestors -of America's future sons and daughters have been recently drawn, in -large part, from the most stolid peasantry and denizens of the slums of -Europe and Asia, simply because these sell themselves cheapest in the -labor markets of the world. So we are self-accursed. History may unfold -every page of her story and discover nowhere a profounder reason than -this for damning a great nation to destruction. - -Our peculiar Nordic civilization, the creation, par excellence, of the -whitest of the white European races, has found but one primary field -for its larger expansion. That field is North America. Both South -America and Africa lie too much within the tropics to make of them the -home of our race. The Southern extremity of South America, including -Argentina and Chile, possesses a soil and climate comparable to our -own in the Northern and border states. But the incoming Mediterranean -people are giving this temperate area the aspect of a subtropical -civilization. - -The larger portions of both tropical South America and all of Africa -will no doubt be kept for or won for the darker peoples. The white -population of South Africa is now less than twenty per cent of the -whole. Australia, too, is largely tropical. Within the greater portion -of her territory the Nordic white man can hardly conserve, through -centuries, his distinctive physical and spiritual qualities. Our North -American continent was destined by history to be the greater Nordic -Europe. Here our stalwart race has been offered a gigantic area for its -expansion--a suitable field upon which to play its mighty part in all -the future. Indeed, this marvelous home is suited by nature to meet our -reasonable needs for many thousands of years. An intelligent population -policy might have permitted us to welcome from Northern Europe a -considerable number of immigrants throughout the twentieth century. - -Restricted to Europe and a few outlying insular colonies, our race -will, at an early date, cut but a sorry figure beside the populations -of the colored peoples on the one hand, and the undeveloped white -peoples on the other. The British Empire is to-day more than -three-fourths colored. The World War has only hastened the sinking of -the hopes of the European. The "natural" tendency in racial evolution -is always for the races with the more developed standards of life and -culture to be dragged down and engulfed by the surrounding world of -less developed peoples. A high standard of living with leisure among -the masses must be jealously preserved from competition or it will -become extinct in another generation. The most expensive thing in the -world is a moral ideal. The most wasteful system of government is a -democracy. But these things are worth the cost. We Americans have set -out upon a great adventure in social life. We have made some valuable -discoveries. Our spiritual possessions are numerous and valuable. We -can not successfully give them to all the world by first letting the -world take them away from ourselves. The "rising tide" of the colored -peoples and the backward white peoples, their ultimate domination of -the human process, to-day OVER-TOPS IN IMPORTANCE EVERY OTHER FACT IN -THE WORLD. - -We are throwing away North America as the home of our people and our -civilization. Were we to open our gates to hostile armies and welcome -the yoke of servitude to a foreign autocracy, the results, in the end -might be less tragic. In the Hawaii of to-day, with its white American -element a small minority and rapidly becoming a fading remnant, we see -the North America of to-morrow. Across the length and breadth of our -Continent falls the darkening shadow. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -Giantism--the National Disease of America - - -Giantism is a disease. In the human body it is caused when certain -glands do not function properly. A child does not stop growing in the -right way or at the right time. Perhaps the whole body, more often -parts of the body, grow to enormous size. The head or the hands may -become too large. The features are apt to be made ugly by frightful -distortions. For any child to grow too fast is dangerous. For certain -organs or features, or the whole body, to keep on growing when the time -has come for them to retain normal size is in itself a sign of this -terrible disease of--Giantism. - -Economic and social giantism is the curse of the United States. Our -larger cities have grown far beyond the bounds of national safety. -New York, Chicago, and a dozen other large cities are monstrosities. -It will take a full generation, with no immigration at all, and the -forces of reform fully mobilized, to bring them to correspond properly -with the other parts of our country. Everywhere the disease works -havoc. We crowd a few square miles with stupendous structures, leaving -narrow chasms for streets. Each new building shuts the light and air -away from many others. Then we pack ourselves into these buildings -more like stifled vermin than human beings. Whereupon we go about the -world boasting in a loud voice, as though we deserved praise for our -achievement. - -Giantism is found in every form of our national activity. We measure -the greatness of a university by the size and number of its buildings, -or by the millions of money which constitute its endowment. The richest -among us in money figure most in the newspapers, which proves that -they are considered by the public to be the most important. An author -is held in esteem in proportion to the number of copies of his books -which are sold. Works of art prove interesting because they bring -fabulous prices on the market. At every census the inhabitants of our -cities and states wait with bated breath to discover whether or not -they have increased in numbers more than their neighbors. - -Giantism everywhere. To boast of the greatest city as the city with the -most people is like boasting of an enormous scrofulous swelling. We -even boast of the height of mountains, the size of lakes, or the length -of rivers, as though we had created them all. One state cries out that -it is the first in the production of hogs, another that it slaughters -more wild animals and peddles more furs than any other. Often there are -not nearly enough houses to shelter the people of a "great" city; many -of the students of a "great" university may leave as ignorant as they -came, and weaker in mind and morals. The colossal battleships we build -are used as targets before the sound of our boasting has died away. Our -piled up statistics of "progress" mostly prove our degeneracy. - -[Illustration: The Fiery Cross on the Mountain Top.] - -All this seems to escape the accredited leaders and teachers of the -people. The tendency shows in us as individuals. A large proportion of -our people are cursed by overeating, lack of exercise and overweight. -Meanwhile the unemployed may starve. Everywhere that old and absolutely -sound principle of "plain living and high thinking" is surrendered -for the exact opposite. In all our great cities we build palatial -private residences which are more fit for cold storage houses than -for human habitations. A woman pays fifty thousand dollars for a -fur wrap weighing two pounds. If the most abominable whiskey at ten -dollars a quart did not find plenty of purchasers, the price would -be falling instead of rising. Behold the size, weight and contents -of our Sunday newspapers! They need no further describing here. A -popular magazine recently contained eighty-two pages of advertising, -and less than twenty pages of reading matter. In whole sections of -our cities natural human affection is lavished on expensive dogs. In -other sections the swarming children of the poor lack food, shelter, -clothing, affectionate care and education. Meanwhile we boast of both -the number of children and the value of the dogs. Fatty degeneration of -the heart is one symptom of giantism. - -If we continue in the way we are going, our future national self can -be easily enough pictured. Any amateur mathematician can plot the -curve of our "progress." Our wealth to-day totals two hundred and -fifty billions. Pretty soon we shall be worth a full trillion. The -last census of New York gives its population as 5,620,000. Of this -total a single Brooklyn insane asylum contains four thousand. Several -of our states spend as much of their taxes to care for the insane as -to educate their young. Let us have pencil and paper and calculate how -many will be shut up in lunatic asylums or homes for other defectives, -and what will be the cost of their keep, when we number three hundred -millions of people. If we bring all the underfed masses, all the -beggars and peddlers and criminals from every country in the world, -and thrust them into our over-populated cities to prey upon us, then, -assuredly, we shall have soon enough more inhabitants than China or -India. Some of our private dwellings now cost as high as eight millions -each and the windows are boarded up because the owners live in Europe. -According to our present standards that, too, may be taken as an -indication of our "progress" and "greatness." - -Of course the masses of the factory and office population, and most of -the idle rich, are physical weaklings. They get no adequate exercise. -They breathe no clean air. In some of our southern states the curse of -degenerating factory labor for young children is still permitted by -law. But whether enslaved in factory, idle upon the streets, or shut -up in a crowded apartment the child of the city has no fair chance -to grow. Always the thought--this mass of weaklings is fit only to -be the subject of a more or less absolute monarch. They can not be -citizens in a republic that is a reality. Any strong, healthy, normal -American farmer turns from looking upon these city types, hopeless for -his country. Our cities are not built to live in. They are built to -get rich in. Jefferson was right. Unless they are reformed they will -destroy both democracy and civilization. Somehow we must spread our -cities out in the air and sun upon the countryside. - -The old America of our fathers is everywhere fading from sight. The -new America is full upon us. And that new America is rapidly becoming -a stench in the nostrils of the decent and intelligent minority. We -Americans must change our ways. We need a great revival--a revival of -common sense and healthy-mindedness. Our national life is starving -for the want of fine, thoughtful, educated, young persons with the -courage to wish themselves poor. Our whole national life must change -its direction. We are not going ahead. We are going backward. Instead -of seeking to find, through our wealth, a richness of mind and heart, -we crave yet more bigness and fatness in things purely physical. We -seek our brother's purse strings instead of the affection of his heart. -We are holding fast to lies instead of the truth. All this abnormal, -distorted growth is making us ugly and disgusting in almost every -feature. In us the better America will soon be hardly recognizable. - -Never before have we so much needed the stalwart teaching of those -who have led us in our greater past. These still speak to us if we -would but listen. Benjamin Franklin still says on every page of "Poor -Richard's Almanac" that "We are giving too much for our whistle," and -that an old coat is often more to be desired than a new one. The tall -Thomas Jefferson still rises above the petty minds about us to say that -it were better that we had a nation composed of two persons, a man and -a woman, who were truly free, than a nation with millions enslaved. -The calm voice of Robert E. Lee urges upon our hearts that he who does -his duty with all the strength he has may well leave even the matter -of victory or defeat to Almighty God. During these later years, the -entire nation has claimed to do honor to the name of Abraham Lincoln, -even while we forget everything he stood for, by word and deed, when he -was among the living. He is much honored for making the black man free. -We have forgotten that great speech of his in which he declared that -the white man's freedom should be forever guaranteed by free soil as a -national institution. One Robert E. Lee or Abraham Lincoln is worth a -great city full of crowding and scheming neurotics, treading upon one -another's toes, always trading in their eternal souls for a chance to -get rich and then mostly losing out and dying in misery and poverty. - -Present-day America is unworthy of the mighty voices which have, in the -past, led her and called her to the leadership of the world. Those -voices spoke to us when we were weak, unformed and poor, yet so rich in -thought and in the impelling forces of our national soul. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -Drifting - - -Our country is not lacking in incurable optimists, more commonly known -as fools. Do we not always hear, they repeat, the cry of "Wolf, wolf" -by night, and do we not always wake up in the morning quite safe and -sound? I maintain that these poor words of mine are no mere warning -of the wolf. Yesterday he was in close pursuit. To-day his jaws are -closing upon our flesh. This outcry wrung from pain and fear is due to -no imaginary ills. - -We are drifting on every hand. The stupendous national problems -which beset our country internally can not be counted off on the -fingers of both hands. The exploitation of our farmers is leaving our -countryside, the cradle of our national character and well-being, -depleted of population. The Great War is over, but high prices largely -remain. We have not even approached a solution of the problem of both -safeguarding and properly controlling the nation's greater industries. -Labor strikes take on the nature of social revolutions. The advocacy -of Bolshevism arouses mighty crowds to wild enthusiasm. The children -of the rich and poor alike grow up without proper normal training, not -to speak of spiritual vision. With millions of people lacking houses -to live in, we find ourselves with millions of people unemployed. The -problem of the Negro is no nearer permanent solution than it was forty -years ago. I might go on adding to this list indefinitely. - -Throughout the length and breadth of the land our political life -draws ever weaker character and poorer mind to political leadership. -Strength, purposefulness and astuteness, when united together, are -used mostly to win riches. The weaker brethren are more and more being -drawn into the public service, into the pulpit and into the profession -of teaching. If we really wanted, as in the past, our first-class men -to preach to us, to teach us, and to direct our government, we could -easily enough secure their services. - -A century ago our national problems were exceedingly simple. Their full -meaning and purport could be quickly explained and grasped. To-day our -economic and social problems are infinitely complex. Keeping the trains -running between New York and San Francisco in the year 1921 is a vastly -different piece of business than keeping the stage coaches running -between New York and Boston in 1787. But the average of intelligence -and character in both our state legislatures and in Congress is far -lower than it was in 1787. If any be disposed to deny this, let him -make a comparison between the debates of the Federal Convention of -1787 and the debates of our Federal Congress or the average state -legislature of to-day. Our political mind, in so far as we have any, -is still living on the contributions of our national past. The last -quarter of the century, especially, has registered failure with -reference to almost every internal national problem presented by our -time. - -Reflect, for a moment, upon the present colossal issues of municipal -government. A hundred thousand, a million, or five millions of persons -are forced, for better or for worse, for good or for evil, to live -together. In the recent municipal elections, the great city of New -York continued the domination of Tammany Hall, by a vote of more -than two to one. The people of Buffalo elected a mayor who received -a majority of votes because he promised upon election to throw the -Eighteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution into the waste basket. -Youngstown, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, elected "freak" mayors, -ignorant and inexperienced, whose campaigns for office both they and -those who heard them treated as huge practical jokes. The great city -of Cleveland, Ohio, containing nearly a million inhabitants, elected -as mayor a man who was expelled from the position of Chief of Police -because of proved irregularities and unfitness to hold office. In -the midst of our war with Germany, Chicago re-elected as mayor a man -who, throughout the war, was an outspoken enemy of his country. In -the outright venality of every sort, the government of the city of -Chicago, I am informed, exceeds any in the country, even New York. -Through the South we have not been able to secure since the War Between -the States, as a general thing, that fine type of political leader -who did such honor to our section in the earlier period. Our country -is not receiving from the South that contribution of leadership which -history might lead us to expect. The industrial North and East should -naturally lead the nation in the solution of the peculiar problems of -industrialism. Its remnant of American population readily admit their -utter failure. We of the South can offer no help. - -A full generation of so-called reforms have ended largely in failure. -Even seats in the United States Senate now go to the highest bidder -like old furniture at an auction sale. The minority which is decent, -honest, and informed, is giving up the fight. The ballot in the hands -of ignorant and untrained immigrants, of Negroes, and of illiterate -native whites, has proven to be a terrible flare-back, burning our hope -of progress to ashes. Again force the ballot upon the southern Negro -and we of the South will outdo the North in political failure and decay. - -Our greater internal public problems, only a few of which I have -enumerated at the beginning of this article, will ever grow more -complex in character, more threatening in aspect. Who can expect men -with neither work nor property to take an idealistic attitude toward -our government and the public service? Their vote must express their -meanest immediate interests. He who stands in the bread line votes for -sugar in his coffee and a bigger slice of bread. Every unemployed man -is a prospective Bolshevist. Every illiterate man who votes inevitably -supports bossism and graft rule. With such an electorate how can -we move safely and intelligently into the uncharted and terrifying -future? Soon we must rule the great industrial organizations by law, -or they will rule us ignoring the law. Meanwhile the efficiency of -the individual wage-worker is decreasing. His joy in his work becomes -less and less. His loyalty to his task has almost struck the zero -point. Ignore the problem of the white small farming class yet a little -longer, and we shall be driven into farming on a great scale, with -armies of stolid peasants doing the work. We already have agricultural -communities where a score or a hundred small farms have recently been -joined together in one estate. What a sign post of our times to see -the old farm house made to serve as the dwellings for the immigrant -serfs who till the land! So "Wealth accumulates and men decay." It is -with a shudder that any patriot foresees the time when the countryside, -like the city, shall have lost its free, independent population. -In our South this small, free, white farming class requires special -consideration. The danger of its submergence and total loss here is -greater than in any other part of the country. - -As an American, ardent alike for Americanism and the Americanization of -our foreign born, I have often enough been accused of narrowness. I saw -others burning with enthusiasm over the hope of the League of Nations, -but I felt my own heart chilled by the sense of the shortcomings of my -own country. With the majority I was hesitant. The map of the world -to-day, in all its parts, strikes suffering into the heart that feels. -The blood lines in every direction indicate that the world as a whole -is drifting from failure unto failure. Europe is struggling helplessly -in the midst of storm and crying piteously for help which never comes. -With the German financial system broken down, France, denied the -reparation she expected, is immersed in gloomy despair. The smaller -nations East and Southeast of Germany are collapsing, if not already -fallen down, starving and diseased; their peoples are becoming every -day more helpless and hopeless. Italy, wasted by the war, is now in the -throes of civil strife and revolution. Russia, the first white nation -of the world, continues to rot in her insane orgies. With the passing -months and years hope for the early salvation of Russia no longer -deceives us. The battle lines of the Greek army, facing the Turks in -Asia Minor, are awaiting reinforcements and supplies in order to resume -the offensive. The four hundred millions of China, torn from without -for a generation, lacerated by revolution and civil wars for ten years, -have merely proven to us their incapacity for self-help. India is in -revolution and Egypt cut adrift. All the world is more decadent to-day -than when America entered the war. Again and again the nations come -to us begging for the strong arm of leadership. Again and again they -go from us, broken hearted and bowed down by the weak words of our -indecision and failure. Yet again they come because elsewhere there is -no help to ask. - -[Illustration: The Imperial Wizard Kneeling and Kissing the Flag, the -only Flag to which a Klansman Kneels.] - -Such is the world which our times have given so largely into our -keeping. This world demands a leadership such as gave our country unity -under the Constitution of 1787. The giants of those days--a full dozen -strong, loom large over the succeeding generations, and like Titans of -old, their deeds illuminate our whole history. Much accursed as we are -to-day by petty minds and selfish hearts in high places, we read the -history of our heroic period with deepest yearning that the mighty dead -might rise up and speak to us the living words we need to hear. We feel -so helpless, so lost, and gone astray. What mind and character we may -still have has ceased to function normally. From now on we may expect -a steady drift toward monarchy. In a decadent republic monarchicalism -is a natural growth. First comes a great class of the rich on the one -hand and a great class of poor on the other. Both tend, because of -their conditions, toward corruption. Both corrupt the state. The one -will barter the ten commandments to keep what it has; the other to get -what it wants. For a time the proletariat is oppressed with free corn -and the circus, with organized charities, baseball and the movies. No -republic can long endure on that regimen. Gold has already paved the -way that leads to the United States Senate. All that is needed is more -gold and the way will be smoothly paved to the throne of Caesar or -Belshazzar. - -It has always seemed to me that our stupendous national sacrifices -during the War Between the States have never been recovered. We lost -a million of the sturdiest and best men who ever grew to manhood -in the world. So did that generation lose a million homes. We have -to-day, instead of the ten millions of their descendants, equally -divided between the city and country, some twenty millions of unskilled -foreign workers crowded into the cities alone. With the close of the -War Between the States we ceased, in every section, to produce first -class national leaders. To-day Charles Murphy has replaced Alexander -Hamilton. In Illinois, Lincoln the Great gives way to William Hale -Thompson the Little. The passing of Woodrow Wilson from the public life -leaves the South searching, perhaps in vain, for a leader to present to -the service of the republic. Into our Southern political life, as into -that of the North a generation ago, there is creeping the hireling of -special interests. Only the ignorant can say that we have not fallen on -times that are weak and evil and failing at every point. - -So we drift--on and on; when to drift at all is to drift toward the -abyss. With each setting sun we become less capable of doing well the -great task assigned to us. We are deceived by the superficial results -of mechanical progress. Hence we do not care to know that each waning -summer marks a loss for us in all the fundamental determinants of -blood, of character, of all the elemental forces. These basic elements -of our peculiar civilization can be maintained only through the most -watchful care. A single careless deed done to-day by the nation and -countless ages must pay an ever increasing price of failure and misery. -Our English-speaking peoples are as a ship of democracy struggling in -the sea of unfaith,--an ocean of the world's failure and despair. We -are driven before a furious gale; great waves wash over our decks. We -drug ourselves into believing the theory that somehow Divine Providence -always has cared for, and always will care for, the children, the -lunatics and the United States. Of course this theory is trash. The -Almighty helps only those that help themselves. - -You millions of the middle classes of America, living in comfortable -ease--upon your conscience is the greater burden placed! Will you -continue to fiddle while the common weal is in flames? The future -throughout your country and the world will hold you responsible! "BE -NOT DECEIVED, GOD IS NOT MOCKED. WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT ALSO -SHALL HE REAP." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -"The Federal Union--It Must Be Preserved" - - -The American government under God shall not perish from the earth. - -In 1830 Andrew Jackson arose before a group of distinguished men -assembled at a dinner in Washington and proposed the toast which forms -the title of this chapter. It seems to me that this expression of the -iron resolve of the old war-worn hero should be placed among those -statements of our great leaders which have been as divine commands in -the great crises which our country has experienced. Jackson loved the -Union. In 1830 few people understood those peculiar underlying forces -which were drawing the Union apart. It is evident to us now, after -studying the history of the generation preceding the Civil War, that -only a Union which exists in the minds and hearts of all its citizens -can be an enduring entity. It may seem rather trite to say again that -national unity is based first of all upon an individual sentiment. -Even during the War Between the States this love of the Union as an -ideal never ceased to animate the people of the South. They sought -merely to rebuild the Union on a different basis. After the surrender -at Appomattox the South faithfully accepted the old Union under the -changed conditions of its re-establishment. Since that time their -loyalty to the Union, as it is, has never been questioned. All must now -recognize that until the great differences which severed the Union had -been finally settled, the Union itself could not be re-established. - -If a nation is to exist at all, certain basic principles and forms of -procedure must be generally accepted by all its citizens. As regards -these essential things we cannot afford to differ at all and yet try to -live side by side. In English-speaking countries, for instance, we must -needs all accept and support the constitutional bill of rights. Without -freedom of speech, of the press and religious worship, to mention -three of the more important guaranteed constitutional rights, any -English-speaking country would very quickly find itself in the throes -of revolution and civil war. We must agree, also, to be subject to the -same general principles of morality. If a citizen argues, for instance, -that the crimes of robbery and murder are sound and correct modes of -political procedure, he thereby rejects his citizenship. We must all -agree to live peaceably and lawfully under the same constitutional and -legal system. Finally, to attain national unity and national peace -we must not only accept, but unitedly support, with affection and -enthusiasm, the prevailing system of law and social order. That great -poet of democracy, Walt Whitman, expresses this thought so exquisitely: - - "To hold men together by paper and seal, or by compulsion, is no - account; - - That only holds men together which aggregates all in a living - principle, as the hold of the limbs of the body, or the fibres of - plants." - -Our American people, if we are to be perfected in unity, must come to -be a sort of family. - -Differences of personality among individuals, differences of opinions -among groups, differences which show themselves in a variety of -religious beliefs and political policies, all these are not only -natural but necessary to civilization and progress. Absolute unity in -thought and action can be attained only among a tribe of savages. The -political unity of an absolute monarchy is a leftover from savagery. -Above all, these valuable and desirable differences show in all the -interesting variations to be discovered in our cultural life. In the -education of children these differences of personality should be not -only tolerated but purposely developed. The growth of this quality -of personality is one of the most precious results of our democratic -civilization. Yet it can not be too much emphasized that all these -differences must work themselves out and perform all their desirable -functions within the restricted bounds of a generally accepted law and -custom. Otherwise nationality is impossible; and this is but another -way of saying that human society is impossible. - -Imagine a group of relatives and friends sitting down to break bread -together. They differ in age, in appearance, in understanding, and in -almost every purpose of life. Some will reject soup, and others fish. -As the dinner proceeds sharp differences of opinion lend interest -to the conversation. In our present day society any two members of -this group may well belong to two different political parties and -two different religious organizations. Yet if there is to be a true -companionship in this place, how dominating must be the things that -unify! This group, to get on well, must speak the same language and -abide by the same established forms of social manners. In all the -deepest things there must be the same regard for essentials, the same -attitude toward life. In the mind of each, unity with all the others -must be truly desired as a spiritual attainment. How seldom do we -pause to reflect upon how many such principles and forms are taken -for granted, every day and all day, in ordinary business and social -intercourse. If people are to live together happily they must not only -tolerate one another. They must enjoy companionship, one with the other. - -On the same soil you can not have, permanently, two systems of law. -Two basic forms of moral conduct can not function side by side. If -there are two groups of people in any society, one of which totally -rejects the other, trouble is sure to come. Given two groups of people -with such a gulf fixed between as is never crossed, for instance, by -intermarriages, and it is time to hoist the danger signal. Civil strife -lurks in the offing. - -That generation of Americans which grew up under the shadow of the -Civil War, and in the terrible period of Reconstruction, has had -occasion to have burned in its inmost consciousness, as by intense -religious conviction, this necessity of national unity. Such a complete -sense of unity, such a practice of solidarity, I have visualized for my -country. It is the disunity of the present which, with "Hope deferred, -maketh the heart sick." About us on every hand are discordant voices, -clashing interests, screaming recriminations and blazing hatreds. Our -republic cannot continue unless we re-establish, and that very soon, a -status of civil peace in the minds and hearts of all our people. - -Everybody who reads the newspapers or talks with his neighbors knows -that the conflict between labor and capital is drifting us into another -civil war. We can already reach ahead in imagination and fix our eyes -upon the dreadful moment when the forces of class revolution will -raise their standards and move to the attack. Among thousands it is -being openly advocated. Among great numbers of quieter citizens of all -classes it is accepted as a sort of grim necessity. Men seem always -to be ready enough to fight. However, a sound national life can not -be maintained by crushing down the masses, any more than freedom and -progress can be secured for anybody through a Bolshevistic revolution. -And how much more deadly is disunity between classes than between -sections! - -How difficult it is to make men so desirous of peace that they will -consecrate their lives to secure its conditions! Are there none among -us so devoted to our Union, so ardent in the cause of peace, that -they are willing to rally around the principles which will make both -peace and unity possible? I steadfastly maintain that, if properly -led, a majority of Americans are willing to think and act in order to -forestall anarchy and civil war. A vast majority of our farming people -and middle classes are ready to demand, as Andrew Jackson demanded in -1830, that the nation do lawful justice to all. We who still constitute -the solid body of the nation wish to urge upon the wage-working people -with all our hearts that America and Americanism can solve their great -problem without rebellion and bloodshed. And we are just as ready to -assure those who own and direct capital, even those who are so often -hated because of their great riches, that no penny shall ever be taken -away from them without due process of law. Surely a majority of us -have not yet lost faith in the very foundations of our democratic -union. The recent stupendous events in revolutionary Europe should -cause every thoughtful American mind to re-examine most carefully the -principles of our government and of our democracy. We stoutly maintain -that these principles and the constitution based upon them furnish a -peaceful means, even a brotherly means, for the solution of the labor -problem. But if, under the dangerous conditions which impend, our -Federal Union is to be preserved, our love for it must draw us ever -closer together in its service. Every principle of the bill of rights -must be steadfastly defended. Embittered hatreds and suspicions must -be allayed. The nation as a whole must be persuaded to take counsel -in a quiet way. To those who shriek out upon us that "Might makes -right," and that "Government is founded upon power and wealth alone," -we must be able to reply that our Constitution and laws are still -vitalized by the love of our American hearts, and by our willingness -to sacrifice self for the sacred things of the Union. May we not still -reply, also, that freedom is only curtailment of power--power to rule -over others--and that true freedom can be experienced only in a nation -whose citizens highly resolve to protect the freedom, the rights and -interests of all. - -Both plutocracy and Bolshevism are new forms of tyranny. Neither have, -as yet, run their course. None can refuse to take note that during the -last decade some of our rich, as for instance, Mr. Henry Ford, have -begun to learn the lesson of the stewardship of wealth. With what pride -and pleasure we have observed, too, that organized labor in America -has rejected Bolshevism and declared ardently and almost unanimously -for purely democratic methods of action. It is not among the twenty -per cent who are organized; it is among the eighty per cent of our -workers who have not the capacity to organize, or who are denied the -right to organize, that Bolshevism is raising its ugly head and weaning -the workers away from democracy and from the love and service of their -country. If our Union is to be preserved in our day, it must win a new -hold upon the affections of this vast number of our people, native-born -and foreign alike. Among them all its interests must be made the -subject of constant thought and conversation. All must learn that no -man who hates his neighbor can sit down in peace under his own vine -and fig tree. So, to this, our altar of unity, we who labor for social -peace must bring in absolute sacrifice the work of our hands and all -the cultural results of our civilization. Only thus shall we be enabled -to lead the warring classes back to Americanism. The Union, if it is -to be preserved from social disintegration, must be established upon -character as well as upon a common material interest. - -[Illustration: Consecration to the Flag] - -The time has fully come for all Americans to reason together and -finally think this thing through. Who among us can say that he knows -exactly what to do? But this we all can say: That if our people -approach this whole matter in the attitude of affection, one for -the other, if we consider this issue as ardent patriots and sincere -Christians, then we are sure to discover, presently, the straight way -in which all can walk together in unity and fellowship. - -The Ku Klux Klan is composed, I trust, of men who will face this -crucial issue with relentless firmness. We shall say to Americans of -all classes who now prepare their minds for civil war that they must -and shall make peace. We do not propose, as the years pass, to wait -and wait and drift and drift. Let none mistake our purpose. Civil war -is the most terrible curse a nation can suffer. We do not propose to -look idly upon the mischief of others until it rages all about us. We -shall prevent war by planning for peace, by preparing for peace, and by -knowing in our inmost hearts that peace can be maintained. The way to -the peace we demand lies through justice, righteousness and affection. -"The Federal Union, it must be preserved." - -National unity, as we here understand it, is more than a means to an -end. National unity is an ever enlarging result. It is the loftier and -worthier goal. In the full joy of its realization the individual soul -is enriched and finally saved. Thus is patriotism made to share in the -spiritual values of religion. So the individual losing self, shall -again find himself in the service of his fellowmen. - -Looking back beyond the temporary issues of the War Between the States -we can see, rising in clear outline against the times in which he -lived, the tall spare form of "Old Hickory." There rung through his -brave utterance both resolution of will and high purpose of policy. So -were his faith and his hope maintained. To-day, amid the clamor and -disunity of our times, his memory again urges upon the troubled hearts -of our people this great word of a day that is done, that it may again -be made flesh and dwell among us. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -Our Country's Part Among the Nations - - -Preceding chapters have indicated our present national unfitness -in so many things concerning our domestic public life. Yet, until -recently, we were enabled to concentrate what public mind and spirit -we had upon such problems as arose among ourselves from the conditions -of our internal growth. Now, being weak, hesitant, and our wills -quite unformed, we are suddenly hurled into the very center of the -international whirlpool. In the preparation for and in the execution of -our part in the Great War, we were, no doubt, quite magnificent. But no -one ever doubted our ability to fight. It is in the execution of the -greater tasks of peace that we falter and fail. - -With the close of the war there was presented to us, in the urge to -world leadership, the most difficult and dangerous problem of all. -Here, again, we were offered no alternative. We must go. We must -help to "settle order once again." We drew back from Paris, only to -reassemble the nations at Washington. - -Two opposite opinions have settled in the minds of the majority of -Americans with reference to the subject matter of this chapter. One -would have us move far out and lose ourselves in a mad mixing world. -The other would withdraw us from the world utterly and hide us like a -"hermit crab" in any rotting shell we find. I shall here show that one -of these policies is impossible to execute. I shall prove, also, that -the other, if fully carried out, would destroy us as a people. Between -the two, surely, there lies a way in which our ship may move more -safely towards its appointed haven. - -Changed international relationships are largely the result of new -forces, physical forces, in the economic and social life of the world. -These forces were drawing and pushing all the nations of the world -very close together. The first wireless message has only recently been -sent entirely around the world. Commercial aviation, already widely -in vogue upon land, will presently span the Atlantic and then the -Pacific. The commercial and financial dependence of each modernized -country upon the other is too commonly realized to need much emphasis -here. If Europe does not buy cotton, the Oklahoma farmer can not pay -his taxes or his grocery bill. If the Germans can not borrow money in -New York and London, they can not buy raw material to work upon; hence, -France, Belgium and Italy, getting no reparations, will not be able to -pay their American creditors. So runs the system into every counting -house, factory and cow stable of the civilized world. Railway lines now -penetrate the deserts of Asia and the jungles of Africa. Everywhere -the half-naked savage is trained to work at strangely modern tasks. -So is his labor interwoven by the machine process into our gigantic -fabric of international industrialism. All the world unites because it -is impossible to any longer stay divided. He who does not understand -these things of the world's work can not begin to think intelligently -concerning international relationship. - -Our large American part in the life of the world is, and is to be, -determined by a number of factors. These include our wealth, our -comparative numbers, our national state of mind, and the place we hold -in the opinions of other peoples. We are seven per cent of the world's -population and sixteen per cent of the world's white population. At the -table of the great International Disarmament Conference at Washington -we sat with Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. Our wealth is probably -greater than that of all these combined, including the white colonies -of the British Empire. In power to make war we undoubtedly stand alone. -These elements of physical greatness indicate our natural part in the -reorganization of the shattered world. We can not leave the world to -its ways and build a Chinese wall around America; nor would we if we -could. No wonder our old-fashioned American citizen was deeply worried -in the year of 1920. "Whither," he asked, and "how far are we going?" -So he decided to pause and wait awhile. Deep within the national mind -was the terrible knowledge that, with our feet entering strange and -devious ways, our lamp was untrimmed. - -We cannot accept an internationalism that would compromise the -immigration issue either in the East or West. We can not serve Japan -by permitting her to annex California as she has already annexed -Hawaii. We can not save the world by seeking first our own dissolution. -An international market for money and goods is one thing. A free -international market for wage-laborers is quite another. If we are to -undertake our international task, we must ever more jealously guard -the strength which is ours by inheritance. Let us cleave even more -firmly to those things of mind and character that have created us a -nation. As a unified and democratic people, as a successful, happy and -educated people, we can no doubt play a leading part in organizing the -world for better things. All the world cries out for this leadership -of America. But we are as yet unfit to lead. The nations, which are -sinking, stretch out their hands to lay hold of ours, but we ourselves -are falling into the pit. One who reaches down his hand to rescue a man -falling into Niagara's current must first be sure of his own footing. -If we are to save others we must begin by first saving ourselves. It is -impossible to resist the influences that make for internationalism. But -it is possible, it is absolutely necessary, to save and make perfect -our nationalism upon which any useful internationalism must be based. -To speak of internationalism as taking the place of nationalism is to -deny the very meaning of the word from the start. The separate nation, -in its world relationships, may be compared to a separate home in a -community. The citizen joins with his neighbors to construct a road, -to build a village school, to maintain a police and fire service. But -the community effort is not undertaken for the purpose of dissolving -and destroying the home. Just the contrary. The community protects and -serves the home. It accomplishes what the single can not undertake. - -Eventually there will come, if we learn to lead, a great world -community. It will come slowly, growing through the centuries. Our own -country, ever more positive of her individuality, of the deeper things -of her own personality, of the true worth of her inmost soul, and with -a realizing sense of the value she can so contribute, may yet aspire to -the privilege and the honor of that world leadership which will make -for the peace, unity and well-being of all. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -We English-Speaking People Must Stand Together - - -Here, too, a choice is not permitted us. The desperate condition of the -world is forcing our minds and hearts. The demand is given to us who -speak English: "CO-OPERATE, OR PERISH WITH A PERISHING WORLD." - -This broken world can not be put upon the path of peace and prosperity -without the most careful and courageous leadership. Modern industrial -and commercial conditions, in a word, the machine process, has thrown -all the nations of the world together. If we can not separate ourselves -from the other nations, if all the world must eventually march in the -same direction, the only practical question relates to the direction -of the march. Are we to be saved together, or are we going to fall -together into the pit of a new sequence of the Dark Ages? The great -masses of the colored races, mostly unfitted for self rule, must be -protected, civilized, educated, and led onward and upward toward the -best that they can do. On the other hand lies the dread alternative -of a military imperium which might eventually organize the whole -of China and India. If we do not organize the world for peace, it -is not impossible to conceive that twenty-five years of astute -propaganda might win all these seven hundred and fifty millions to the -militaristic leadership of Japan. A great Indian nationalist leader -recently said that no one fact had so aroused and encouraged the spirit -of India as the present brilliant role of the Japanese nation. Such a -pan-Asiatic movement might very likely draw Russia, Germany and several -other European nations into a new and terrible alliance. The poor and -the dejected always seem to find cause enough to pick a quarrel with -the rich and the powerful. I repeat, if the English-speaking people -will not undertake together the task of giving ordered progress and -freedom to the world, upon what nation or nations is the duty to -devolve? We have rejected, rightly or wrongly, the League of Nations. -What next? - -In this connection the happy solution of the age-worn Irish -question makes straight the way. While the Irish in the home-land -were in rebellion against Britain, the political waters of every -English-speaking country in the world were made muddy. Peace in Ireland -makes our task of co-partnership with the British Empire easier and -simpler. Indeed, directly after the signatures were attached to the -British treaty of peace with Ireland, a distinguished Irish leader -remarked that he hoped to see America cooperate with all the other -English-speaking people who are united through the British Empire. - -Let us glance briefly at some essential conclusions to which the -reduction of naval armaments inevitably leads. The American and the -British navies are to be made about equal. In ten years time an almost -perfect equality will be secured. These two navies, taken together, -will of course dominate the seven oceans. The only naval power which -will remotely compare to either is that of Japan. Because of our -wealth and population, also because of our industries, production and -commerce, the United States and the British will have no immediate -rivals. Together, we can declare the world's peace. Together, we can -give the world a decent measure of order. We include, of course, -the practically independent and rapidly growing nations of Canada, -Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It will be readily seen how -much greater is our power, a united power, for good than any other -possible combination of nations in the world. Here, tossed about in a -sea of color, lies the white man's hope. Here, too, is large hope for -all the world. Under the world peace we can establish the forces that -make for international justice which will at last be given a chance -to function; while under the threat of war every sort of inhuman and -barbaric force will win its way. Given an assured peace and better -minds and gentler hearts among our English-speaking people will never -be silenced. They will triumph in our own countries first. They will -save the world as a matter of course. On the other hand, world anarchy -and world war will always submerge every liberal voice and every -progressive policy among all nations, ourselves included. - -We need no formal alliance with the British to bring these things to -pass. The alliance of the American with the British people is formed by -all the qualities we have in common. These are already more powerful -than any document. The theory that competition for the world's trade -makes co-partnership in everything and anything impossible for us is a -piece of ignorant nonsense. All our better humanity is crying out the -command that trade keep to its rightful place in human affairs. If this -Anglo-American understanding could have been possible ten years ago -there would have been no World War. At that time we in America were not -ready for co-operation. If we are not entirely ready for it to-day, -then under the Providence of Almighty God, and being responsible to Him -alone, those of us who see the light must make all ready for it. - -With every forward step we try to take toward the peace and the -salvation of the world, we shall find, at first, blocking our way and -attempting to push us back, our great foreign cities. The war, in so -far as we Americans ourselves are concerned, has not liberated us -from this tyranny of the foreign vote. It is, in large part, still -mobilized on the wrong side of almost every public question we can -think of. However, we may now expect this influence to slowly give way -to better knowledge and wiser counsels. With the Irish question finally -settled, our Irish fellow-citizens here will have no further occasion -to oppose the British at every step. Our German voters, too, may soon -come to learn that Germany cannot be saved if the world be lost. -If we American-born citizens can only attain sufficient unity to once -for all ignore the foreign vote, and rule ourselves intelligently, -we shall soon discover that vote has ceased to be a danger. But it -will not cease to curse America for fifty years if it is not met with -the firmness of a united American will. Let us draw a line about the -foreign sections and about the hyphenated votes, and declare our -absolute independence of them. During the war this foreign vote was -silenced and nullified. So it will be again as soon as we speak our -national mind with certainty of purpose. - -[Illustration: God is our Refuge and Strength] - -In perfect harmony with the British people, we are now seeking and -securing naval disarmament. Having limited and equalized our power for -defense, it is absolutely essential that we stand together to prevent -the building, among possible enemies, of dangerous armaments on sea -or land. No doubt Japan will, from this time on, carefully heed the -united demand of our two English-speaking peoples. The first imperative -duty that we must accomplish together concerns the protection of China -from the lusts of the exploiter. The independence of the Chinese nation -must be guaranteed. Her unity must be re-established. Her resources -must be protected from the greedy ones among our own citizens who would -take from the Chinese people the resources they so much need for their -future. To-day China can not protect herself. It is incumbent upon us -to afford her the fullest measure of protection. The gratitude and -esteem our children will receive from the Chinese nation will be in the -future the strongest and surest of all the guarantees of world peace. - -We in America are as much interested in the care and progress of the -African peoples as are the British. Why should we not share in this -responsibility? What a boon to the future of those backward black -people of Africa, should they find themselves more largely united -through the more general teaching of the English language! More and -more will such of our American Negroes as are unhappy here, find a -place of refuge in their native land of Africa. We should be serving -the highest purposes in a number of ways were we to purchase the Congo -Free State from Belgium and the Portuguese colonies in the Southern -part of the continent. Side by side with the British Empire we could -help in administering the affairs of those barbaric peoples in their -own interest. The third international plague spot is the Near East. -With the heavy tyranny of the Sultan removed, the conglomeration of -broken and unhappy peoples who composed his subject population have -been freed. To-day they fight and fester like vermin stifled and -starving in a dark place. It seemed to many Americans that, after the -war, supervision of these Christian peoples was our particular duty. - -Why should we, speaking the language of the mighty dead, who gave -command in the English tongue, be so fearful of sharing each other's -purposes and each other's tasks? We are what we are; and it so happens -that we are forced by circumstances to guide the world. Let us lead -wisely and well, winning for our children gratitude and esteem. Let us -have done with all this sickening pose of Pecksniff and Uriah Heap, -and do the great deeds to which our times call us as Cromwell and -Washington would have done! - -We need world vision to-day. "Without vision the people perish." -But we need more than vision. We require great, practical, general -policies of world reorganization; and the veritable cornerstone of that -policy is this mighty English-speaking co-partnership. This saving -fellowship we Klansmen propose to advance by every means in our power. -The common language through which the whole world must ultimately find -communion is the English language. This is evident to anybody who -even casually surveys the linguistic map of the world. North America, -India, Australia, more than half of Africa--such is the future empire -of Shakespeare and Milton and Lowell and Poe. Beside all the various -national languages and local dialects, our language will be used as a -means of universal conversation. So shall our every word, for good or -for ill, be a word spoken in authority to the whole world. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -The Nemesis of Immigration - - -Our American civilization has received during these three hundred -years two crushing blows. So staggering have been these onslaughts -that it is still doubtful whether or not we can recover and go on as a -democratic people. On both occasions the blows have come primarily from -a relatively small group of profiteers. During the first two hundred -years of our history the African slave traders of old England and New -England traded their vile cargoes of rum for the black man, and sold -him throughout the Americas. So they accursed half our country with -slavery. To-day their deeds remain in the form of a large population of -black people, which, like a millstone about its neck, still drags upon -every natural aspiration of the Southland. - -The desire for cheap labor was not fully satiated through the -importation of the African slave. The coming of modern industrialism -gave it a new turn. Our American system of industrialism has been -based, from the first, largely upon a European system of labor. Without -the slightest question as to their unfitness to take part in our social -life, or our political democracy, without thought of anything in the -world but securing much labor for little money, our employing classes -have, until very recently, persuaded the nation to give them a free -hand in their immigration policy. What the importation of the black man -did to the South in accursing our history for centuries, immigration -has done and is still doing to the industrial districts of the North -and West. Having advanced far beyond Europe in the development of a -democratic civilization, we have now again, deliberately, turned back -upon our past and prevented the social, intellectual and political -progress of our country by instituting the conditions of a degrading -poverty, illiteracy, overcrowding, slums, and mediaeval religious -worship. The gang rule and the boss rule of our cities are simply a -return to monarchical forms without the decencies of government and -the refinements of society which an hereditary monarch provides. All -this we have gotten together with the riches we so much craved. We have -amassed our wealth only to realize, perhaps too late, that our very -food and drink are ashes and vinegar. - -There have come into America during the last fifty years great hordes -of immigrants. The tide reached its height in the fiscal year ending -June 30, 1914, when it totalled 1,320,000. From Europe there came -during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, 805,000. With our cities -swarming with millions of unemployed, congress was impelled at the -end of the last fiscal year to pass the three per cent law. This law -permits, annually, immigrants to come from each European nation to the -extent of three per cent of their peoples already here in 1910. That -is, if 100,000 Rumanians were settled among us in 1910, 3,000 a year -are now permitted to come. This law is difficult to enforce. Within an -hour I have read in the day's news that 1,100 immigrants, mostly from -Hungary and Armenia, brought over by the greedy shipping companies -in excess of the three per cent quota of those nations, are to be -admitted. This is done as a Christmas gift to these unfortunate people. -Once arrived at our ports, who can have the heart to return these -unfortunates to Europe. No doubt this act of charity will be repeated -again and again. - -If we permit this three per cent law to be continued during a time of -economic stress and unemployment, we may expect the profiteers, and -cheap labor advocates generally, to come upon us with their demand -of unrestricted immigration as soon as times are better and workers -are more in demand. Of course, as might be expected, these foreign -born already here are most zealous in their advocacy of unrestricted -immigration. In the first place they wish to bring over their relatives -and friends. Then, too, the foreign born wrongly interprets all -opposition to unlimited immigration as being a base imputation against -his particular people. The thoughtless and unpatriotic appeal of all -these groups is usually made upon the basis of a sentimentalism. "Is -America not the haven of refuge for the oppressed?" they ask. In the -same manner was the trade in African Negroes defended three hundred -years ago. The blacks were being brought over, it was said, "in order -to Christianize them." If half of them died on the way and were thrown -overboard to feed the sharks, as often happened, still our intentions -were said to be Christian. This sickly, and ofttimes affected, -sentimentalism is one of the most disgusting features of both the -criminal profiteering of the few, and of the criminal carelessness of -the many among our people. - -Reflect for a moment upon the fact that there are at least one hundred -millions of poor in Europe, who would come to America now if they -could. They await only ship space and money to pay for their passage. -To bring over one million this year is always to prepare the way for -two millions next year. Each incoming crowd soon invites and pays the -way for a greater host of relatives and friends. - -This importation of the poor and destitute does not much benefit -European countries, if indeed it helps them at all. A country, which, -like Italy or Belgium, is primarily industrial in character, has long -since reached its limit of population. Remove a million Belgians or -a million Italians to America, and their places are at once refilled -by a million more births at home. Hence the creation of Italian or -Belgian slums in Boston, Pittsburgh and Chicago does not ultimately -decrease the size of the slums in Brussels or Naples. Nor does the -overflowing tide help the home country where, as from Poland or -Hungary, the emigrants are largely peasants. The land of Poland and -Hungary is held in large estates. Every peasant who deserts the -soil of Europe to fester in our cities merely postpones the change -in the land system which denies him opportunity in his own country. -Furthermore, in Poland, Hungary, Rumania, etc., this peasant is now -needed more than ever before to raise food crops. He leaves his country -because conditions are bad. These evil conditions are due, in part, to -the aftermath of war. But this is only secondary. The primary cause -of poverty among the peasants of Southern and Eastern Europe has been -large holdings of land and conditions of practical serfdom, but, above -all, primitive and backward means of production. Instead of plowing his -land with a plow, this backward peasant turns it up with a hoe three -times the weight and with only half the cutting edge of an American -garden hoe. Instead of reaping his grain with a reaper, the Polish or -Russian peasant reaps with a scythe of about the size, weight and shape -of an American fence rail. So, to compensate for his own ignorance, -backwardness, and the crude mediaevalism of his whole environment, -this peasant escapes responsibility by rushing to the United States. -His case is exactly the same as that of the city wastrel from Belgium -or Italy. In leaving his own country he does not help it in the least. -In coming to America he drags us down to the pit of Hell. - -As regards the immigration from Japan, the West Indies, and Mexico, -the conditions are only exaggerated. They are exaggerated by greater -differences in race and by the wider gulf which separates our economic -conditions from theirs. There are tens of millions of people in India -who never know from one year's end to another what it means to have -enough to eat. One good American dollar will outfit their wardrobe -for twelve months. Throw these millions into the industrial life of -America, and in twenty years' time their place in India will be taken -by as many millions more, just as wretched, just as absolutely hopeless -as the millions who are begging, starving and dying to-day. Here is a -place where sentimentalisms are only trash. A sentimental attitude by -an American toward this problem is a criminal attitude. It is a sort -of criminal insanity which makes for suicide. If the suicidal intent -concerned only the individual, we should not worry nearly so much. But -it is our country which is committing suicide. - -The problem may be simplified by a comparison. Let us picture our -sentimentalist as possessed of an American family of wife and three -children living in an eight room house. Will this average citizen -welcome the arriving immigrants into his own house to the extent of -five per room? If he lives in Texas, will he fill his home with Mexican -peons; if in California, with Japanese and Hindoos; if in New York, -with Sicilians or Turks? All that I ask is that he be fully consistent. -If the sentimentalist is willing to prevent his own children from -having homes in America in order to provide homes for the Japanese; -if he is willing to prevent his American neighbors from having -children in order to make way for the children of the Japanese of -to-morrow--then he ought to be willing to open wide the door of his own -house in order to provide for the destitute immigrant. - -There is something quite terrible in the stern fact that this country -will belong to the people who multiply most rapidly. The imbeciles and -the other feeble-minded, if permitted to do so, multiply much more -rapidly than normal persons. Suppose that we permit this class to -multiply at will and carefully preserve its progeny from disease and -other causes of a high mortality. In that case we can easily calculate -the time when the feeble-minded and insane will number a majority of -our population. Among the competing races in America the birth-rate -is the ultimate victor. The German and the Irish among us outbreed -the original Americans. The French-Canadians and the Poles outbreed -the Germans and the Irish. The Negroes and the Japanese outbreed all -the whites. Return to the liberal immigration policy of five years -ago and we shall become a conglomeration out of which it will be -impossible to build a nation. Under such conditions almost no sound -reform policies, no national progressive movement of any sort, can be -successfully advocated and executed. Stop immigration and a homogeneous -English-speaking nation will again be developed. Such a nation will -solve every economic and social problem as it arrives. Such a nation -will develop according to our Anglo-Saxon methods of free speech, -free press, democratic methods and popular respect for the law. We -are dealing here with the most crucial and fundamental issue of our -generation. - -The time has come to brand every advocate of continued immigration as -the outright enemy of this country and of our American civilization. -We are already two generations late in waking up to this matter. We -are on the very brink of the pit, and if we are to act at all, we must -act in unity and at once. Eventually, after our present foreign -element has been Americanized and absorbed as best it may be we might -permit again a small amount of carefully selected immigration annually. -But even that would be a mistake. Future Americans should be born and -reared in America. Again and again let me urge that I am not claiming -that Americans are inherently superior to other peoples. We have a -peculiar civilization to guard and to guide. The tendency in our -industrial regime is always for the weaker, the more humble, the more -serf-like peoples to undermine the sturdier native whose standard of -living spells his destruction. The lower standard of living which the -immigrant willingly accepts, at least at first, is his essential curse. -Admitting swarms of low standard Europeans in order to "bring American -working people to reason" as regards their wages and conditions is a -piece of ignorant folly. In the end this always increases, instead of -decreases, our labor difficulties. - -[Illustration: A "Klonklave" where One Thousand "Aliens" were -"Naturalized" and Became Citizens of The Invisible Empire.] - -As I have already stated, our American labor problem can not be solved -by breaking down the American standard of living and the American -spirit among American born working men. Our labor problem can be -solved only by winning the employers and workers alike to accept a -common policy of justice and Americanism. The view that there is ever -"more work in America than we can do ourselves" is the falsest of -false economic theories. Why should we try to exploit our resources or -develop new projects of any sort at the crazy and destructive rate of -speed which has marked our industrialism during the past generation? -Just the contrary is the correct policy. The unskilled labor of America -must be done by Americans. A dozen of our presidents have wielded -the axe and guided the plow. The very foundation of our country is -a sturdy, intelligent, characterful and self-respecting working -class, who do not at all crave to be parsons and college professors. -Better build fewer miles of highway or dig less coal than destroy our -civilization by the admixture of unsuitable and unworthy elements. -There is an old story of a farmer who burned down his barn in order to -get rid of the rats. Here we have a case of burning down one's house -in order to settle an argument as to who is going to wash the dishes. -Right here appears what may be our supreme test in the building of a -great nation, in the conservation of our democratic civilization. Are -we Americans ready and willing to eat our bread by the sweat of our -brow? If we are, we shall live and prosper as a people. If we are not, -if we crave the importation of an ever larger servile class, then we -shall perish, and we shall deserve to perish. Democracy is impossible -in the presence of a class which holds common labor in disesteem. On -the other hand, no idle aristocratic class exists in all the world, -that the mills of the gods will not grind to dust and oblivion in the -end. - -Another aspect of European emigration deserves especial comment. Let us -take for granted that it is desirable for a certain number of Europeans -to emigrate from their various home lands. Why do they not go to -South America, where millions of square miles are as yet untilled -and unbroken, and where raw materials in countless amounts await the -tools and the initiative of the worker? Or, why does not the European -emigrant go to East Africa, where a fair and fruitful land, resembling -California, is open to settlement by white men? Australia, with three -millions of square miles, has a population of only six millions. She -can take millions of immigrants, and provide lands and plenty. - -The answer is simplicity itself, the mass of European wage workers -and peasants to-day do not wish to become pioneers. Those who are -physically, mentally and morally capable of becoming independent and -successful farmers no longer emigrate. They stay at home and improve -their conditions by instituting modern methods, as in Germany, Ireland, -and Scandinavia. They know that we have no longer free lands for them. -The present European emigrant is one who wishes to become a city -wage-worker or petty trader. Here in America considerable numbers have -attained great wealth. It is this story of the poor emigrant boy who -acquires millions of money and perhaps political distinction which -troubles the mind and disturbs the sleep of the unemployed European -wage worker, the peddler and the landless peasant. Stop European -emigration to the United States and within ten years South America, -Africa and Australia will begin to receive such emigrants as they need -for their natural and rightful development. But those who emigrate from -Europe to the great open spaces of the world will be forced to become -farmers, foresters and miners, producing the solid wealth which all the -world needs. - -One further word. We shall presently come again upon a period of -prosperity. It will be limited by world conditions, probably, to -a few months, at the most to a year or two. During this period an -enormous propaganda for unlimited immigration will be again financed -by the profiteers and supported by the feeble minded and weeping -sentimentalists. At that time the intelligent and patriotic portion -of our citizenship must be especially alert and active. We must -so organize our working forces that great numbers can readily be -shifted from city factories to the harvest fields and back again. -Certain seasonable trades and outdoor construction work can be made -to supplement one another, so that the workers will not be forced out -of employment at any season of the year. To a man of the breadth and -experience of, for instance, Mr. Ford, the execution of such a plan -would be simplicity itself. We Americans can and must solve these -peculiar industrial problems on the basis of a slowly increasing native -population. - -I realize fully that to consummate so great a reform as the permanent -stopping of immigration requires the setting in motion of larger forces -than the Klan can command. To this end every American must function -through his political party, his fraternal order, his business -associates or labor union, and his church. All the argument is on one -side. What we require is action, and we Klansmen propose to have it -without further dilly-dallying and compromise. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -The Problem of Restricting the Suffrage - - -During nearly the whole of the nineteenth century our American people -played up hill and down dale with a very dangerous political doctrine. -I refer to the theory of unrestricted suffrage. Probably a majority of -our people actually came to believe that because a man (or a woman) had -arrived at the age of twenty-one, that was reason enough for granting -him the right to vote. This individual might be illiterate. He might be -mentally undeveloped, perhaps an imbecile. If our imaginary voter were -deaf, dumb and blind, besides being halt, he could still be carried to -the polls and his vote registered and counted. - -Only recently have any considerable number of our people come to take -a practical view of this thing. At last we are beginning to see -that this, like any other good principle of life, may be driven to -excess. One may work too hard or think too much. Even the most exalted -virtues may be overdone. So it is with the principles of democracy. -Having succeeded with a large measure of democracy, by the time our -government was put into operation, we did not lack those who were -prepared to see it carried to fanatical and dangerous extremes. So the -spoils system has been long defended as being a necessary attribute of -democracy. Politicians discovered that votes might be secured through -disclaiming all breeding, culture, and even denouncing efficiency in -office. Instead of trying to make of our democratic system a sound -and reasonable way of conducting public business, our people fell to -advocating certain democratic political and social theories with a sort -of religious frenzy. - -So it was with universal suffrage. A corrupt government at Washington -would never have been permitted to enfranchise the Negroes directly -after their emancipation had it not been for the wide acceptance among -our people of this false theory of the suffrage. If "everybody should -vote," then, indeed, how could the freed Negro be denied this "inherent -and inalienable right." - -Of course, as a matter of fact, the vote has always been denied to -certain groups and classes. To begin with, the young people under -twenty-one years of age, in the eyes of the law, "infants," were -disfranchised. These had no "inherent and inalienable" right to -vote, because of their immaturity. Until recently women were not -allowed to vote on the basis that the franchise would interfere with -the performance of domestic duties. Paupers and criminals are also -disfranchised. - -However, it is quite true that heretofore our theory of the suffrage -has been that any adult male could vote unless specific cause were -shown why he should be disfranchised. Right here we must reverse our -approach to the subject. The burden of proof should be upon the other -side. Our prospective voter should be made to show indisputable reason -for enfranchisement, instead of being permitted to vote unless cause -for disfranchisement can be shown. In other words, the ballot must be -considered a privilege and not an "inherent and inalienable right." - -This brings us to the question of the standards to be enforced. -No doubt this is a very difficult matter to decide. A very large -proportion of our people are quite likely averse to any change. That -the wind is blowing in the right direction is indicated, however, by -a general tendency to raise the standards of the suffrage. Thus, in -the State of New York, in the last election (1921) an amendment to the -State Constitution was passed requiring that a prospective citizen and -voter should read and write in English. What is needed is an amendment -not only to the various state constitutions, but to the national -constitution. In preparation for such a drastic and far-reaching step, -the national mind should be prepared by the widest possible discussion -of the problem. - -The suggestion that I am to make here I wish to be understood as purely -tentative. I realize fully that the whole discussion is just beginning. - -Hardly anybody will deny that reading, writing and speaking the -English language with facility should be required of every voter. -Without the ready use of English it is impossible for foreigner or -native born to keep himself sufficiently acquainted with affairs to -vote intelligently. This requirement would disfranchise a considerable -portion of our native born whites, and a much larger portion of -our Negro and immigrant population. It is not too much to say that -the graver danger of the ignorant voter would be abolished by this -measure,--that is, if the measure were properly drawn and strictly -enforced, and at the same time would guarantee absolute and complete -rights of all under a real intelligent democracy. - -But the literacy test is not enough. Government to-day is intricate -and the duties of the voter are most varied and difficult. Very few -Americans will hold it necessary to so restrict the suffrage that -only a minority will be qualified to take part. But any American -intellectually fitted to discuss this problem will presently come to -hold, I believe, that the standards may well be raised. They should -be so high that our more backward young people in the schools must be -forced to strive diligently in order to fit themselves to attain this -great privilege and responsibility. - -It would be simple enough, in connection with our public school -system, to establish boards of examination to pass upon prospective -candidates. A majority of these boards should have had experience as -school-teachers. They should have in hand the matter of providing -facilities for educational preparation on the part of the student, -young or old, who might wish to continue his school work in order to -qualify for the use of the ballot. - -The nature of the educational requirement, in my opinion, would have to -do with two sorts of preparation other than the ability to read, write -and speak the English language. First, we should demand an intelligence -test such as is now required of every applicant for enlistment in the -United States Army or Navy. These tests have been reduced to a high -degree of scientific accuracy. The specific requirements would be -somewhat different, of course, than those demanded for the admission to -the Army or Navy, insofar as they would have a different object. But -the principles should be the same. The purpose of such a test would -be to reject all imbeciles, morons, and the mentally unbalanced. We -now know that these groups number from ten to fifteen per cent of our -population. Placing the ballot in their hands amounts to the same thing -as intrusting it to children from six years to fifteen years of age. - -The second feature of our test should have to do with a different -sort of qualification. The purpose of the intelligence test should -be to reject those who are so lacking in natural intelligence as to -be unfitted for the simpler responsibilities of life. Our second -requirement would have to do with positive preparation. Any applicant -should have a full measure of sound knowledge with regard to the -history and government of the United States and current political and -social problems. Unhappily not only many immigrants, Negroes, and -illiterate native whites are at present unfitted to vote intelligently. -I fear that an enormous percentage of quite intelligent, and in some -respects well educated, persons are not in a position to pass the -simplest examination upon the elements of our history and government. -Let me not be misunderstood here. I do not propose to limit the -suffrage to those who are qualified to become judges on the bench -or professors of history and political science. I would favor no -standard so high that an intelligent young person could not fully -prepare himself in a year, by careful study for a few evenings a week. -The last two years of any efficiently graded school should furnish -courses sufficient to prepare the student in these things. Indeed, -any child completing his grade course where such studies were offered -and required would naturally be considered as having measured up to -this part of the suffrage requirement. His diploma on leaving school, -properly attested, signed and publicly registered, should give him, -upon arriving at the age of twenty-one, the right to vote. For children -who have not been enabled, for any reason, to complete the grade school -work, the necessary process seems simple enough. Evening classes or -other means of preparation can be furnished them at any time during -the years preceding voting age. Whenever they can pass the examinations -they will receive the testimonial of proficiency, so there will be -placed in their hands a most valuable and precious document entitling -them to the sacred privileges and duties of an American enfranchised -citizenship. - -My basic contention in this matter is simply this: both our young -people and our immigrants must be asked to fit themselves with the -greatest care for the use of the ballot. I am agreed that a great -many, native-born and foreigners alike, should be admitted to every -other privilege and right of citizenship except that of the ballot. -Nothing should be denied these except the power to degrade and destroy -our government through ignorance and incompetence. The ballot is both -a sacred heritage and sacred privilege. It must be recognized and -appreciated as such. The scandal of the criminal use of the ballot by -outright purchase is the primary source from which flows political -corruption. A premium is put upon the achievement and honors conferred -in the hearts of the people upon the successful politician regardless -of the methods by which he attains success. Most recently this has -broken out upon the body of the nation as a putrid sore, revealing -within a systemic condition portending the decay and death of our -democratic civilization. - -Our American democracy, generally successful at first, has more -recently left much to be desired. Even a hundred years ago, when we -were a primitive, farming population, our victorious democracy had -its seamy side. It brought with it every sort of inefficiency. It -thrust upon the nation the diabolical spoils system, which is still -so largely with us. Yet at that time democracy was saved by the very -simplicities of our national life. To-day all is so different. It is -time for democracy to tie up its loose ends and pull up the slack at -every point. Our public problems to-day are most perplexing to the best -informed minds among us. Our whole citizenship must not only acquire -a degree of education in public affairs which no people has ever yet -attempted--they must be reanimated by a spirit of sound morals and -an intense desire to serve their country well. Otherwise no purely -negative reforms can save our democratic system. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -National Solidarity Through Education - - -In discussing the public school system of the country there is little -new for me to say. But the importance of the public school system -in our democracy makes it necessary to state again and again the -dependence of our government upon the public school. In the building -of a peculiar civilization, the home and the church, as two necessary -institutions of divine planting, have been everywhere emphasized. -But in the maintenance of a democracy, a system of free schooling -is as absolutely necessary as the home or the church. Democracy, -however interpreted, must mean a leveling of all the people upward. -Intelligence is essential to progress. There is no pathway to higher -and better living except that which is illuminated by the light of a -general intelligence. Our democracy must be taught to think, and taught -to think right, if it is to live. The nations that continue to grovel -and grope, indeed, the nations that are being overwhelmed by internal -revolutions and internecine strife, are all untaught or badly taught. -I have been told that a hungry man near starvation has strange dreams -of palaces and feasts. Untaught human minds, unfed by information, -unstimulated by sound knowledge and undirected power of logic, have -strange dreams. Communism, Sovietism, Bolshevism, Anarchy, are the -nightmares of ignorance. - -Our American democracy, in its earliest declarations, emphasized the -necessity for the general public training of the children and the -youth. Probably this was the real thought in the mind of Mr. Jefferson -when he wrote his equality clause in the Declaration of Independence. -Nothing he ever said has been so misinterpreted and misapplied. -Certainly he could not have meant that all men are fundamentally and -constitutionally equal. John C. Calhoun, the most logical mind in -American history, except perhaps Hamilton, said that that would be a -self-evident falsehood and not a self-evident truth. The great Lincoln -said that there were physical differences between the African and the -Anglo-Saxon that precluded political and social equality. No two things -in the universe are equal in this impossible sense which has been -distorted from Mr. Jefferson's statement that, "It is a self-evident -truth that all men are created equal." Among the billion colored -people of the earth, the black, the red, and the yellow, not one -nation has ever developed and maintained a constitutional government. -If there were equality in the essential things that go to make up the -characteristics of the colored races, certainly during the ages there -would somewhere have developed among them a civilization capable of -producing an upright, dignified, independent manhood. All that this -phrase meant at the founding of the republic, and all it means to-day, -is equality of opportunity for realizing the inherent possibilities -that are locked up in human nature. - -This, of course, contemplates a national school system into which -all the children and the youth of the nation are to be brought to -have their eyes enlightened, their hearts trained, and their ideals -harmonized. So distinctly American must the public school system be -that the young life of the nation, without respect to race, color or -creed, shall be brought into it and subjected to its moulding and -developing process. National unity and integrity cannot be maintained -if a part of the nation is taught and a part remains in ignorance. -A democracy must have uniformity and universality in the elementary -training of its young life. Neither can the nation maintain its -existence and work out its destiny if in its early training its youth -is broken up into sectional, racial and sectarian groups. - -Concessions have been made to foreign elements that have come into this -country and organized themselves into communities, holding tenaciously -to the language of the country from which they came. The almost -insuperable difficulty of undertaking to mobilize the American people -in time of war had its roots in just this thing of permitting aliens to -occupy the American soil, live under the American flag, and continue to -teach the political loyalties of their respective countries in their -own languages. It necessitated the draft law by which these people -were compelled to bear arms in defense of the world's civilization. No -thorough American required any sort of compulsion to put him into the -great conflict. The right to volunteer in the time of national danger, -or in defense of the great institutions of human liberty anywhere in -the world, was the inheritance which had been transmitted from the -Revolutionary period to succeeding generations until it came to us and -to our children. We were denied our birthright when drafted for service -in war, and in that fact there is a tremendous indictment of the nation -for its failure to Americanize all its growing life through the public -school system and the English language. - -In every state of the union the Ku Klux Klan will insist upon -thoroughly Americanizing the children of the nation through the public -school. All the racial elements in the country must be brought under -the same standard of tutelage. Only in this way can these peoples -be harmonized. It was the idea of Cecil Rhodes when he founded -scholarships in Oxford for American students that British and American -ideals should be harmonized. The difficulty with Mr. Rhodes' idea is -that the American youth are to be harmonized with British ideals, but -he made no provision in scholarships in any great American institution -to which British students might come and be harmonized with American -ideals. The public school, however, contemplates taking all the -elements that are represented in our vast population and harmonizing -them with the ideals of our democracy. So poorly has this work been -done in many sections of our country, and especially in our congested -centers of population, the large cities, that the product turned out -from the schools has frequently contradicted the purpose for which -the system was founded. We cannot take a person of foreign birth or -extraction into our schools maintained by taxation and turn him out -Italian-American, British-American, Irish-American, Jewish-American, -German-American, Japanese-American, Chinese-American or Afro-American. -He must come out an American with all of his distinctive qualities and -characteristics swallowed up and absorbed in American democracy. The -institution was founded by the fathers and the pattern of American -life was made by the great architects of human liberty, and every time -a hyphenated American is turned out of any American school it is a -contradiction of the very purpose of the republic. - -This work of educating the youth of the nation must be done in the -open. We have no objections to the foundation of schools privately or -by communities of peculiar racial distinction, or even by sectarians -who, because of peculiar tenets, wish to keep their children under the -eye of the church. To repeat what we have already stated, all we insist -upon is just this--that these schools shall be in every sense public, -open to public inspection. They must be subjected to regulation by -properly constituted authority. The same courses in the fundamentals -of Americanism must be taught in a privately owned or conducted school -as in the public schools. Democracy can not be taught and developed -behind closed doors. Its vital breath is openness. It has recently -broken down many doors throughout the world. There are to be no more -secret treaties, no more diplomatic intriguing, nothing between the -governments of the nations upon which the eyes of all the world may -not look. Surely, a democracy demanding openness in all the ways of -mankind, as the nations move surely toward a common fraternity, can not -undertake to conceal any part of its young life in its training for -service to its country and to the world. - -Holding as the Klan does that the tenets of Christianity as a code of -morals are essential to our democracy, we are only too ready to agree -that there should be distinctive religious training. Here, at the very -threshold, there is a difficulty. Absolute freedom of conscience in -religious matters is granted to American citizens. The public school -teachers are drawn from various religious organizations, without -respect to their church affiliations. In the average public school the -children being taught represent numerous Christian sects and not a few -non-Christian sects. It would be contrary to every fundamental of our -national life to introduce specific religious doctrines or tenets among -this diversified group. Perhaps the plan recently tried out in New York -City would solve this problem. The children were dismissed from school -a part of a day each week, that they might go to their respective -places of worship and there be taught by ministers or lecturers of -their peculiar faith in the essential things of religion and ethics. - -This much is sure: These foreign peoples must be unified in Americanism -and it can not be done except through our public schools. North -Carolina has adopted the slogan, "Abolish illiteracy in ten years." We -should take that slogan for the whole American nation. By "literacy" -we should mean literacy in English. This can only be accomplished, -however, when native and foreigner, Catholic and Protestant, Jew and -Gentile, gladly bring their children together and place them side by -side to be taught in the things of democracy. - -Demands have been made during the past few years that the funds -collected in taxes for the maintenance of public schools be segregated. -Our fellow citizens of one powerful religious organization have -insisted that monies paid out by members of that church in taxes -for public education be returned to the denomination and applied to -the parochial schools, which are owned and controlled by the church. -Of course this means that a considerable percentage of the young -population of the country would be withdrawn from the Americanizing -schools of the public and trained only as the church directed. Church -and state are forever separated in the democracy of America. Any -tendency to bring them together in building the solidarity of the -nation should be arrested. It is not worthwhile to experiment further -in this matter. All history shows the utter futility of attempting -to build a robust, virtuous, enlightened national life through union -of Church and State; and I wish to say with the utmost composure, -and speaking, I trust, for every real American, that not one dollar -of public monies shall ever be diverted from the public schools for -sectarian institutions. This declaration may sound explosive. Yet I -hope it will give no offense to anybody. The sooner it is accepted -as final, so much the sooner will a very real cause of difficulty and -misunderstanding be removed. - -A study of our history is fundamental to the construction and the -maintenance of a sound national life. Thomas Carlyle once very -correctly said that one cannot manage the present or predict the future -except from an accurate knowledge of the past. All sectarian textbooks -in histories, partisan textbooks or sectional textbooks, are naturally -distorted and perverted. Men who hold tenaciously to a particular -setting, given a religious truth or any other historical fact, have -looked at their fellowmen through a distorted perspective. The trivial -has frequently appeared to them to be the magnificent, and the -magnificent the trivial. Bias has characterized all such narratives. -It is difficult enough to secure a history of any country or its -people in its political, economic, industrial and social development, -that is basically true to the facts. The man who writes is apt to be -tremendously impressed by the age in which he lives. The tale that -he tells is often a crude compilation of errors. Only recently the -manuscript of a history in its making was tendered by a well known -publishing house to a patriotic organization of the South for review. -One of many glaring errors that obtruded from this book, which was -designed to become a text book, was the statement that the democratic -party originated with the original Ku Klux Klan of the Sixties. Another -history in common use in the public schools of the country, filled with -all sorts of inaccuracies and misstatements, was recently taken from -the schools in one great section of the country. When the attention -of the author was called to the inaccuracies, he offered to expurgate -the offensive statements of which the section complained, but refused -to change his history for other sections of the country where the -statements were as yet unchallenged. If such histories are foisted -upon our school system, and our children are taught the errors of the -prejudiced and inaccurate historian, how much worse, and how much more -dangerous, would the teaching be if the history texts are purposefully -written by narrow sectarians, and the facts discolored by religious -prejudice? The time has surely come when real history should be written -by the truthful and wise, and the facts of our national virtues and -vices, our strength and our weakness, our dangers and our securities, -should be taught in our public schools, and taught to all the children. -The preparation or selection of school text books in history is no more -a fitting subject for rancorous bickering among sectarian politicians -than the writing of text books in chemistry. It is entirely a matter -for trained historians and professional teachers. We must insist that -politicians of all breeds keep their hands far removed from these -things. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -The Conservation of the American Home - - -The American home is rapidly becoming a failure. After countless ages -of biological and social evolution, that marvelous process of change -and growth which has produced us, we are committing suicide as a nation -and as a people. A home without children is not, in a social sense, a -home at all. It is only a place in which, and a condition under which, -two persons of opposite sex live together more happily and comfortably, -perhaps less so, than they could do apart. - -The American home, the home in which healthy, intelligent and -characterful children are bred and reared, both for their own sakes -and the nation's service--this home is the veritable rockbottom of our -national well-being. Let the home fail, and all our wealth and material -achievement is naught but poverty and trash. - -The millions of homes in which there are no children, or only one -child, the birth of which was perhaps wholly unintentional, are so -many millions of tombs in which the nation's hope and future lie -buried. The millions of young unmarried Americans, between the ages of -twenty-one and forty years, whatever be the cause of their unnatural -and unsocial condition, are just so many millions of Americans who have -rejected life. All of the unmarried, all of the married who do not -reproduce themselves, are a crushing accusation against our national -intelligence, our national morals, and our national social policy. What -do these figures not mean in terms of disappointment and despair, of -social purpose unfulfilled, of negative sorrow and anguish in the heart -of the individual, of souls unfed in terms of every higher realization -of life? - -A people which can calmly behold a large per cent of its marriageable -young people homeless and childless has confessed itself to be a broken -and dissolving remnant among the nations. We, lords of the richest -land in all the four quarters of the world, voluntarily place our -national head upon the block and beckon to the executioner, axe in -hand, to make haste. - -Visualize this old-time American home--on the hillside, among the -trees. For many generations it has stood foursquare against every -blast of winter, every ugly aspect of circumstance. From its wide -portals have gone forth a myriad of the young and gay, the hopeful and -the brave. Its offspring peopled all our West. Its victories in the -wilderness, through a hundred years, have no counterpart in all the -history of humanity. The history of America has been the history of the -American home--of what that home has accomplished for the citizens that -were born and reared under its sheltering roof. - -Open the door! Wait! You shall see none enter here. Only a going out--a -funeral procession. A death march sounds forth, a mighty people, the -hope of the world--such a people is borne to the grave. Where there is -no laughter of children, there Death is King. And those that see make -jest and frolic. - -In the even scales of biological law and of mathematical calculation, -our people are being weighed in the balance and found wanting. We -Americans, all that we have been, and all that we are, are being borne -to the grave in execution of the law. We have been tried and condemned -by a just Judge. - -It is a most dangerous error to undertake to build a national life -on the individual as a unit. "God has set the solitary in families," -said Moses, as he led his people through the vast wilderness unto the -promised land. We may destroy all else, but leave the home and the -family, and yet all the elements and works that make the nation can be -once again regained and rebuilt. We may possess all else, wealth and -power, all the arts and all the knowing, thriving schools and majestic -temples--but if the home crumbles and decays, we perish with it utterly. - -Oh! The deep, deep and terrible tragedy of our Nordic race in America! -We have been decimated by fratricidal war. Our flesh and blood have -been corrupted by industrialism. Now, however, we go to our destruction -simply because we do not care to live. We go as blindly as a species -of animals whose conditions of life have been completely upset by -new forces with which they do not know how to deal. Sheep and swine, -nay, the wild beasts of the field, could not act with such utter -carelessness and immorality as we. All that we have done will perish -with us. Other nations have lived and left record of their labors in -a lofty literature or a resplendent art. The glory of the temples -they have builded keeps their memory green centuries after their very -language is forgotten. The people of the age of Pericles will live on -in their work, to beautify and glorify humanity for twice ten thousand -years. But we Americans are perishing miserably to leave no record of -high value, because our greater work has been bound up in our very -selves. We have all lived and labored together as free men. We have -proven to a faithless world that the humblest toiler could wield the -mightiest and most glittering scepter of power. We have made good the -proud boast of a triumphant democracy. All that we have been, as a -beckoning star among the nations, all that we have meant to the world -of hope in the common man, is doomed to perish with us. - -All I seek to do in these chapters is to bring the mind and heart of -my country to this place. Here, in the old-fashioned American home, -we shall do battle. Here we shall fight the last fight, to win or to -lose. If we are to have a greater and better America, we must begin by -breeding better Americans in larger numbers. There is no other way. The -man who says our young men and women, in general, do not desire homes -and children, says a falsehood. We neither desire nor expect fifteen -children in the home. What we do insist upon, in recreating all the -conditions about that home, is two, three, four, and sometimes, in -exceptional cases, five or six children. For our country as a whole, -during this century, we crave but a small increase in native born -population in every decade--perhaps ten or twelve per cent. We would -reject, by taking forethought and preventing marriage, the children -of the criminal, the children of the imbecile and the insane, the -children of those who are accursed with incurable diseases or incurable -indolence. We would remould all that needs remoulding in order to -receive into the hearts and the homes of our country the children -of the healthy and the industrious, the honest and intelligent, the -high-minded and the sensitive. - -Give our young people of America but half a chance! Let them have -their own country in which to test out the labor of their hands and -the love of their hearts! Let them again lay upon themselves the first -duty of the supreme law of nature! They can and will preserve to this -continent every higher value, every article of faith left to their -keeping. Remove from their environment a competition that is unfair -and killing. Give them bread and not a stone for their toil. Give them -solid assurance and not a gnawing insecurity of livelihood, and they -will give to their country a future through the sons and daughters of -their love. - -To admit that there is a growing number of our young women who reject -child-bearing as a burden is merely to re-emphasize the crying need -of a socializing education. It is the work of those who know and who -care, to teach those who are ignorant and careless of duty. We teach -our young people that they must help prepare themselves for citizenship -and self-support. Citizenship for our American young women includes -the essential duty of motherhood, and for our young men the duty of the -creation and support of a family. A cornerstone of our ethical teaching -should be the preparation of the minds of the young for home-building -and parenthood. Every able-bodied man, or woman, who deigns to eat, -should perform some sort of useful work. Similarly every normal young -man and woman who accepts life should be gladly willing to create life. -Around and above these homes and these children we must place the -protection of every means furnished by applied science. To educate them -and to fit them for useful work and public service, we must apply the -first fruits of our nation's wealth. To offer to these young citizens, -upon maturity, full opportunity for fruitful labor and self expression, -we must be ready to reject much error that is ancient, and accept much -truth that is new and sometimes startling. - -America consists of and exists in the home. The home is America. To -lose the fight here is to lose all. To win at this point is to win -for ourselves national salvation, and for the world our share in its -ultimate redemption. - - - - -A FINAL WORD - - -Let me confess that I alone am responsible for the reorganization of -the Ku Klux Klan. No one suggested it to me. No one helped me in the -formulation of its new task, nor in the working out of any of its basic -principles or methods. So it may not be entirely uninteresting to the -reader for me to close this statement with a brief narrative of the -first growth of this concept in my own mind. - -To begin with, my childhood fancies were much laid hold of by the -stories I heard of the original Ku Klux Klan. These stories were -told me in my own home. Sometimes in Negro cabins the old darkies -would play upon my boyish mind with marvelous tales of the hosts of -white-robed horsemen--the souls of the departed soldiers of the great -war--who were used to ride up and down the countryside. Sometimes I -would imagine these cavalcades passing swiftly and silently, like a -white cloud, across the starry heavens. Later, when a more accurate -book of knowledge of this strange epoch of American history was opened -up to me, I eagerly devoured all the reading I could find pertaining -to the subject. Yet the impressions made upon me by the legendary -account never entirely lost their force. So, as I grew to manhood, -my mind, perhaps overburdened while yet too young, with a sense of -the responsibilities of citizenship, made the service of my country -a deeply set conviction. I never went very joyously either to my -studies or to my active duties. To my generation, as it grew up in -the defeated, broken and impoverished South, the problems of life -presented heavy tasks rather than stirring issues. We had to make all -our beginnings as a people over again. Our mood was much like that -of the Puritan founders of New England when they set themselves to -struggle against the stern climate and the thin and unfruitful soil of -their section. A statement of Robert E. Lee to a member of his staff -the day before he surrendered at Appomattox has been more than once -my sheet-anchor. "Captain," said our great leader, "I should gladly -lay down my life, but it is now my duty to live. The way for me has -been hard, very hard--no pathway of duty is easy--only those who -have encountered obstacles, faced difficulties, and endured extreme -hardships, know how much easier it would be for me to die, than to live -in response to the call of duty." - -We people of the South lived on. We have tried to do our duty. We have -even tried to forget the past, though often it may not seem so to our -fellow citizens. - -In 1898 it was my privilege to enlist in the glorious service of our -reunited country. Of course every youth who then donned the uniform -imagined that he would proceed at once to Cuba and do battle for the -liberation of that country from the tyranny of the Spanish monarchy. -My first evening in camp, under the old flag of the Union, was an -experience never to be forgotten. I believe that all of the thousand -young men in the Alabama regiment with which I served felt their hearts -moved by something of the same great emotion. We were to be under the -command of Nelson Miles and Fitzhugh Lee, of Wesley Merritt and Joe -Wheeler. - -The heat and noise of the day gave way to the soft, warm flush of the -evening. Such an evening! Under the clearest of skies and the brightest -of stars I stood on guard at midnight. My mind seemed to be so passive, -so sensitive, so subjected to the thoughts that rushed out of the -universe, from the past and the mysterious present and the unknowable -future, to take possession of my soul. I saw my country ennobled by -the great task of liberty and of love to which she had set herself on -that occasion. United at last! United in a common cause! Reforming a -Union which had always existed in the hearts of all, underneath those -superficial forces which so long troubled us and kept us apart. -And now a great fountain of joy and of pride, pressing from the -heart, filled every artery almost to bursting. On that night I first -understood my country and saw, emblazoned in the sky, the part to which -the Lord of Hosts had called her. - -To a young man whose heart is truly enlisted in the issue of a great -war, the mighty thrill of the soul is the ultimate experience of -life. So is the banner of his country raised aloft. So are his arms -consecrated by the deepest impulses of the spirit. Lyric poetry has -often exhausted its meters and its music at the altar of the lesser -loves. On that strangest of nights I knew that here was a love that -makes the heart of youth deny all that comes from self and lift burning -eyes to the stars. - -Oh my people--soldiers--workers--pioneers--adventurers--saviors--in -the four quarters of the earth! Be you--your deeds--your vision,--all -in all--imperishable! The world listens to hear the sound of the -song you sing upon the march. Somehow I feel and know that you shall -live--gloriously--throughout the ages. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KLAN UNMASKED *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/66917-0.zip b/old/66917-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index dd492f2..0000000 --- a/old/66917-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h.zip b/old/66917-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 254b817..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/66917-h.htm b/old/66917-h/66917-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index f5a1b2a..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/66917-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5407 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Klan Unmasked, by William Joseph Simmons. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.small { - font-size: small} - -.medium { - font-size: medium} - -.large { - font-size: large} - -.x-large { - font-size: x-large} - - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} -.p6 {margin-top: 6em;} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } -.ph5 { font-size: small; margin: 1.12em auto;text-align: center; } -.ph6 { font-size: x-small; margin: 1.12em auto;text-align: center; } - - -.hang { - text-indent: -2em; - padding-left: 2em} - -p.drop:first-letter { - font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; - font-size: xx-large; - line-height: 70%} - -.uppercase { - font-size: small; - text-transform: uppercase} - - - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%} -hr.full {width: 95%;} - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} -hr.r65 {width: 65%; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em;} - - - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - .tdl {text-align: left;} - .tdr { vertical-align: bottom; - text-align: right;} - .tdc {text-align: center;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - - - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - - -.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} - -.bl {border-left: solid 2px;} - -.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} - -.br {border-right: solid 2px;} - -.bbox {border: solid 2px;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.u {text-decoration: underline;} - - - - - -.caption {text-align: center;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - - - - - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - - - - - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -@media handheld { - .hidehand {display: none; visibility: hidden;} -} - - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Klan Unmasked, by William Joseph Simmons</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Klan Unmasked</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: William Joseph Simmons</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: J. A. Murdoch</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 9, 2021 [eBook #66917]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Tim Lindell, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KLAN UNMASKED ***</div> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> - -<p class="caption"> WILLIAM JOSEPH SIMMONS<br /> - -Founder of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and Emperor Invisible -Empire</p> - - - - - -<p class="ph1">THE KLAN<br /> -UNMASKED</p> - - -<p class="ph6"><i>by</i></p> - -<p class="ph3">WILLIAM JOSEPH SIMMONS</p> - -<p class="ph5"><i>Founder of</i></p> - -<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">The Knights of The Ku Klux Klan</span></p> - -<p class="ph6">AND</p> - -<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">Emperor of The Invisible Empire</span></p> - -<p class="ph6" style="margin-top: 10em;">PUBLISHED BY THE</p> - -<p class="ph4"><span class="smcap">Wm.</span> E. THOMPSON PUBLISHING CO.</p> -<p class="ph5">ATLANTA, GEORGIA.</p> - - - - - - -<p class="ph6" style="margin-top: 10em;">COPYRIGHT, 1923</p> -<p class="ph6">by</p> - -<p class="ph6">The W<sup>m</sup>. E. Thompson<br /> -Publishing Company</p> - -<p class="ph6">Illustrations by J.A. Murdoch, Atlanta, Ga.</p> - - - - - -<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2> - - - - - - - - -<table summary="toc" width="75%"> -<tr><td align="right">Chapter</td><td></td> <td align="right">Page</td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#WHY_I_WRITE_A_BOOK">Foreword: Why I Write a Book</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center">PART ONE</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><span class="smcap">Organization and Methods</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">I.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">The Klan Yesterday and To-day</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">II.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">We Americans—A Vanishing People</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">III.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Fraternalism of The Klan</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> IV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">The Klanishness of The Klan</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">V.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Is The Klan Anti-Semitic?</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">VI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Is The Klan Anti-Catholic?</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">VII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">The Terminology of The Klan</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Symbolism of The Klan</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">IX.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">The Rendezvous</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center">PART TWO</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><span class="smcap">The Fading Hope of Democracy</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">X.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Democracy as a Social System is on Trial</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Our Cities a Menace to Democracy</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">The Failure of Democracy in Central and -Eastern Europe</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Foreign Outposts in The United States</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XIV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">The Racial Limitations of Democracy</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">The American Negro as Ward of The Nation</a></span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XVI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">We Americans are a Peculiar People</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XVII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Giantism—The National Disease of America</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XVIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Drifting</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center">PART THREE</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" align="center"><span class="smcap">A Salvaging Policy for Americanism</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIX.</td> <td>"<span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">The Federal Union—It Must be Preserved</a></span>"</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XX.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Our Country's Part Among the Nations</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XXI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">We English-Speaking People Must Stand -Together</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XXII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">The Nemesis of Immigration</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XXIII.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">The Problem of Restricting The Suffrage</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XXIV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">National Solidarity Through Education</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_260">260</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XXV.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">The Conservation of The American Home</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_274">274</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XXVI.</td> <td><span class="smcap"><a href="#A_FINAL_WORD">"A Final Word</a></span></td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="WHY_I_WRITE_A_BOOK" id="WHY_I_WRITE_A_BOOK">WHY I WRITE A BOOK</a></p> - - -<p class="drop">V<span class="uppercase">arious</span> representatives of the press, as well as many of my colleagues -in the organization of which I have the honor to be the Founder and -head, have repeatedly asked me to make a public statement, descriptive -of our organization. It was anticipated in certain quarters that we -should at once make specific reply to the embittered attacks upon -the Klan. Although abundant space in the press was placed at our -disposal for this purpose, we did not take advantage of the offer. -It is no part of the policy of the Klan to enter into heated public -controversies—even in self-defense. We felt all along that a clear and -simple statement of facts concerning the form of our organization, -its methods and ultimate purposes, while perhaps due the public, was -not due the instigators of the attacks upon us. We are not as yet aware -of the exact source of these attacks. Yet, I may say, the membership of -the Klan universally welcomed it, realizing that sooner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> or later the -Klan must be under fire. Whether or not we are enemies of our country -and of freedom we are quite willing to leave for the public to decide.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the direct effect of these attacks upon the Klan will -not be without interest. Our ranks have been rendered more firm and -steady. The public has been rather amused than affected seriously by -the reams of villification which were heaped upon the Klan. It now -remains for us to tell what the Ku Klux Klan really is, how it came -into existence, and what it purposes to do through the organized power -of its membership.</p> - -<p>We have been outrightly accused of maintaining secrecy in the conduct -of our organization. We ask, in rejoinder, for how long has it -been a crime or a misdemeanor in the United States for a fraternal -organization to employ secrecy in the conduct of its affairs? We have, -literally, hundreds of secret organizations in this country. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> fact -that a number of persons draw themselves together in an organization -for mutual aid, for mutual confidences, and for mutual effort, implies -that they have something in common which they do not wish to share -fully with the public. So has every family and almost every business. -Then, too, the element of secrecy no doubt develops the interest of -the membership, adding to the charm as well as to the value of their -fellowship. Concerning this feature of our organization, I feel assured -that we might appeal to the common sense and fairness which Americans -are always and everywhere ready enough to show. No one expects the -Masonic fraternity or the Knights of Columbus,—to mention two large, -well-known and respected fraternal organizations in this country,—to -exhibit all their forms of salutation and other formalities to the -public. We simply claim the same rights and privileges which other -fraternal organizations share, both under the law and in the esteem of -the public mind.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p> - -<p>New organizations and movements usually draw the fire of the -uninformed. People are inclined to be suspicious of that which they do -not understand. When Masonry first assumed its larger importance in -America it was the object of attacks so bitter that some of the members -were placed in danger of their lives. An Anti-Masonic party, nearly -a hundred years ago, acquired material importance and sent several -members to Congress. Just preceding the War Between the States, the -Know-Nothing, or Anti-Catholic party ran through its brief but stormy -career. This party was caused by the fact that the Catholic Church was -growing in certain parts of the country where it had hitherto been -almost unknown. When we Klansmen reflect upon these historical facts we -are much consoled. It remains only to say, in this connection, that we -bear our recent detractors not the slightest ill will whatever. They do -not understand us. That is all.</p> - -<p>We confess that the Ku Klux Klan has been organized in order to help in -the ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>complishment of a great task. Neither the magnitude of this task -nor its vital importance to the future of our country are yet widely -realized. Our American citizenship is usually earnest and active with -regard to the discharge of its more simple duties. With reference to -larger social problems, however, problems which sometimes assume the -form of great national dangers, our country is often enough soundly -asleep. The Ku Klux Klan proposes to wake the sleeper and make him at -least sit up, look around, and ask the time of day.</p> - -<p>Whether or not we are enabled to accomplish all that we have set out -to do remains for the future to decide. But I may say that the growth -of the Klan and the universal spirit and activity of its membership -indicate pretty clearly that neither our hopes nor our efforts, thus -far, have been in vain. The Klan is growing in the North and West -more rapidly than in the South. It has been carefully and permanently -grounded in nearly every large city. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> will eventually spread to -every town, hamlet and country cross-roads. With our six years of -organized effort and our present status in mind, we may be pardoned for -saying that we feel that there must be some need for an organization -which has, in so short a time, shown such phenomenal strength. The -Klan exists because it satisfies a most vital need in our national -public life. Our opponents have tried to indicate that our position and -purposes are purely negative. Nothing is farther from the truth. Any -candid, logical and patriotic mind which will reflect upon this and the -following chapters of this book can not be our enemy.</p> - -<p>In order to first clear the way of the trivialities which have been -placed there to clog our footsteps, I wish in this foreword to state -most positively certain facts with reference to our organization. -The Ku Klux Klan has not been organized or conducted in opposition -to any religion or religious sect, or against the members of any -race or language group, either within or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> without the borders of our -country. Upon this point let no doubt be left in the mind of any -American. It has been falsely stated that we are fanning the flames -of hatred against the Negro race. Exactly the opposite is the truth. -To our fellow citizens of the Jewish or the Roman Catholic faith, and -to other groups too numerous to mention, we enter a flat denial to -all those pure fabrications which have seemingly given them so much -alarm. It is, indeed, quite true that our membership is restricted. It -includes only citizens of the white race. So does the membership of the -Clan-na-Gael and of B'rith Israel. If it may be truthfully said that -our membership is also restricted to Christians and to Protestants, -this is due purely to the fact that certain deductions may be made -from certain paragraphs in our Constitution and By-Laws. We have not -yet ceased wondering why attacks should be made upon us in the public -press on that score. The membership of the Knights of Columbus is, -I believe, restricted to members of the Roman Catholic Church. Is -there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> anything especially dangerous or wrong about that? I should -not say so. Catholic Churchmen have both a legal right and a moral -right to organize and conduct a fraternal order by and for themselves -alone. Moreover, the Knights of Columbus as an organization, and in -the personnel of its individual members, would be well within their -rights in demanding that they be saved from slander, villification -and unjust attacks of every sort, because of the restriction of their -membership to those of one faith. Since the end of the war various -German organizations, such as fraternal orders, singing societies, -etc., have begun to re-establish themselves. These organizations are -fully protected by the law and their members do not lack the esteem of -their English-speaking fellow citizens. Hence, I would most candidly -ask—and would that my voice could be heard throughout the length and -breadth of the land—since when has it become a crime for a body of -American-born, English-speaking, white citizens to organize themselves -into a fraternal order?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> What has happened in our country which seems -to bring our particular racial and social group so much into disrepute? -Since the House of Representatives in Washington has investigated us, -why is not a resolution presented asking the House to investigate -other institutions of a similar nature? However that may be, since we -have been duly investigated, and the investigation has ended without -the slightest accusation or criticism, so far as we know, on the -part of the House Committee, we would now ask our accusers, in their -turn, to be candid enough to do one of two things. They must either -present further facts to substantiate their accusations or retract the -accusations.</p> - -<p>We repeat most emphatically—The members of the Ku Klux Klan, as -individuals or as Klansmen, are not the enemies of the Negro. We are -the best friends the Negro has, here or anywhere. Our organization -makes opposition to no religious sect or creed, as such. Our order -is based squarely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> upon the Constitution and laws of our country. We -hope never to be unmindful of the basic fact that both the Federal -and State Constitutions guarantee freedom of religious belief and -practice. We invite our fellow citizens of every faith to join us in -the protection of so valuable and sacred a right. Every statement made -at any time that we would deny this right to others than ourselves is -an absolute and unmitigated falsehood. In conclusion, let me emphasize -that the Ku Klux Klan conducts its activities not only within the -law, but in active support of the law. Our general organization would -not tolerate for a moment any illegal act on the part of any of our -local organizations. The Klan has not been formed to express little -hatreds but to study crucial problems and aid in the execution of large -national policies.</p> - -<p>I might add a further word. We take pride in the fact that our -national and local organizations have conducted themselves, generally, -within the bounds of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> strictest discipline. Perhaps it has been -because of the ease with which crimes might be committed and our -local organization unjustly blamed therefor that we have suffered -from a certain sort of criticism and attack from the uninformed and -the misinformed. We are now taking steps to make the Klan perfectly -secure against such criminal misuse of its name and regalia. Suffice -it to say here that we take the keenest pride in our record, and in -challenging our opponents and detractors to present the facts which -their allegations demand, we ask of them in the most kindly spirit. We -take much for granted. We can not be misunderstood for long. We know -that many of those who unknowingly oppose us to-day will be our best -friends, in many cases, indeed, our ardent companions of to-morrow.</p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Klan Yesterday and To-day</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">I<span class="uppercase">n</span> many questions, from all sources, I have been asked as to how the -Klan of the Sixties was related to the Klan of to-day. The original -Ku Klux Klan sprang from the urgent necessities of the Reconstruction -period. At the close of the War Between the States, the South was -prostrated and devastation was spread from the Potomac to the Rio -Grande. Following hard upon the collapse of the Southern Confederacy, -hordes of bad white men, generally termed "Carpet-Baggers" and -"Scalawags", came into the South to prey upon the prostrated people -of that section and to fatten on the ruins of war. This crowd of -men had been loyal to neither the Union nor the Confederacy, and, -in most instances, traitors to both. The tremendous upheaval had -thrown them from obscurity into publicity. They availed themselves -of the conditions that obtained to establish themselves and utilized -the re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>cently emancipated race of slaves to further their ends. -Negroes everywhere were organized and taught to hate the white people -of the Southern states. Under martial law they controlled all the -elections that were held in the South. From these was elevated to -our legislatures and courts an alien race, untaught, unskilled and -incapable of government. White men in the South who had borne arms -in defense of the Confederacy had the hostility of the so-called -Union League directed against them. Their property was invaded, their -homes were menaced and in many instances the white women of the South -became the prey of Negroes who had been inflamed by the teachings of -"Carpet-Baggers" and "Scalawags." The evident purpose was to establish -for all time the supremacy of the Negro over our Anglo-Saxon people and -civilization.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> LT. GEN. NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST<br /> - -The Grand Wizard of the Original Ku Klux Klan.</p> - -<p>To meet this condition and arrest this menace, the Ku Klux Klan sprang -into existence. The white man's civilization that had been thousands -of years in the building<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> was imperilled. The blood of the white man -ran like lightning. Tremendous forces leaped from the ashes of defeat -and drove like the whirlwind throughout the land. Civilization sounded -the note of wild alarm. An empire covering half a continent took form -in an hour and more than a half million men were mobilized in a single -day in defense of the white man, his home, his civilization and his -freedom—against the rise and assaults of an inferior race, many of -which within the century, had been cannibals, and some of which were -still speaking the jargon of the jungles of Africa.</p> - -<p>In the formation of the original Ku Klux Klan there was no thought -or purpose in the mind of the white men of the South which made for -the suppression of the misguided Negroes by violence. Wise men they -were who founded the Invisible Empire and directed the movements of -its citizenry. They knew the superstition of the Negro. Interwoven in -the Negro's life, religious, social, industrial, was the fantastic -belief<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> in the supernatural and the grotesque. To him the ghost was -very real and not at all unusual in appearance. In all their folk tales -there was a weird intermingling of ghostliness. Rather than intercept -by violence the movement of the Negro toward supremacy in the South -under the leadership of vicious white men, the Ku Klux Klan devoted -itself to thwarting the movement by overawing the Negro through his -superstitions. Had this plan not been adopted, the Negro would have -been largely exterminated.</p> - -<p>This organization of the original Ku Klux Klan made a most thrilling -chapter in the history of the Anglo-Saxon civilization in America. -It has never been written. The organization has been maligned, -misrepresented, and misunderstood for more than fifty years. The -Congress of the United States instituted an investigation of the Klan -that totaled forty-six volumes in reports and findings, but not in a -solitary instance was an outrage or an atrocity in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> South fastened -upon the organization. The supremacy of the white man was established, -the purity of the Anglo-Saxon race was maintained, and both races, -white and black, settled down side by side in peace and contentment to -work out their essentially different destinies.</p> - -<p>The present Klan is a memorial to the original organization, the story -of whose valor has never been told, and the value of whose activities -to the American nation has never been appreciated. In a sense it is -the reincarnation among the sons of the spirit of the fathers. It is a -flaming torch of the genius and mission of the Anglo-Saxon committed -to the hands of the children which the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan are -again holding aloft.</p> - -<p>The name of the old Klan has been taken by the new as a heritage. The -regalia and insignia of the old have been adopted by the new as a -mantle of one worthy generation might fall upon the shoulders of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -successor. Beyond this point the connection and similarity between -the two organizations do not extend. The ritual is not identical. The -purpose of each organization, while having a common impulsion, is -not the same in extent. The old Klan never intended to reach beyond -the horizon of the Southland. The present Klan has purposed the -supremacy of our heritage of ideals throughout the nation. There is -no intention on the part of the present Klan to intimidate or overawe -by spectral, ghostly garb, or to accomplish its aim by demonstrations -of force or acts of violence, or by a supergovernment under disguise, -or by moving in the darkness of the night. But there is a purpose -underlying the entire organization and pulsing in every fiber of its -being, to maintain Anglo-Saxon civilization on the American continent -from submergence due to the encroachment and invasion of alien people -of whatever clime or color. There was not in the old organization a -solitary motive except to save the civilization of the white man that -had been wrung out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> the thousands of years of his struggle upward. -There is not a single motive actuating the new Klan except to save the -heritage which the fathers have left for us in the present to transmit -to the generation yet to come.</p> - -<p>A moment's reflection will indicate how natural it is to see the new -Klan take form first in the South. With us the issue and the conflict -is an old one. Instinctively we scent dangers which our brethren -in other sections of the country are apt, as yet, to ignore. For -centuries we have been forced to deal, in one form or another, with a -problem which always seemed to us and still appears to some of us to -be insoluble. I mean the race problem. Yet in this, as in all else, -our kinship with our fellow citizens of the North was made evident by -an outstanding fact of Reconstruction days. The original Ku Klux Klan -was almost as strong in the Union army, maintaining martial law in -the defeated states, as among the men who wore the gray and went down -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> glorious defeat. Had it not been for the active and sympathetic -co-operation of large numbers of the Union forces, the achievements -of the Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction period could not have been -accomplished. The time has now come, once more, to bring to our whole -country a sense of this great issue. And this issue, the causes of this -crisis, has broadened and deepened to a degree which threatens the -complete destruction of our civilization.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">We Americans—A Vanishing People</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">W<span class="uppercase">e</span> Americans are nothing if not humanitarian. We have in the United -States many varieties of organization for the assistance of the various -foreign racial and national groups upon our soil. We have also done not -a little for the succor of the peoples of the old world who are now in -such great distress. The larger humanitarian motive is as a guiding -star to millions of Americans. It leads them and lights their way. -To many such it may seem unnecessary, to some preposterous, for the -organization of which I have the honor to be chief to be founded and -developed. But a sober second thought is required here. Let us grant -that a people which, in its weakness, faces permanent injury, requires -help that it may survive and grow. Then indeed, it follows that we -Americans, as a people, need to help ourselves first of all. <i>As a -people and a nation we are face to face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> with dissolution.</i> In the Ku -Klux Klan we have an institution designed to help in the stupendous -task of saving ourselves from failing and falling.</p> - -<p>We Americans as a peculiar people face extinction upon our own soil. -Let me be fully understood. I do not wish in the least to appear -sensational. I wish only to state a few simple facts which should be -apparent to any American who investigates, ever so briefly, the true -condition of his country. So often, during the past twenty-two years, I -have been oppressed in heart as I have seen how little public interest -this crucial matter has aroused. If my tendency has, at times, been -somewhat pessimistic and fearful, I claim that there is cause enough -for fear and pessimism. Surely there is great need that intensest -sadness and sorrow strike deep into the hearts of Americans, if we are -now to help ourselves and live.</p> - -<p>We Americans are a perishing people. From the point of view of history -we are be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>ing wiped from the face of the earth with a rapidity which -almost staggers hope. First let me clearly define what I mean by -the phase, "We American People." I mean by that phrase those white, -native-born citizens of this country whose ancestry, birth and training -has been such as to give them to-day a full share in the basic -principles, the ideals and the practice of our American civilization. -I do not mean that a foreign-born citizen can not be a good citizen. -On the contrary, many of our foreign-born are excellent citizens. Yet -I most positively mean what the title at the head of this chapter -distinctly suggests. We, the American people, we whose breed fought -through the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States, the -people by whose courage the great American wilderness was penetrated, -and by whose painstaking industry that wilderness was subjugated and -made fruitful—that this people, who gave to the world Washington and -Franklin, Jefferson and Hamilton, Andrew Jackson and Daniel Webster, -Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>coln—this people, our people, is on -the downward way to the early ending of its remarkable history. The -mighty length and breadth of the soil made sacred by our struggles and -our victories is now being given over, with ever greater rapidity, to -various peoples of a totally different mold. I am not saying that these -other peoples are bad in character or in any way unworthy. May Heaven -witness for my colleagues and myself of the Ku Klux Klan that we bear -them no ill will whatsoever. I hope that none of us as individuals -or as an organization may do them aught but good. We wish, above -all, to be moved in all things by that Christian spirit upon which -our organization is founded, and which, I trust, moves its humblest -member. But we have come to sound a warning throughout the length and -breadth of the land—a warning which everyone of our own people from -Newfoundland to California and from Florida to Alaska must hear and -heed. <i>We are perishing as a people and the land of our fathers shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> -presently know us no more.</i> Emerson once said, "What you do speaks so -loud I can not hear what you say." Let me here change the words but -not the meaning. The facts cry out so loud that we can not hear the -vain and wordy opinions of the theorists and the sentimentalists. The -prattle of these sentimentalists, be it ever so noisy, can not prevent -us from both seeing and hearing the real drama. We are witnessing the -greatest tragedy of the ages.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus03.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> Only Americans May Pass</p> - -<p>To place these facts in their proper relation, one to another, we must -study the map of the United States. That map, hanging on the wall of -the old school-house, or facing us over our desks in the library at -home, seems always to appear so big and brave and bold. To the child -at school it appears to flaunt its very bigness in the face of all -the world. My fellow American citizens in all the states, study that -map carefully. In terms of the civilization of the whole world it -will richly repay investigation. Let us move with the sun from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -valley of the river St. Johns in Maine, to the far-off mountains of our -California. Incoming masses by the hundred thousand flood New England. -They do not speak our language, can not know our laws, and do not mix -with our native people because there are hardly any natives in New -England left to mix with. In dozens of schools built for the children -of the great city of Boston and its suburbs the English language is -not even taught, not to speak of as being used as a means of acquiring -knowledge or of taking loyal and useful part in our national life. -Throughout twenty varieties of the stupendous foreign sections in -all our great industrial cities of the North, the very conditions of -life prevent millions from learning the English language or taking an -American breath into their nostrils. From St. Louis and Chicago and -Milwaukee on the West to New York and Boston on the East democratic -American political life is now almost impossible—unthinkable. To this -we shall recur in later chapters. Just now we must proceed rapidly -to other parts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> of our map. In our Far Western territory, where a -million square miles of mountain and valley are beginning a marvelous -development, we Americans are fighting one of the most desperate and -crucial social conflicts in the history of our country and of European -civilization. Our Western people are striving for the very salvation -of our soil as the heritage of the white American. This conflict rages -day by day—week by week—year by year. Our brethren of the West are -misunderstood and their crying call for help is largely rejected by -the East. There are counties in California where more Japanese babies -are being born each year than white babies. The Japanese in California -are multiplying at the stupendous rate of sixty-nine per thousand, -annually, while the white people of California increase at the rate -of eighteen per thousand. But the eighteen per cent. includes the -relatively high rate of the foreign-born whites. The American white -people of California increase by an annual rate of less than ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> per -thousand. Look you well, fellow Americans, to this part of our map. Go -on in your indifference and carelessness, and these western valleys -and mountains will, in the days of your children, be blood-soaked by -one of the most desperate of interracial wars—a war at once civil -and international—in the history of the world, and despite all your -treaties of peace.</p> - -<p>In the Southwest are over eighteen hundred miles of boundary line -between ourselves and the people of Mexico. I know that I am expressing -for my colleagues of the Ku Klux Klan who dwell along that eighteen -hundred miles of boundary line their inmost thought, when I say that -they wish only peace and fellowship and mutual aid and generosity to -mark all our relations with the simple and kindly people of Mexico. -But we are here marshalling the facts—the staggering facts which -the American people must know and ponder well to-day. Nearly half a -million Mexicans, speaking various dialects of the Spanish and Indian -languages,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> have recently come across our Southwestern boundary line. -Surely it is not with any ill will in our hearts that we say with all -the power we have that these thousands can not share our American -democracy with us in this generation. In Mexico these people can be -ruled in such a way and take such measures of progress as may befit -them. Granted time and they may evolve a successful democracy all -their own. But in this generation they will make democracy impossible -wherever large numbers of them settle among us. If immigration -continues through the next generation THEY WILL FOREVER ENCROACH UPON -AND OCCUPY OUR SOUTHWEST. The native-born, white American will either -become a small ruling class, or fade from sight altogether. There are -factories in Texas with practically none but Mexicans employed. There -are sections of the Southwest where, in town and on the countryside, -there are many Negroes, Mexicans and Japanese, few Americans.</p> - -<p>Finally, we come to the South. Leaving the burden of this argument to -future<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> chapters, we can here take but a rapid glance at the inexorable -problem of the Southland. May Providence give to us men and women of -the South the power we need to place our problem before our fellow -citizens in other sections in such a way as to win their minds and -hearts by the goodness of our cause. If I but could, I would move my -hand along that ancient and deadly line which separates us from our -country-men and wipe it out forever. Our problem of the Negro, men and -women of the North, is your problem. If we fail, you fail. We plead -with you to join with us in freeing all our minds from bigotry, all -our hearts from unworthy passions, and all our thoughts from sectional -misunderstanding.</p> - -<p>The larger fact which I seek in this connection to strike into the mind -and conscience of my country is as simple as the multiplication-table. -The Negro of to-day is less in numbers than the white inhabitants -in all states but one, for a single reason. That reason is the high -average mortality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> among the Negroes. The enormous birth rate of the -Negro population would rapidly submerge our white population if the -Negroes were not decimated by a high death rate. The Negroes' numbers -are kept within the number of our white population by various dreadful -diseases. Though these diseases afflict us all in the South, the white -people are generally far more immune than the blacks. We are somewhat -behind the North and West in the practice of medicine, sanitation, and -the general prevention of disease. But we are making great strides -in this as in other means of progress. As all our people, including -the Negroes, are progressively saved from the ravages of disease, the -Negroes' birth rate will be more and more relentlessly shown in the -census of the living. As night follows day, the Negro will, in the -future, move on toward larger and larger comparative numbers in the -South.</p> - -<p>And so this map of our beloved land, which, as school children, we -gazed upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> with deep longings toward the future greatness of our -country—this map to-day, section by section, is discolored and fading. -So do our hopes, too, fade and fail. We Americans are a perishing -people, and the things we have inherited and hold dearest in our hearts -are on the way to dissolution and total loss. Of all the greater -people of history, we Americans least deserve even the pity which is -the portion of those who fail. The glory of our rise, the large part -that is ours in the present, the majestic hope of the nation which -prophesies such a resplendent future—all this is our heritage. We lack -only understanding of ourselves and the public spirit required to take -action. The Ku Klux Klan, in garb of strange device, marshalled under -the flag of our country, has thrust itself as a dire warning across the -downward pathway of the American people—our own people, whom we love.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Fraternalism of the Klan</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">S<span class="uppercase">urely</span> there can not be in this frank statement of the principles and -the purposes of the Ku Klux Klan any ground for the criticism that -the organization was founded on racial and sectarian animosities and -hatreds. The Klan is neither anti-racial nor anti-sectarian. It is -pro-American. We concede to every distinctive organization in race and -religion the same rights of restricting and qualifying its membership -that we claim for ourselves. If, in the light of all the past, and -in view of the present, we are insisting upon an organization of -native-born white American citizens, we do not, by stipulating the -conditions of membership in the Ku Klux Klan, avow hostility to any -one class or company who may not, for one reason or another, qualify -for membership in our organization. Indeed, as Americans we not only -have the right to organize under the law and in keeping with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> law, -but far more than that—in the exercise of that right the Klan is -positively committed to vouchsafing the same right to any other class -of people on the American continent who desire to organize themselves -for patriotic, social, fraternal or religious purposes. Only this -too is also stoutly maintained: Any organization that is formed and -fostered under the flag of our common country must not be inimical to -our democratic government and institutions.</p> - -<p>There are numerous organizations in America to which members of the -Klan would not be admitted. These organizations are racial, social, -political and sectarian. There has never been any complaint against -these organizations. They have never been subjected to scrutiny by the -Department of Justice of the United States Government. They have never -been brought under Congressional investigation. They have lived and -grown and pursued their purposes of organization without restraint or -interference from the outside. All this is in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> exact keeping with the -freedom that is granted under the Constitution and the laws. We realize -only too well that when organizations have arisen that have threatened -the peace or morals or health of our social life, or, for any purpose, -inveighed against the basic institutions of our country or the orderly -conduct of our people in obedience to constituted authority, such -organizations have been speedily suppressed. There are not a few of -the leaders of such movements in the penal institutions of our country -to-day, designated as political prisoners, because they undertook to -obstruct the machinery of the country in its war activities. The Ku -Klux Klan is committed so thoroughly—nothing remaining uncommitted—to -the full freedom of human life guaranteed under the Constitution to -American citizens that it can never interfere with the rights of -groups or individuals outside its ranks. It stands everywhere against -disorderly and disruptive movements which deny the authority of the -government and disobey its mandates<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> whether in time of war or peace. -If there is one thing, more than any other, which we Americans must now -devoutly take to heart it is obedience to law. Perhaps we are rightly -accused by Europeans of being quite the most lawless among civilized -nations. This is indicated by nothing so much as by the series of -terrible race riots which have disgraced some of our great cities -during recent years—notably Atlanta, Washington, East St. Louis, -Chicago and Omaha. Space limits us here to the description of a single -case in which the Klan has been involved. At a small town in Florida, -a terrible race riot was precipitated on election day, 1920. It was -reported that one or more Negroes, disqualified by law from voting, -were nevertheless demanding that they be permitted to vote. This -incident led to others, and resulted in a terrible race riot. More than -a score of persons, mostly Negroes, were killed. The white men, having -defeated and dispersed the Negroes of their own community, thoroughly -inflamed, proceeded, late in the day, to march upon ——<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>——, for -the purpose of attacking the Negroes of that community. The Klansmen -notified by a member of the —— Klan, of the approach of a force -of armed whites, armed themselves and placed their services at the -disposal of the officers of the law. They met the oncoming force just -outside the limits of their own town. Unhappily, the attackers were -not turned back without an armed conflict. In this affray two Klansmen -were killed. The mob was driven back. The Klansmen lost their lives in -defense of the law and while protecting the Negroes of their town.</p> - -<p>On another occasion one of the largest and soundest local Klans ever -founded by our organizers was instantly dissolved, because our rules -and regulations in these things were violated. The Klan in question -wished to find a remedy for a serious local disorder. A tradesman in -the community was conducting a thriving bootlegging establishment which -grew to be a scandal to the whole town. The Klan, recently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> organized, -and not fully comprehending our methods, posted notices warning the -culprit to leave town. They emphasized their warning by posting along -side certain signs of the Ku Klux Klan. For this interference with the -orderly process of justice in this case the local Klan in question was -quickly disbanded by our headquarters.</p> - -<p>With this and other similar incidents in mind the reader may well -imagine the thoughts and feelings of Klansmen everywhere when they -are told that their organization has been founded for the purpose of -"Lynching Niggers." We have been accused of crimes in towns where we -had no local Klan within hundreds of miles. In such cases the lynching -accusations are often carried on the wings of great organizations of -the press. Our denials we find ineffectual. But of this I am certain: -The truth will sometimes overtake the lies and the evil will recoil on -the heads of the evil-doers.</p> - -<p>But in addition to the purely patriotic principles of the Klan, which -are fundamen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>tal, it is a fraternal organization. A Charter for the -Klan was granted by the State of Georgia. All of its activities are -subject to scrutiny by the State and review by properly constituted -authority. The Charter may be revoked at the will of the State. -Where-ever irregularities are shown in the conduct of the Klan, or -wherever the Klan departs from the purposes of its organization as set -forth in the Charter, the Klan may be disbanded by due process of law. -It is therefore not an organization that has sprung up over night, -without responsibility, claiming independence of the law of the land.</p> - -<p>The Klan offers its membership a graduate course in fraternalism. -There are several orders administered and each of these orders marks -an advance in devotion to our common country and in those fraternal -relations and responsibilities which bind us to our fellow men. There -can be nothing in this organization, as there is nothing in the many -fraternal organizations in this country, that is inimical to the -highest sense of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> social order. Indeed, underlying the fraternalism -of the Klan is a consecration to the American home, the preservation -of its sanctity and the maintenance of ideal family life. From -this a sympathetic helpfulness flows out to those in distress and -discouragement, and a force of strong men is thrown about the weak and -helpless without respect to color or creed. This is the service of love -and sacrifice to our age and generation which is symbolized by the -fiery cross.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Klanishness of The Klan</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">I<span class="uppercase">t</span> is perhaps not only proper but also necessary, in view of the -vigorous and persistent attacks made on the Klan, to discuss more -fully the apparent exclusiveness of the organization. I desire to -reiterate with emphasis that the Klan is a purely American organization -assembled around the Constitution of the United States, to safeguard -its provisions, advance its purposes, and perpetuate its democracy. -This definition of the Klan in its organization necessarily carries -the idea of exclusiveness. All men without respect to race, color -and religion may not be organized into a democracy. Democracy can -not be established by outside pressure. It is something which must -be developed in the individual consciousness, and is of very slow -growth. We speak loosely when we talk of the Anglo-Saxon having grown -into a democracy through a thousand years of struggle. Five thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> -years would be a more accurate statement of the fact. During all the -slow processes of the development of the white man's civilization, -there was something inherent in his life that slowly pushed its way -up into the consciousness of the individual until it found expression -in constitutional government, in freedom of thought and speech, and -in all the elements of political and religious liberty. One of the -most developed expressions of this growth into democracy is our -American Government with all its complexities and intricacies. It -should go without saying that all men, without reference to origin or -history, can not be thrust into this country, and, under restraint -and repression, be forced into our ways of thinking and living and so -attain the true value of American citizenship. To begin with, a great -many people, living under one form of autocracy or another, have never -been awakened to a sense of and desire for democracy. In others the -sense has begun to stir, but has not had the opportunity or the time -for that sure growth that would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> transform them into a citizenship -capable of pure self-government.</p> - -<p>This fact has been demonstrated by the futility of the attempts in -Russia, first under the administration of Kerensky and now under Lenine -and Trotsky. The bolshevist camarilla attempted to take that nation, -which has been subjected for ages to one of the simplest and meanest -despotisms on earth, and organize it into a sort of democracy. This -proposition is still further illuminated by the experience of Germany -in her attempt to build a democracy on the ruins of her old autocracy. -The best thinkers in the German nation, notwithstanding the superior -intellectual, economical and industrial qualifications of the people, -predict that a real democracy can not be established in Germany in less -than fifty years. If these two nations, both white, the one having -the most robust physical manhood in the world, and the other the most -vigorous mentality, can not rise from autocracy into democracy, how -absurd it ap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>pears that we should take great masses of the untaught, -underfed, inferior people of all the lands and undertake to precipitate -them, in masses, into our very peculiar and intricate national -democracy.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus04.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> The "Starry" Flag and the "Fiery" Cross Shall Not Fail</p> - -<p>The Klan, organized to protect and advance the cause of our native -institutions, is therefore exclusive in the restriction of its -membership to white native-born Americans. We believe that only one -born on American soil, surrounded by American institutions, taught in -the American schools, harmonized from infancy with American ideals, -can become fully conscious of what our peculiar democracy means and be -adequately qualified for all the duties of citizenship in this republic.</p> - -<p>In order to become a member of the Klan one must subscribe without -reservation of any sort to the Constitution of the United States. -Loyalty to the Constitution must be so thorough that no ultimate -allegiance to any foreign institution, power or country<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> can be -retained. Committal to Americanism is so absolute that nothing is left -uncommitted. The Ku Klux Klan is patriotic to the last and highest -degree. We believe that the principles upon which this republic was -founded, and around which the great War Between the States was waged, -should be constantly reaffirmed and emphasized.</p> - -<p>The American nation has acted as a great magnet. The American city in -particular has been an irresistible lure to the unhappy and oppressed -peoples of the world. From all shores great tides of immigration have -flowed in upon us. The alien peoples have not been distributed over -the vast area of our common country, but have, for the most part, -been congested in our great centers. Many of them can not read and -write their own language. On the average they are three times as prone -to pauperism and nine times as prone to crime as our native-born -Americans. Because of their numbers, as well as their nationalistic -ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>dencies, they organize themselves into separate communities and -often breed hostility to American institutions. How natural that such -foreign communities should spawn all forms of social and political -vices.</p> - -<p>Of course this plethora of population violates the fundamental law -of our social life. This nation grew strong and took on its peculiar -virtues out in the open fields and under the gleaming stars. Granting -that the possibilities of democracy are inherent in many of these -aliens that have been admitted into our country, the possibilities can -not now be realized in the great cities of the nation. We believe that -one can never be wholly patriotic or thoroughly democratized until -he obeys God's great first commandment and settles upon some spot of -ground and subdues it and makes it yield its secrets and its wealth. -Permit these people that have come to us to segregate in cities by race -and tongue, and continue to live in squalor and dirt, often accursed -by disease and ignorance, foreign<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> in habit and thought and pursuit, -understanding our country only as an unrestricted opportunity for -license, and it presents the gravest problems that our nation was ever -called upon to solve. This is especially true since these aliens have -been permitted to qualify for citizenship and given suffrage within -a space of time so short that they can not even become acquainted -with the outward manners and customs of the American people, not to -mention the basic intellectual and spiritual factors of our national -consciousness.</p> - -<p>More than fifty per cent. of the votes cast in the last presidential -election were cast by cities. For the first time in the history of -this country the urban population exceeds the rural. This vast alien -population now holds and exercises the balance of political power. HERE -IS A CHALLENGE WITH TRUMPET VOICE TO EVERY NATIVE-BORN AMERICAN TO FACE -THE CRISIS AND PRE<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>SERVE OUR DEMOCRACY FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME.</p> - -<p>One other condition is imposed on all men who would be associated with -the Klan, and that is subscription to the tenets of Christianity. -We are in no sense a religious organization. There is no purpose -of founding what has been suggested by our critics, a new American -church. The Klan does not interfere, through membership, with any man's -interpretation of religious truth or his connection with any branch or -denomination of the Christian church. In fact, the Klan has nothing to -do with dogma, creed, or ritual. Yet the Klan does insist that every -man becoming a member shall strive to carry himself by the code of -conduct promulgated by Jesus Christ. It is a high standard of living -that the Klan undertakes to maintain, and at the very threshold of the -organization one must accept this highest standard of ethics and morals -that the world has ever known.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> - -<p>There are many who can not accept these stern conditions. But certainly -it is not an arbitrary discrimination against any class, or sect, -or race. We believe that, interwoven into the entire fabric of real -Americanism, are the principles of Christianity. Reverent recognition -of this fact has been made in the Bills of Right and in nearly every -state constitution of the Union. In 1895 the Supreme Court of the -United States, in a decision on the Alien Labor Contract Law, declared -this to be a Christian nation, and the Court was very careful to -establish its decision by referring explicitly to the principles and -declarations of Christianity which run through all the organic laws of -the country. So, believing as we do, that our patriotic principles and -Christianity are inseparable and indivisible, we hold steadfastly to -the Constitution and the Sermon on the Mount. It goes without saying -that men who repudiate either can not look for fellowship in the Klan.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Is The Klan Anti-Semitic</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">R<span class="uppercase">eferring</span> to the exclusiveness of the Klan, I am not quite prepared to -admit that the conditions stipulated for membership in the organization -set up the insuperable barrier that some people suspect. It has been -pointed out in many hostile criticisms that the Semitic race is -excluded from membership in the Klan. It is not true, for instance, -that the Klan has set up arbitrary barriers to the admission of the -Hebrew; but it is true that the orthodox Hebrew has established around -himself barriers that preclude his admission into the organization.</p> - -<p>The orthodox Jews are perhaps the most exclusive people in the -civilized world. Their racial pride exceeds the pride of any nation or -any land. They have a right to be proud in view of all their history. -The Hebrew literature, the Hebrew religion, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> Hebrew commonwealth, -and more than all, the Hebrew jurisprudence, much of which has been -adopted by our western society, entitles the race to hold to its -distinctive qualities and characteristics with a pride that all the -world respects and admires. They have everywhere been a peculiar -people. Because of marked racial distinctiveness, not to say eminence, -they have drawn a boundary line about their social and religious life, -shutting themselves in and the rest of mankind out.</p> - -<p>Perhaps there is no patriotism in the world comparable to that of the -Jew. His attachment to his ancient home-land and to his institutions -has been through the ages a consuming passion. In the early history of -his development, when defeated in war, reduced to slavery and crushed -under mountainous oppression, his loyalty to his country and his creed -never wavered. There is no picture in history more pathetic and, -indeed, more inspiring than that of the Jew in bondage. Toiling in the -brickyards of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> Goshen, taunted with the despoiled glory of his country, -the taskmaster demanding, as the burning lash was laid upon his bared -shoulders, that he sing the songs of his native land, his intrepid -spirit was unconquered and his superb loyalty unbroken: "If I forget -thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning, and if I do -not esteem thee above my chiefest joy, let my tongue cleave unto the -roof of my mouth."</p> - -<p>The Jew has brought his religion to America, establishing his temple -worship and clinging tenaciously to his creed of Theism. He has been -welcomed with a hospitality such as has been tendered the Jew by no -other nation. His religious institutions have had all the protection -of the law thrown about them, and they have been covered by the broad -mantle of American liberalism. He has been granted the right to worship -Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience, with none -to molest him or make him afraid. But he has organized in America no -system of evangelism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> to convey his religious message to the people -without the pale. He has made no proselytes or attempted to make any. -He has held his church exclusively for himself and his posterity. -To the orthodox Jew his religion is entirely an expression of his -nationality. He has never invited men without creed to inquire into -his dogmas and his doctrines. Indeed, he has held to his religion as -a heritage that belongs to the Jew and to which none other than a Jew -could subscribe as a matter of right or even as a privilege. A highly -intelligent and influential Gentile sect, the Unitarians, has built its -religious life about the doctrine of Theism. There are no fundamental -or essential differences between the orthodoxy of the Jew and that of -this Gentile sect, but even the Gentile theist has had no invitation -to Judaism, and has been tendered scant cordiality by this proud, -exclusive race that took its religion from the visible and audible -presence of Jehovah and preserved it inviolate for themselves and for -their kind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> - -<p>In coming to America the orthodox Jew has brought with him all the -racial pride that distinguishes him throughout the ages. He does not -undertake to mingle his social life with that of the native people of -the country, nor does he invite those of other racial lineage to cross -his threshold. He marries and intermarries only with his kind. If the -offspring of the orthodox Jew marries a Gentile he is excommunicated -with drastic and fearful ceremony. So does the Jew keep himself apart. -Even in the remote and sparsely populated sections of the country, -where a single Jewish family is established in a village or at a -cross-roads, selling merchandise, when the time comes for the marrying -of his children, he does not seek or desire that the people with whom -he has been trading, or that the children with whom his children have -been taught in the common schools, shall be introduced into Jewish -family life. He seeks to mate his children with members of his own -race, even though the mating has to be done at long range. Sometimes a -suitable husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> for a marriageable daughter, or an acceptable wife -for a marriageable son, has to be obtained in New York or Chicago or -San Francisco, from a thousand to three thousand miles away.</p> - -<p>Perhaps this Jew has understood for ages what some of our American -sociologists will not learn from biology; that is, that the -amalgamation of two distinctive race types may lose, in the offspring, -much of the distinctive good of both. A people of mixed race is long -in establishing both the fact and the sense of unity. Its individual -minds tend to instability. Witness, for instance, the results due -to the divergent people who inhabit Ireland. Racial stability, as a -biological fact in the realm of psychology, is a precious result, -perfected only by long, very long unity of blood. A mixed race finds, -for a long period, difficulty in attaining individual balance and -social peace. With the orthodox Jew another racial purpose inclines -him, with relentless<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> will, toward racial segregation. His people are -the chosen of Almighty God. They listen through the centuries for the -voices of angels proclaiming the advent of the true Messiah. To mix his -blood with that of the Gentile is to lose his vision, his hope and his -immortal soul.</p> - -<p>The Klan organizes itself around the principles of Christianity, which -diverge widely from the principles of Jewish orthodoxy. If it requires -that those seeking admission into the organization should subscribe to -the tenets that are Christian, it can not be construed into hostility -toward the Jewish race. We believe that, side by side, a few Jews and -many Christians, or a few Christians and many Jews may live in peace -and contentment. For in either case the minority can never, by power -of number, challenge the basic things of civilization of the majority. -Let me here emphasize with all the power I possess: in America the Jew -must ultimately mix with the Gentile. One million Jewish immigrants -and their de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>scendants can be, and will be, through the centuries, -absorbed into the great body of our American people. Here we touch -upon the true cause of the modern Zionism. His exclusiveness forbade -the Egyptian, the Babylonian, the Roman, and the Russian, to destroy -his racial identity. To-day he is surrendering in Western Europe and -America to the liberalism of the younger generation of Jews and the -neighborliness of the modern Gentile. Liberalism and Americanization -will eventually break down the exclusiveness of even so large a number -as we now have among us. But if practically free immigration continues -and five millions, or ten millions, of Jews come to us within the -next generation—then we shall have a people within a people, a state -within a state, and the sad conditions of Poland or Roumania will -be re-enacted in America. A two per cent. Jewish population can be, -ultimately, thoroughly Americanized. A ten per cent. Jewish population -will lead us from danger unto danger. We shall have absolute Jewish -separatism on the one hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> and anti-Semitism on the other. We -shall then witness all those profound and terrible reactions which -relentlessly mark the sharp contacts of two vitally different societies -upon the same soil. I submit that when the Klan as an organization, -holding to the tenets of Christianity, provided that any white -native-born American who subscribes to its conditions may enter into -the Klan, the Jew was not arbitrarily excluded. In fact, there are some -native-born American Jews who have accepted Christianity and have at -the same time become eligible to membership in the Klan. But the hard -and fast racial organization of the orthodox Jew does not permit him -to go outside of prescribed boundaries in either his social or his -religious life. We have not excluded the Jew. The orthodox Jew has -excluded himself.</p> - -<p>The Klan not only protests that it is not anti-Semitic. The Klan -seeks the execution of a policy which will prevent the growth of -anti-Semitism in America.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Is The Klan Anti-Catholic</span>?</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> Catholic colony of Maryland, under the Calverts, was composed of -a most excellent type of freedom-loving Englishmen. Cardinal Gibbons, -who recently passed to his reward, was a fine example of this type. -These people were seeking, as were so many others who then came to -America, liberation from tyranny, bigotry, and intolerance. They -brought with them a spirit not unlike that of the Cavaliers to the -south of them, to whom their destiny was to be indissolubly linked by -ties that remain unbroken to this day. These brave Catholic settlers in -the wilderness, many of whom were people of refinement and education, -invested themselves wholeheartedly in the early development of our -country. No well-informed student of American history doubts that their -large contributions to our American<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> nation have seldom enough been -sufficiently recognized.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus05.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption">Klankrest—Home Donated to William Joseph Simmons by -Klansmen of the Nation "As a Token of Love and Esteem."</p> - -<p>In the great battle of Long Island, in the summer of 1776, Washington -stood upon an eminence and watched the Maryland brigade as it strove to -cut its way through the encircling forces of the British. "Good God, -what brave fellows I must this day lose," he said, as he observed their -desperate position. Later in the day, when he saw them fall, like the -leaves of Autumn, he is said to have wept over the loss of the very -elite of his army. Of such stuff as this were the Maryland Catholics -in the American Revolution. The historian, John Fiske, describes that -terrible and unhappy day (Battle of Long Island, 1776) as follows: "In -this noble struggle, the highest honors were won by the brigade of -Maryland men, commanded by Smallwood, and throughout the war we shall -find this honorable distinction of Maryland for the personal gallantry -of her troops fully sustained, until in the last pitched battle, at -Eutaw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> Springs, we see them driving the finest infantry of England at -the point of the bayonets."</p> - -<p>Just a word more with reference to this sort of American Catholic. In -the spring of 1921 a distinguished assembly of educators and savants, -representing nearly every country, assembled with the University -alumni to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the -University of Virginia. The opening prayer of the first public meeting -was offered by the Catholic Bishop of Richmond. In that invocation the -Bishop returned thanks to Almighty God for that great deed of Thomas -Jefferson which led to the separation of Church and State in Virginia.</p> - -<p>To such Catholics as these all true Americans, whatever their religious -beliefs, are bound by ties so indissoluble as to make perfect our -fellowship in Americanism. It is to this section of Roman Catholic -believers, no matter what their ancestry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> may be, that the Klan makes -especial appeal for understanding and co-operation.</p> - -<p>Catholic Maryland won for herself the high distinction of being among -the three colonies which permitted and protected religious freedom. -So we can acclaim the Catholic colonists as among the very first to -realize the full meaning of Americanism, not only as to the outward -things of government, but also as to the inner things of the human -soul. It should not be forgotten, too, that these same advocates of -political liberty and freedom of conscience were themselves grossly -offended and injured for a time in their own colony by a period of -Protestant oppression. American history is a strange, strange story. To -understand our America of the present, and her problems, we must look -deep into the records of the past. With an unbiased mind we must set -ourselves to seek out the truth.</p> - -<p>In the State of Maryland one still finds in remote hamlets the original -Catholic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> edifices, with their sacred symbols, gracing the countryside. -Wherever we find such an American Catholic church, the American public -school is seen in the immediate vicinity. When the American Catholic in -Maryland, or in any other state, goes to the ballot-box, he votes as an -American citizen, not being under ecclesiastical control. We members of -the Ku Klux Klan, positively insist upon making this distinction among -Catholics. We ask, and who can say that we ask too much, that our whole -Catholic population bring its American citizenship up to these high -standards set by the original American Catholics. When this is done, we -shall surely find the greatest pleasure in rendering to the Catholic -Church that full measure of esteem which shall be its due.</p> - -<p>During the past two generations great submerging waves of European -immigrants have rolled in upon us. One wave brought with it loyalty -to the German Kaiser and treason to America. Another wave threaten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>ed -to smother our working people with the noxious poison of Bolshevism. -Still another sought to make a bitter animosity toward England and -the British Empire the main-spring of all its political and social -activities in America. Is there anything remarkable, anything -inexplicable, about the fact that millions of illiterate peasants -from the more backward parts of Europe, if they happen to be Roman -Catholics, should continue among us their backward European methods? -The peasantry of Poland were, until the Great War, practically a -serf population. Why deny the most evident facts? They are still, in -general, verminous and insanitary, illiterate and stupid. The theory -that they can quickly be made into Americans is the thought of a -fool. The view that their church can conduct itself like the American -Catholic church in Maryland is equally ridiculous.</p> - -<p>This immigrant element has been misused in two ways. Its clergy has -kept it ignorant of America by keeping its children<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> out of our public -schools; and it has been used in our elections as a mass vote by those -who exercise control over its votes through the political power of the -church.</p> - -<p>With reference to the public schools our American position is as simple -as it can possibly be. Having established the public-school system -as the veritable cornerstone of the nation's democracy, we request, -in the most brotherly spirit, all our immigrant peoples to give it -whole-hearted support. We invite their children to sit beside our -own children and receive the education needed to insure their good -citizenship, their self-support, and their self-respect. And then there -are those who say that we of the Klan hate the immigrant and seek to -deny him his rights!</p> - -<p>These immigrant children, sitting side by side in the same school, will -be received as guests in one another's homes. They will form those deep -and lasting friendships which will make for true social unity. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> we -open our arms and our hearts to receive them and to give them all we -have, it is they who reject us. They deny themselves the best gift we -can possibly offer—a free public education. How often are we Americans -made unhappy—sometimes, I fear, a bit displeased—when we see on one -side of the street a beautiful, spacious and sanitary public-school -building, and on the other side of the street a poorly constructed, -insanitary and overcrowded parochial school. Our own children go to -the public school. The immigrant children go to the parochial school. -Our own children are taught by teachers carefully selected and trained -for their service. In the overcrowded and insanitary parochial school -the teaching is usually of a standard incomparably lower; often it is -unworthy to be called education. Has the world ever presented a more -curious and perplexing problem than we have here? We see American -citizens of property and influence anxious to tax themselves in order -to present to the child of the Sicilian, Hungarian, or Polish peasant -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> best common-school education in all the world. And then we see, -to our unutterable amazement, this peasant serf, or city wastrel, -misled by his clergy, rejecting the only worthy means we have of making -Americans out of his children. To an average American this whole -situation is both perplexing and distressing.</p> - -<p>As regards the use of the Catholic vote in elections, the facts, while -startling enough, are more easily understood. In 1917, to mention a -single instance, all the country watched the Catholic church of New -York City defeat one of its own distinguished members, Mr. Mitchell, -for Mayor. No informed person longer seeks to deny the political -influence of the Catholic church. Very recently Archbishop Hayes, of -New York, personally directed the New York police to break up a public -meeting called in the Town Hall by American citizens. The police -appeared before the meeting began and actually went so far as to -prevent its beginning. The law could not have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> been violated because no -chance was given to violate the law. Archbishop Hayes simply decided -that he would not permit this meeting, which had nothing whatever to -do with any church or religious issue. So he ordered the doors of -the building which had been hired for the purpose to be locked and -the crowd driven away by the police. All we can say to our Catholic -fellow citizens is just this: DO NOT FORCE US TO RESIST YOU. If you -take direct control of the police power out of the hands of the duly -constituted officers of government, then we, as Americans, must -eventually resist your police power in defense of our liberty. Gifted -with an infinite desire for peace and with great patience, we shall -wait until we do not dare to wait longer. Meanwhile we plead with you -daily: Do but accept the basic principles of our Americanism and all -arguments, all unpleasantness, will vanish in a single hour.</p> - -<p>In a democracy the separation of church and state implies much more -than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> abolition of state support of the church. Separation of -church and state must mean with us that the individual citizen shall -permit neither the state to interfere with his religious worship nor -the church to interfere with his duties as a citizen. Only a developed -political mind can understand the nature of this very modern duality -of attitude. The outward separation is, after all, largely a form of -law. The inward separation, the state of mind, is the true source of -the freedom both of the church and the state. When the individual -walks into his church he must enter with his body and his mind free to -worship according to the dictates of his conscience. When he enters the -voting-booth, when he enters the court-room, when he opens his mouth to -mix his thoughts with his fellow citizens as regards things political, -mind and mouth and hand must be free from the control of the church.</p> - -<p>To understand our problem fully we must never forget the platitude -that our immigrant people are not Americans. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> are Europeans. -Immigrant Catholics are European Catholics. In almost every country of -Continental Europe there is a Catholic party. The Catholic political -party of Germany, of France, of Italy, of Belgium, of Austria, or -of Hungary, seeks to win the elections and control the government -outright. Again, to repeat myself, is there anything strange about the -fact that when these immigrants form themselves into enormous foreign -communities in our great cities or industrial districts they should act -here just as they act in Europe? I do not think so. It is all simple -enough. Its outward effects, at least, are as easily understood as a -Mississippi flood or a San Francisco earthquake. We must either put an -end to this thing or this thing will put an end to our democracy. We -can not have a Hungarian, a Polish, an Italian, or an Irish peasant -Catholic party among us and still preserve the political system of our -American nation which has been created by three centuries of democratic -evolution. A political system run by sectarian ecclesiastics and an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -Anglo-Saxon bill of rights can not live on the same soil. In these -things there can be no compromise. To surrender an inch is to surrender -all and yield to the executioner.</p> - -<p>As regards this whole matter, our American humility and false modesty -has already worked us great harm. These matters must at last be dragged -into the open and publicly discussed. Hence this exceedingly plain -statement. If some of our citizens wish their children to attend -parochial schools, then we want those parochial schools properly -inspected. We would like to know what textbooks are being used. The -public ought to know just how much education, and what manner of -education, the fourteen-year old immigrant boy or girl is possessed of -when he leaves school. What does this boy or girl know about himself? -How much reading and writing and arithmetic has he laid hold of? What -has he learned of American history and American institutions? We -Americans of all sections confess, not without shame, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> we have -not as yet done nearly enough for public education. But the means we -have provided we wish to have used; the standards we have set, none too -high, we wish to have regarded; and what we are seeking to do for the -immigrant we would like to have fully appreciated.</p> - -<p>We seek for all our more recent immigrant peoples such a blending with -our people as shall find in religion and the church no hindrance to -Americanism. We expect, that, more and more, we shall be united by the -lasting bonds of a common patriotism, a common morality, and common -social ideals. We crave the development among us of such a Catholic -church as will not make intermarriage with those of other faiths -impossible or difficult. To throw such a chasm between our young people -as is never bridged by the marriage tie would be a lasting curse to our -country. Let us seek by every means to make all Christians ready for -that more perfect unity of the entire Christian church which should -ever be an ideal with all of us.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p> - -<p>The reader will find repeated again in this book, until it perhaps -wearies him, a certain expression. This statement represents something -which I have made fundamental in all my thinking. We Americans must -approach this and similar tasks in a spirit of the utmost fellowship -and gentleness. Our every act must partake of kindliness and -consideration. We expect to find, side by side with us in this matter, -the American part of the Catholic church. Together we shall work out -the problem and then forget it. This difficulty is, after all, but a -passing phase of our complex social process. In a generation it will -have been left behind us. The difficulties, even the tragedies, of -one century often furnishes amusement to the historians of the next. -So let us, in this thing, take thought of the morrow, too. May the -execution of the policy we have declared be everywhere so inwrought -with honorable motive and worthy purpose that presently none shall have -the slightest cause to be against us or deny to us that fellowship and -affection we seek to win from every American.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Terminology of The Klan</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">D<span class="uppercase">iligent</span> inquiries have been made into the peculiar terminology -used by the Klan to designate its purposes and mission. Why is the -word "Imperial" employed to characterize the chief officers of the -organization? Why is the organization designated as an "Invisible -Empire"? Does the Klan contemplate, perhaps, a nation-wide organization -that at the height of its strength means revolution and the overthrow -of our present republican form of government? These and other similar -questions—some intelligent, others less so—are being asked by both -the enemies and the friends of the Klan.</p> - -<p>The words "Imperial" and "Empire" find no friendly place in the -vocabulary of a democracy. Whenever used they are connected with -autocratic government and centralized power. These terms, as usually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -employed, are in sharp contrast to the principles of our great American -democracy. We have everywhere and always held that imperialism is -a despicable thing, a survival of despotic power that came up from -the caveman and was exercised always by force. Germany and Russia -were the last great exponents in Europe of this imperialistic idea -of forcible conquest. Nothing has been more revolting in America -than the suggestion of centralized power by which a nation was to be -governed and directed. Even the temporary expedient of taking the -Philippine Islands into our keeping, as a necessary sequence to the -war with Spain, and holding them under military rule until the people -could be developed into approximate democracy and govern themselves, -found strenuous opponents. During all the twenty years that we have -maintained the mandate, it has caused dissatisfaction among the nations.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus06.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> The Imperial Symbol of the Klan</p> - -<p>We of the South know only too well what the reign of the bayonet -means. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> tragedy of American history was the untimely death of -Lincoln. Had he lived the story of the Reconstruction would have been -different, very different. Following the "deep damnation of his taking -off," the white race of the South was subjected to the supremest test -to which Anglo-Saxon worth was ever put in the history of the world. -The test did not result from the defeat of the Confederacy, or in the -devastation of the states over which the armies fought, or in the -appalling loss of life during the four sanguinary years. It was in the -Reconstruction period, when the armed forces of the victorious North -occupied the entire Southland and secured to the Negro a lordship over -Anglo-Saxon democracy, refinement and civilization. The mute anguish of -those years can not be put into any form of speech. But let me speak -no word of blame. My people of the South hate every form of coercive -government as they love the freedom of our great democracy. There is to -us one symbol expressing the deepest loyalty of the Klan, elevated even -above the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> Fiery Cross. It is the American flag. To the Klan it is the -emblem of human liberty and security, guaranteed to every citizen of -the land and signalled to all the world beyond our borders. So jealous -is the Klan of the American flag that it is unwilling to share its -place with the flag of any other nation. We are unwilling even that the -colors of the nations to whom we are bound by ties of both blood and -gratitude shall in this country mingle their colors with the American -flag. We desire no confusion in the minds of American people as they -look upon the emblematic flags of different nations as to that place -of supremacy in our loyal devotion which we hold for the American flag -alone.</p> - -<p>But at the same time the Klan renounces no obligations or -responsibilities to the rest of the world. We believe that the world -is moving toward "That one far-off divine event," "the Parliament -of man, the Federation of the world," but even when this greater -fraternalism of the world is con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>summated, we should not be willing for -our colors to be commingled with those of other nations. The emblem -that symbolizes our sacrifices and our victories, our failures and our -triumphs, and out of which our common democracy has come, must have in -our hearts no lesser place, or even an equal place, with those of other -nations. With us the place of our flag is not below, or along-side, the -flags of other peoples. It must be kept apart and above.</p> - -<p>We are ready to interpose our will and our strength to prevent the -strong from oppressing the weak anywhere. We are ready out of our -abundance to distribute charity to the unfortunate to the uttermost -ends of the earth, without respect to race, color or clime. We are -quite prepared to promote a great democratic evangelism to the -oppressed and downtrodden peoples of all the earth, that they too -may become conscious, through democracy, of human worth, and achieve -something of the free<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>dom which we enjoy. Yet everywhere we shall serve -under our own colors. All the nations of the earth shall continue their -separate existence and work out their destiny under the emblems into -which have been spun and woven the distinctive characteristics of their -race and their country. All this has been relentlessly brought home to -us through the resurgence of the nations during and after the Great -War. Nothing but absolute independence would satisfy the Poles. Ireland -must be free or perish in revolutionary effort. The smaller the people, -the greater its effort to prove its right to national independence, its -capacity for a separate government. With these facts in mind it would -seem superfluous for native-born Americans to explain or defend our -spirit of patriotism and nationalism.</p> - -<p>The phrase "Invisible Empire" means that the Ku Klux Klan undertakes -to establish and maintain a nation-wide organization in the thought of -our people. It plans a conquest only in the realm of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> invisible -where men do their thinking. The mentality of the American people is -to be awakened, stimulated, and directed. It means the sovereignty -of Americanism, of the democratic idea, in every American mind. We -plan no system of coercion or outside pressure by which the American -people are to be forced into this "Invisible Empire." I may modestly, -and not irreverently, say that the idea underlying the establishment -of the Klan and its principles in America was taken from one of the -leaders in the early Christian Church, who said that the propagation -of Christianity was without force, noise, or violence, without army -or treasury, but that the Great Leader had established an everlasting -kingdom by taking captive the thoughts of men. So the Klan holds that -anything constructed by force may be destroyed by a superior force. -Anything impressed upon unwilling subjects by outside effort may be -rejected and thrown off in the springtime of returning power. Anything -and everything that is established by such exercise of force is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -marked and destined for decay and return to the dust. But that which -is once established in the deeper thought, from the spiritual need, of -mankind is indestructible because there is no manner of force that can -lay hold of it. Alexander said, "Philip, my father, gave me life, but -Aristotle taught me to think." It is not the blood of Philip, through -Alexander, that pulses in the arteries of the world's civilization -of to-day; but it is rather the thought of Aristotle, which, despite -all the Alexanders of history, runs through the story of the world's -civilization in all the lands and all the centuries. It is the idea -possessing the spirit which vitalizes all our basic institutions and -movements toward human freedom which animate the noblest endeavors of -human life. It is in the thought of the American people that the Ku -Klux Klan undertakes to establish its "Invisible Empire," mighty in its -ultimate consummations, indestructible and glorious forever.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Symbolism of The Klan</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">M<span class="uppercase">uch</span> ado has been made about the strange symbolism of the Klan. -I stated at the beginning that the regalia now in use by the -organization, like the terminology, was selected as a memorial to the -original Ku Klux Klan. It has been generally regarded as grotesque -and ghostly, designed to intimidate and terrify persons against whom -the displeasure of the Klan might be directed. But the only purpose -in adopting the white robes and incidental trimmings was to keep -in grateful remembrance the intrepid men who preserved Anglo-Saxon -supremacy in the South during the perilous period of Reconstruction.</p> - -<p>The regalia of the Klan, however, expresses something more in the -present organization than a mere memorial. Its symbols convey to the -initiated the highest sense of patriotism, chivalry and fraternalism. -These<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> symbols were designed by myself during the years that I pondered -a revival of the old order, and contemplated the endangered position -of the native-born American throughout our commonwealth. Every line, -every angle, every emblem spells out to a Klansman his duty, honor, -responsibility and obligation to his fellow men and to civilization. -None of it was wrought for mere ornamentation, and none of it designed -as mere mysticism. All of it was woven into the white robes of the Ku -Klux Klan for the purpose of teaching by symbolism the very best things -in our national life.</p> - -<p>Emblematic robes are not uncommon to organizations of men banded -together for either religious or fraternal purposes. My affiliations -with the church and my connection with a number of fraternal orders -have convinced me that the impelling truths which grapple and hold -the loyalties and convictions of men are taught better by symbolism -than ritualism. The Roman Catholic church proclaims the authority of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -its mission to the world through the insignia of its clergy and its -rulers; while its service of sacrifice and sanctity, of separation and -consecration, is expressed in the robes of its nuns and its celebrants. -In that colossal pile, St. Peter's at Rome, the most splendid edifice -of Christianity in all the world, is to be found a vast collection of -stones and gold, an array of art so magnificent that it dazzles even -the imagination, an amazing accumulation of trophies torn by conquest -from pagan temples—all symbolizing the universal dominion of the -church not only over all things material but also over all things -religious. The robes of the cathedral are elaborate and impressive -throughout all the grades and ranks of service, from the drab garb of -the keeper of the portals to the flashing parti-colored uniforms of the -Swiss guard, and on through the white, red, and black trappings of the -attendants in the inner courts to the vivid scarlet of the cardinals -and the gorgeous purple of the pope. All are designed to express some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> -function, or mission, or doctrine of the church in its vast system of -evangelism.</p> - -<p>The Anglican church of Great Britain and the Protestant Episcopal -church of America, as well as various other Protestant organizations -have found it to be impressive and inspiring for the clergy and the -sisterhood to wear robes designed to mark them as men and women set -apart for service to humanity. Perhaps the Greek Catholic Church -has the most elaborate system of teaching great religious truths by -symbolism of any other religious organization. It undertakes to convey -to the world the idea of its virility as a Christian organization by -an extensive and artistically wrought out symbolism in its robes and -insignia.</p> - -<p>It goes without saying that nearly all, or perhaps all, of the great -fraternal organizations of the world are characterized by the robes -they wear. There are different robes of different orders and various -robes for the same order in different degrees. These<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> carry the message -of fraternalism in the garments that are worn. Why should we, Knights -of the Ku Klux Klan, be singled out and condemned for adopting a -symbolism altogether unique, to represent our particular service to the -age in which we live?</p> - -<p>Some objections, probably not wholly misdirected, have been made to the -mask that is worn by the Klan in public parades and demonstrations. -The objections would have all the more force if it were true that the -membership of the Klan were concealed from public scrutiny; but this is -not true. Every local Klan has the custody of its roster and the roster -may be given to the public at the option of the local Klan. Besides, -it is overlooked that the Ku Klux Klan is a chartered organization—in -fact twice chartered under the laws of Georgia.</p> - -<p>Its membership is subject to the scrutiny of the State at its will. In -addition to all this, the leaders of the Ku Klux Klan in respective -communities are well-known, responsi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>ble and representative men, and -their connection with the Klan is generally known to the community -at large. So influential and conspicuous are those men that their -leadership is a guarantee of the worthy and orderly purposes of the -Klan. However, the matter of removing the mask from the Klan whenever -it appears in public is under consideration, and it is not improbable -that the Klan will be authorized to remove the mask whenever a public -demonstration is given.</p> - -<p>Outrages and atrocities, expressing various forms of prejudice and -hate, have broken out in some parts of the country during the past -twelve months. Often they have been charged to the Ku Klux Klan. It -is the same old story repeating itself. During Reconstruction days -crimes were perpetrated by men wearing regalia similar to that of the -Ku Klux Klan. The government spent much time and money investigating -these crimes, and compiled altogether forty-six volumes in reports, -but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> wherever the perpetrators of an outrage against order and decency -were uncovered, they were found to be not Klansmen but Scalawags -and Carpet-Baggers who had used regalia like that of the Klan under -which they might enact their dual purpose of committing a crime and -blackening the reputation of the Klan. At the recent investigation in -Washington numerous crimes were charged to the present-day order of -the Ku Klux. These had been heralded in startling stories by the press -throughout the land. I vigorously denied that a single crime had ever -been committed by the authority of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. I -repeat that it is not an order that can tolerate or condone disorder, -violence or lawlessness. It pledges itself now and always, here and -everywhere, to the protection of society under constituted authority. -It holds itself in readiness to serve the best interests of society, -not despite the law, but always under the law and through the law.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> - -<p>Symbolism teaches the great principles of life, and being, and destiny, -better than any form of speech. There is in human nature an element of -mysticism that responds to suggestion and intimation when no logic or -philosophy could reach it. The mightiest movements in our human nature, -those which transform the character and transfigure the spirit, have -their seat in a realm deeper than where man does his thinking or even -his willing. It is in that part of human nature where the loyalties -and affections, the prejudices and the passions are kept, and it is -only the mystical, the mysterious, the intangible that can reach these -forces in human nature, arouse them, and put them into action. It is -poetry and art and music that move and stir the best that is in us and -make us conscious of what we may do and be. It is not strange then that -symbolism has been used by the church in order to stimulate reverence -and devotion; that it has been used by lodges to awaken fraternalism -and humanism; and that it has been used by every great patriotic -organ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>ization to arouse passion for native land and freedom. Indeed, -every cause that has ever lived and flourished in the world, whether -religious, fraternal, or patriotic, has been highly spiritualized and -all the fiery forces of the inner man have been elicited and organized -in its service. There must be in every real movement something of the -fervor of the Crusaders. Without this every spiritual effort of man, -whether great or small, has had its ardor grow cold and the bright -light of its enthusiasm go out in darkness.</p> - -<p>What, indeed, could be more appealing to the finer things in human -nature than the fiery cross? "By that symbol we conquer." It carries -the idea of illumination and sacrifice. It symbolizes a love that -lights the way to the noblest service; it symbolizes a service that -is impelled by a burning love. Here lies the only way forward. The -world's amelioration is proclaimed by the glowing cross. We sometimes -think of the cross as remote, as belonging to the past, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> an -isolated event. The cross is now and here, and it is an essential -part in the advancement of the world's civilization. It means, in -the highest sense, freedom—the freedom of all mankind. But there is -no emancipation in all the world that comes as a gratuity. Wherever -human life is freed a ransom price must be paid. When it comes to the -liberation of human thought and the breaking of chains from immortal -souls, there is no ransom that will pay the price except that into -which men mint their lives, and out of which they coin their higher -selves. All this and more the fiery cross of the Ku Klux Klan conveys -to the Klansman. It means the supreme agony of love through the -sacrifice of life, to the end that freedom and democracy may be secured -to all mankind forever.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus07.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> Stone Mountain—The Klan Rendezvous</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Rendezvous</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">O<span class="uppercase">nce</span> a year, to be exact, on the sixth day of May, the Klan from -all over the country makes a pilgrimage to Stone Mountain. Men from -every walk and station in life leave their daily pursuits and journey -to the Klonvocation. They come from the pulpit, the schoolroom, the -market, the bank, the mine, the factory, the shop, the farm, and -from high offices of public trust and authority, and meet at this -unique rendezvous. Stone Mountain is sixteen miles south of Atlanta. -The place of assembly is not without interest. It is a huge boulder -compacted into solid granite and thrown up, ages ago, by some terrific -convulsion. The stone is three miles in circumference and something -more than a mile in altitude by the trail leading to its summit. Its -frowning and forbidding front is scant of foliage. Soil which the winds -have brought and deposited in its crevices and on its craggy sides<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> -has no deepness. Adventurous shrubs and trees that have sprung up from -time to time have been beaten back by sun and storm because they had -no anchorage in the earth. To this mountain boulder of solid granite -the Klan resorts for comradeship and consecration. The pilgrimage is -not unlike that conjectured by a noble and worthy order which takes its -initiates to the far East, travels them through the unmarked desert, -over blistering sands, and under a sky of brass, while the breath of -the winds is like that of a furnace, scorching the weary pilgrims as -step by step they fight on to the Mecca. The Klansmen make their way -along the poorly defined and jagged trail of Stone Mountain, climbing -upward, always upward, every step taken requiring a step higher, until, -among the elderly members, the last ounce of fortitude and endurance -is expended in the ascent to the top. There on the bald crest, far -above the insistent clamor and demands of daily life men are alone -with each other and in the presence of the infinite. It has sometimes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> -seemed to us to be a place where two eternities met, the past giving -its solemn command to the men so isolated and elevated, and the future -beckoning them on to still further achievement. First, there comes a -sense of tranquillity. The men look out upon the peace and harmony of -the stars and seem to feel in their souls something of the strength -and orderliness of the planets in their courses. Then comes, during -our preliminary ceremonies, a moment of marvelous moral tension and -exhilaration. The vast throng, with upturned faces, deeply moved to -eloquent agony of speechless prayer, catches a glorious inspiration. It -comes upon the multitude as a wind moving gently through the forests in -the autumn time. Every soul is thrilled. In this conscious moment each -man feels as if he were in a holy temple consecrating all that he is -and all that he has to a great cause. In response to his dedication, -new and secret divine forces begin to stir in his consciousness. I -have looked upon the whole assembly of strong men, a few of whom had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> -jeopardized life unto death on the fields of war in the Sixties, and -a larger number of younger men who had just carried themselves like -demigods in the fierce fighting in France, and I have seen the tears -rush unbidden from their eyes and trickle down their cheeks, while -here and there a sob that could not be controlled shook the frame of a -man unafraid of either life or death. It is the time and place where -all pettiness and meanness is submerged and washed out by the great -surge of the profoundest sense of human worth. It is a moment in which -all hates and animosities and prejudices die and in which love and -sacrifice and altruism are reborn. It is a time in which all that is -coarse and unchaste and unrefined in human life is consumed by a holy -passion, and all that is noble and courteous and divine is made regnant.</p> - -<p>In the execution of such ceremonies, the Klan evidences its practical -nature and its concrete knowledge. Americans can not be aroused by -the mere citation of facts. Our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> minds are stuffed unto bursting with -facts. We want action. And we do not propose to wait a generation -as has been so often the case, and then weep because it is too late -to act. We seek to draw the souls of men into a service which means -sacrifice. This service is vital to the nation, and essential to -the salvation of our civilization. The language of symbolism is the -language of the soul.</p> - -<p>The Klan disperses, goes back to mingle with men, to meet all the -stresses and the exigencies of life. But in each man there is a light -that never before fell on sea or shore, that will lie upon the task -that he is set to do, and, however hard and menial it may be, will -transform that work into a beatitude. More than this: We have daily -evidence that this light, in honor, kindness and charity, falls upon -our fellow men along the pathway that they and we walk together. Surely -there can be no hidden dangers in the assembling of men under such -conditions, impelled by such motives, capable of such inspiration.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> - -<p>If we undertake to build or maintain a civilization in which the -moral and social idealisms of men are not mixed with the mortar in -the structure, we shall most surely build for decline and decay. But -if Americanism becomes a holy cause in which the souls of men are -enlisted, in which service of our country and our country's service of -the world is made first and foremost, then we shall build an empire -indestructible; because, mingled with the cruder material there will be -the elements that are everlasting. In such workmanship alone can there -be security for those American institutions which we seek to save by -the consecration of all we have and all we are.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Democracy as a Social System is on Trial</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">I<span class="uppercase">n</span> a preceding chapter I stated that we Americans are barely -reproducing our numbers on our own soil. In comparison with the colored -and foreign elements our percentage is every year being reduced. -In full view, within a few decades at most, lies the new America. -Perhaps it has been fear of giving offense to others, more likely it -has been pure carelessness and individual selfishness on our part, -which has prevented us from discussing our country of to-morrow. The -new America, if the present tendencies continue, will be a nation -composed of a majority of American white farmers only in the middle -western and plains states. Black farmers will ultimately predominate -throughout the coastal regions of the South and the Mississippi Delta, -and Japanese farmers will rapidly multiply their numbers on the Pacific -coast. But the ever-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>increasing city population already numbers over -half the nation. This city population in the North and East contains -to-day about fifteen per cent. of original Americans. Presently this -diminishing element will count only a few capitalists and professional -persons. The majority of the business class, even, will be composed -of Greeks, Jews, Germans, Italians and their descendants. The great -working class of the cities is even now composed of two elements. -First, there are the skilled workers, mainly British, Irish, Germans, -and Scandinavians, with their immediate descendants. The unskilled -working people of the cities, always tending to submerge the skilled, -are composed of Italians, Negroes, Slavs, Jews, French-Canadians, and -thirty-odd other elements from the south and east of Europe and from -Asia. Recently seventy-two Americans, members of a literary club, in -a small industrial town in New York, took a census of their children. -They discovered, much to their surprise that altogether they were -rearing exactly fourteen offspring. Mean<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>while fourteen children is not -an uncommon number at all for an Italian or French-Canadian couple to -add to the citizenship of our country.</p> - -<p>Questions arise here which it is quite necessary for us to answer at -once. Why, indeed, do we Americans lay such great store by our peculiar -racial heritage? Are not our recent immigrants, taken as a whole, as -"good" as we? If we do not desire to bring children into the world, -should not our country be left to others who are willing to undertake -the responsibilities of parenthood? Hence, why are we not disposed to -accept our dissolution silently and go to the grave with a smile?</p> - -<p>The answer to these questions is implied in the title of this article. -It is the cherished belief of the members of the Knights of the Ku Klux -Klan that democracy—democracy in all its aspects, the social spirit -of democracy, the practice of democracy, the regeneration of the soul -of mankind through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> democracy—that this is the greatest of all values -created by modern civilization. We hold further that the part played by -the American people in the evolution of democracy has been of primary -importance. Despite all our mistakes, and they have been many, we have -succeeded. And our success, even with its limitations, has been, we -fully believe, as a light and as a leading to all the world. It was our -glorious privilege to unlock the prison door of France when our sister -republic was first created in the French Revolution. It was largely the -success of universal, white, male suffrage in America which impelled -our brethren of the British Empire to undertake the same colossal -experiment. No doubt our history has been the subject of far too much -fervid eloquence and vain boasting. We have not often hesitated to tell -all the world about ourselves. Here I am seeking merely to state the -simple facts, because without them the standpoint and argument of the -Knights of the Ku Klux Klan could not be understood.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> - -<p>Among the most false of theories which sane minds ever gave themselves -over to believing, has been that which claims that the democratic -system, if only put on trial, will work among any people at any time. -Indeed, many persons otherwise well informed still accept this folly. -They believe that democracy is a sort of "universal truth." All that we -must do is to preach it to all mankind as a sort of saving gospel. All -the heathen need do is to accept it, believe it, and forthwith practice -it. Oh, vanity of vanities! It has been three hundred years since the -English Bill of Rights was signed by King James First and nearly one -hundred and fifty years since our American Declaration of Independence. -And now the Great War has ended with our seeking to ram democracy down -the throats of nations which do not want it. What blows in the face our -optimism receives from the simplest facts of history! One hundred and -thirty years ago the French revolutionists attempted to pull down every -throne in Europe and plant democracy in every land.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> And then only -seven years ago the hosts of the Kaiser made their plunge toward Paris -in order to destroy the French Republic and establish absolutism and -kultur in its place.</p> - -<p>No! The practice of democracy does not spread around the world as -rapidly as we can tell people how nice it is and how much we like it -ourselves. Democracy has been a slow, delicate and perishable growth -among a specific group of Europeans. These peoples have been much -favored through a peculiar heritage. No doubt, ages ago, it took the -ancestors of man a long, long time to stand upright. Some quadrupeds -seem to have tried but never could learn the new method, so they still -amble along half the time on all fours. So to-day it seems to take a -considerable period for the masses to learn how to rule themselves -successfully. Yet we ought not to be utterly discouraged. If the facts -indicate that some peoples can never learn, that is no reason at all -why we should surrender our own learning and growth in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> order to be -equal again with the weaker brethren.</p> - -<p>Democracy is on trial. It is on trial in America just as much as -anywhere else. It is being weighed and revalued before the whole -world. We have seen many a European people after being overurged to -accept a republican form of government, again returning to autocracy. -The Greek majority which recently voted to bring back the Kaiser's -ally, King Constantine, and the Kaiser's sister, the Queen, was rather -staggering in its size. If a vast majority of the Greeks in their -home country joyously accept monarchy and Hohenzollernism, how can -we expect our Greek immigrants here in the United States to enthuse -over our republican institutions? They come, like others, as everybody -knows, to avail themselves of the opportunity to advance their material -interests. This has been true with the majority of our immigrants for -over fifty years. Who, indeed, can blame them for taking advantage of -economic con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>ditions in America? Indeed, these immigrants of every -sort and kind are well within their rights. If some of them seem to -make too much money out of us, is it not because some of our employing -class first urged their coming in order to make money out of them? We -brought them in because we thought they would be cheap and profitable -to us. Some of them have proved in the long run to be very dear and -unprofitable.</p> - -<p>Let me here make a general observation regarding the attitude of -my colleagues and myself in connection with this whole matter of -immigration. Where, in these chapters, mention is made of any -particular race or group of immigrants, not the slightest offense is -intended. But too often our squeamish fear of giving offense to the -over-sensitive has prevented our discussing this most crucial of our -national problems. Everyone feels free to-day to discuss Russia, to -investigate Russia, to come to conclusions with reference to what is -being done in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> Russia, and to make suggestions as to a Russian policy. -Why, then, we ask in the name of all common sense, should it be an -offense to anyone to discuss the millions of Russians who live in the -United States? How do they make a living, and what is their percentage -of national increase? Are they or are they not desirable immigrants? -The same holds good of the Germans, the Irish, and of every other -racial element which is increasing among us. All this is interesting -to us and greatly important. It is interesting and important in more -ways than one. What the immigrants may and should demand, what the -Negro or the Japanese are quite right in demanding of us, is that we -as native-born, white Americans should discuss these questions of -population in a way that is at once honorable and kindly. We must -stick to the facts. We may indulge neither in slander nor in base -insinuation. Those of our immigrant population who have been received -into citizenship may ask especial consideration. We, of the Klan, on -our part propose to bring facts in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> support of a policy. There may be -those who wish to disagree with us publicly. If so, we shall expect to -be asked to consider only facts brought in rebuttal. As man to man, -marshalling fact for fact, let us sit down together and seek to sift -this matter to the bottom.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus08.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> The Emperor Addressing First Imperial Klonvokation.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Our Cities a Menace to Democracy</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">R<span class="uppercase">eferring</span> again to the menace of the American city to American -institutions, I desire to remind the reader of the thought of some -of our most profound thinkers on the great problems of democracy. -Some of these views expressed at different periods of our history -were prophetic, and some of them were conclusions, as though the -visions of the seers were being fulfilled. In the early days of the -republic when there were no great cities in our country and when the -tide of immigration had just begun to flow to our shores and settle -in the growing centers along the Atlantic seaboard, Mr. Jefferson -said, "The American city is a cancer on the body politic." He seemed -to foresee, at the very beginning of the republic, the deadly poison -of anti-democracy generated among the alien people congested in our -cities. In 1866 Wendell Phillips, a powerful advocate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> of emancipation, -said, after the great conflict was ended and the Negroes free, "The -time is coming when the American city will strain the government -as slavery never did." He, too, foresaw the virus which the city -would spread to the entire nation, attacking and consuming the great -principles of democracy upon which the republic was founded. In recent -years, Lord Bryce, Ambassador of Great Britain to the United States, -after years of study and careful investigation, wrote that classic -entitled "The American Commonwealth." In this work there was much -commendation of American institutions, but the book was not without -candid criticism. He said that "the conspicuous failure of American -democracy is in its great cities." The clear meaning of the eminent -Englishman was that the American people remained really democratic -only in the rural sections and the villages. Already conglomerate -population from every clime and shore had destroyed democracy in our -congested centers. Only recently Mr. H.G. Wells, one of the most -conspic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>uous, progressive thinkers in the world, looked upon New -York with its seething millions, heard its Babel of languages, felt -its delirious fever, and then calmly announced that Petrograd in its -rust and desolation was a picture of New York in the future. In our -greatest city, this profound student of social and political life saw -unmistakable evidence of the real and seething madness of Bolshevism -which meant the overthrow and the utter collapse of all things -democratic.</p> - -<p>We are told to-day (1920) that millions of workers in our great cities -are unemployed. I reflect at once upon the figures which are placed -before us. In round numbers we have, this winter, about six millions of -unnaturalized foreign working people living in our cities, and almost -exactly the same number of employed on our hands. What would they have -us do? Are six millions more to come to us and thus give us a total of -twelve millions of unemployed? What would these people all do for a -living? There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> are simply not enough jobs in the cities for them, and -it seems evident that there will not be in our generation. It is these -masses, which, by sheer force of number, gave us the present insoluble -problem of the city. Our cities can maintain their large populations -only if the country population is increased to supply them food and raw -materials on the one hand, and with markets on the other.</p> - -<p>Overgrown cities are in themselves a menace. When the surplus is -composed of unassimilated and unemployed aliens the menace is -doubled,—nay, it is multiplied tenfold. The great city as at present -constructed and conducted corrodes the very soul of our American -life. Factory work, with every new invention of automatic machinery, -progressively selects those who are more and more unfit to be -Americans. A factory manager in Chicago recently amended a new rule for -the selection of employees. He would hire no blondes. The big blonde -people, he said, "would not stay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> at their machines until the whistle -blew." He was evidently hunting for a people who could be trained -never to move a foot, or an eye, for ten hours a day. The growth of -an American is ordinarily impossible under the conditions of either -great wealth or great poverty. The city simply can not furnish the -character-building elements which must needs go into the making of an -American. Every American child should be born to a vast heritage. This -heritage should include a fine healthy parentage, clean birth, gentle -care, proper nourishment and opportunity for play and education in the -open country.</p> - -<p>Is there no cause for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan among the robust, -native-born folk of the countryside? Is not the menace of the city to -our ideals and institutions an urgent demand for the organization of -our unspoiled rural life to save the nation from infection by the great -cities?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> - -<p>It may be that we are too late in starting this movement of "America -for Americans and Americans for America." No doubt it should have been -begun thirty years ago. But if we can find some method by which, after -ten years of entire rejection, immigration can be narrowly and rigidly -restricted, and by which the surplus population can be distributed -over the vast, uncultivated area of our great country, and slowly -wrought into our social life, there is yet a hope left for our country. -But if alien populations are permitted, as in the past, to flood our -land, colonize in our great cities, and propagate their kind with such -amazing rapidity, while only native-born Americans continue to till -the soil and propagate their kind in an appallingly decreasing ratio, -then our country is lost and everything the fathers strove to build for -posterity will sooner or later be wiped out. We do not in the least -seek to hide the fact that the Ku Klux Klan is making a last stand for -America as the home of Americans and Americanism.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Failure of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">o</span> the average country-born American the period of the war has been -a time of painful disillusionment. There may have been among us some -who, before the war, had some accurate knowledge of what was going on -in the world; but the great mass of Americans were very much shocked -by the succeeding event. We took the statements of the leaders of the -people in Germany and Russia at their face value. It seems to me to be -very much worth while, at present, to trace the various events by which -we were led into knowing what central and eastern Europe were really -thinking and doing. Let us recall our first period of disappointment. -We had always believed that the parties of the people in Germany, -especially the great social-democratic party, had the power to prevent -the Kaiser from undertaking a war of conquest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> The declaration of war -was to be the signal for a revolution and the creation of a republic. -This was rather taken for granted, without investigation, by reading -people all over the world. When we saw the entire German nation, with -hardly an exception, turn quite insane with the war spirit, we sat back -and wondered what this people was really like.</p> - -<p>It was also a generally accepted theory among us that the German -immigrants who came to us had left Germany because they disliked -the tyranny of its government. Then, in 1914, with a suddenness -that quite took our breath away, came the propaganda of "Kultur." -The entire German nation, through every means it had of speaking to -the outside world, informed us blandly that it possessed a system -of society infinitely more efficient and desirable than democracy. -"It is Germany's duty under God," wrote Bernhardi, "to give her -superior culture (Kultur) to all inferior peoples." Indeed, the war -itself was generally inter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>preted by Germans as an act of charity and -self-sacrifice upon their part. At the time the idea was so new to us -that it took us just three years to really comprehend what was going on -in Europe. Even President Wilson, in 1916, declared publicly that we -did not know the real causes of the War.</p> - -<p>We may or may not have completely destroyed the Germany autocracy; but -we may be sure we have by no means done with the system of Kultur. -It is all too easily put into practice. The stupendous machinery and -organizations of modern industry presents a perfect maze of social -problems for solution. Kultur is, by far, the easiest way out. The -direction of the whole business of life is simply turned over to a -"great man" or to a small clique. People everywhere are naturally lazy -and morally irresponsible. For the thinking and characterful minority -there come times of mental anguish and disillusionment. To-day the -times tempt us to despair. We are almost driven to lose faith in the -majority and so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> in government by the majority. "Why not try a change," -"it could not be worse;" we hear it said on every hand. So, perhaps, -we in America may yet try Kultur. Certainly we shall if we again have -unrestricted immigration. When democracy fails, some form of monarchy -will be our only salvation from oligarchy; and an oligarchy is more -dangerous to freedom than monarchy. A monarchy, with our peculiar -industrial development and our great propertyless masses, means Kultur.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the Great War came the Russian revolution. We sat -back and said, "How fine! Now they are going to follow our example -by building a great Russian Republic, which will soon break down the -German autocracy." Even now most of us do not begin to understand what -has really happened. What we do know is that the Bolshevists have not -only created a state of universal starvation, disease, and despair -throughout Russia, but they have also tried to spread their system -throughout<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> Europe and the world. To this end they have made foreign -war and conducted an enormous and costly world propaganda. As I write -we learn that, while we were voting credits and collecting funds for -the starving in Russia, they were paying $30,000 to a single agent to -execute a single murderous bomb-plot in New York City.</p> - -<p>In our last chapter we quoted Mr. H. G. Wells's statement that New York -City will be the next Petrograd. This observation can be, by no means, -taken jocularly. Go in our present course, and Bolshevism will be, in -all our larger cities and industrial districts, the natural alternative -for monarchy. Compelled to choose between the two, our original -American people will probably divide and civil war will result. Lenine -and Trotsky did not create Bolshevism. Bolshevism grew as naturally -as a rank weed on a dunghill. It sprang from ignorance and poverty -and despair. It will appear wherever ignorance, poverty and despair -are mixed together. Quite likely we shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> have, with unrestricted -immigration, a Bolshevist revolution first, then monarchy and Kultur.</p> - -<p>A great many persons are disposed to compare the present state of -central and eastern Europe with the conditions in France at the time -of the French Revolution. I, for one, am not at all impressed by this -easy explanation. The French Revolutionists represented and advocated -a movement toward democracy for all Europe. Both the Germans and -Russians have burst out upon us shouting that, in their peculiar system -of tyranny and slavery, they had something better than democracy to -proffer us. The average reading American throws up his hands and cries, -"What in Heaven's name, will China next urge upon us, or Africa?"</p> - -<p>What has happened to us is, after all, upon reflection, quite simple. -We are placed on the defensive for democracy. And we have wisely given -over trying to urge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> our point of view and our peculiar system upon -those who not only reject it but openly despise it. No doubt this has -been a severe shock to our ancient national conceit. Let me again -emphasize that democracy seems to be, for the present, limited to the -boundaries of certain peculiar nations. Other peoples may evolve into -democracy later. But their steps will be slow. Their experience will be -gained gradually. We can not help them much, if at all, by urging them -merely to follow our example. Meanwhile, if there be anything precious -in democracy for us, we had better bestir ourselves to save what we -have left of it.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Foreign Outposts in the United States</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">F<span class="uppercase">our</span> distinct national elements in the United States showed, in -lesser or greater part, disloyalty and pro-Germanism during the War. -These were the Germans, the Jewish Bolsheviki, the Sinn-Feiners, and -the French-Canadians. Of course these four were no different from -most other foreign-speaking elements. Only their standpoints and -loyalties were clearly brought out by the war—that was all. Italian or -Portuguese, Greek or Slav, in case their home country had been lined up -against the United States, would have acted in just the same way.</p> - -<p>Here we must touch upon a fact which is pretty widely known or taken -for granted. There is a fundamental difference between this later -immigration and that of the middle portion of the nineteenth century. -The Germans, Hungarians, and Italians of 1848-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>70, for instance, -came to America for the same reason as most of the original British -and Irish. They were seeking freedom and democracy. Their purposes -were idealistic. They sought in the new country not only economic -opportunity but political liberty which were denied them in the old. -They were Americans at heart before they left their old home.</p> - -<p>The new immigration is totally different. This later swarm has come -mostly to get jobs and money. Among them, no doubt, there are a few -who are gifted with qualities of mind and character which make this -description inapplicable. I am referring to the many, not the few. -In Southern and Eastern Europe they form the lowest grade of the -working class and include a large percentage of beggars and peddlers, -of thieves and criminals. The average immigrant of this sort has -been accustomed to a condition of poverty unknown to, and almost -unimaginable to, the average American. His physical standards of living -are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> such as to make his competition with the original American worker -unfair and deadly. Great masses of them have come without the slightest -intention of remaining with us and adopting American standards. Herded -together under the most unsanitary conditions, hoarding up their wages -with a greed incomprehensible to an American, crowds of them rush back -to the country of their origin as soon as their savings are sufficient -for their purposes. Meanwhile they are replaced by others until the -standards of living of the American-born wage-earners are hopelessly -undermined. Each immigrant who comes to us under these conditions -prevents the founding of an American home and the birth of American -children. Let us hasten to add that their coming and going can not in -any way be held as an accusation against themselves. Responsibility -lies entirely with us. Employers who bring them over, or prevent their -rejection, under the conditions stated, are guilty of a monstrous crime -against civilization. This crime is comparable to only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> one other in -our history—the African slave-trade of the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus09.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> Where the Water Gushes From the Rock Klansmen Assemble -Each Year to Drink the Libation of Fellowship.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile every conception and institution upon which our social and -political life is established is torn from its mooring and broken up by -the force of the inpouring waves. In Southern and Eastern Europe and -in the Near East, these masses are, or have been, until very recently, -ruled as they were in the Middle Ages. Rebellion against tyrants to -them means acceptance of Anarchism or Bolshevism, or at least German -state Socialism. East of the Rhine and south of the Alps they are -capable at present only of running wildly about from one tyranny to -another, from one stupid blunder to another and back again. If this -population in Europe is proving itself to be totally incompetent -to govern itself, how can we expect it to take an intelligent and -useful part in all the complexities of democracy here? If a million -Hungarians, for instance, have failed at every point of the political<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> -compass in Hungary, how, in Heaven's name, can we expect them to -succeed in New York or Chicago? That mass of Hungarians, like Italians -and Germans, like Jews and Greeks, induces the vilest sort of boss -rule. They are largely kept away from our public schools by clerical -opposition to our school system. A slave population in Europe, they -become a slave population here. Politically they are the willing tools -of every hidden and dangerous force at work in our public life.</p> - -<p>It is no part of my purpose to arouse, in the slightest degree, hatred -of these people. Many of them are kind, innocent, simple, unknowing -creatures. As strangers in a strange land, they deserve every degree -of consideration, every means of help at our hands, which it is in our -power to give to them. Their natural inclination, as well as their -great numbers, are responsible for that separation from us which the -foreign quarter implies. The continued use of foreign languages, and -the clinging to foreign customs,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> are things which should never have -been tolerated on our soil. By herding together they bring up their -children in a foreign atmosphere, thus perpetuating and increasing the -weaknesses and dangers which they have brought into our national life. -I used the word "increasing" advisedly. In Europe each unit of this -backward and inept mass of poor is merged in a nation which understands -him and where he, in turn, somewhat understands his surroundings. But -segregated by language and nationality here, they are broken away from -their old moorings without binding themselves to the new. In the old -world they are led politically, sometimes, by men of education and -ideals. With us they fall easy prey to any fool and fakir and dishonest -representative of the political machine or vicious interest which may -seek to prey upon them and mislead them.</p> - -<p>A few particular facts concerning propagandistic activities among our -immigrant population may be illuminating if set down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> together. During -the war the pro-Germans organized and conducted a most elaborate and -expensive propaganda among our Ukrainian immigrants. This was done in -order to weaken Russia at home, both before and after the revolution.</p> - -<p>Sinn-Fein Irish, because of their inveterate hatred of the British, -were in many cases used to spread pro-German propaganda. This was -effectual both before and after we went into the war.</p> - -<p>A very large percentage of the Russian Jews in New York City and -elsewhere were, at the beginning of the war, pro-German because -they were anti-Russian. After we entered the war they were bitterly -anti-American because they were pro-Bolshevist. No possible turn of -events could make them take a pro-American position upon any issue -under the sun. This is the element, by the way, which used funds from -Russia to carry on its pro-Bolshevistic propaganda among our Negroes. -In certain places, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>cluding New York City, it urged the Negroes to arm -themselves and fight the whites.</p> - -<p>The French-Canadian immigrants among us number, with their children, -nearly half a million. During the war they were, strange as it may -seem, anti-French. The French-Canadian population is completely -dominated, politically, socially and intellectually, by their clergy. -These clericals still hate France and the French Government because the -French Revolution overthrew the power of the Roman Church in France. -They still belong to the ancient regime. So they naturally took the -side of the ancient regime, the German side. Among us, they were -largely passive. In Canada they actively opposed every war activity of -their government from start to finish of the war.</p> - -<p>Of the Asiatics there are two main elements—the Japanese and the East -Indians. Of the East Indians there are not many, but their number is -steadily increasing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> They are being widely used to stir up an Indian -revolution against the British Empire. Whether this is or is not -justified we are not discussing here. The point is that this foreign -element is using America as a vantage-point from which to make war upon -another country.</p> - -<p>Finally, we come to the Japanese. Here we find the climax of this -whole matter. The religion of the Japanese immigrants is, primarily, -Mikado-worship. Sums of money to build the temples for this delectable -form of religious expression are furnished largely by the Japanese -government. When we ponder these facts we may well ask whether we as a -nation do not ourselves require a guardian. We resemble a five-year old -child with a purse full of money, sitting in a poker game with greedy -and astute gamblers. To carry our sentimentalism so far, to overwork -the theory of the brotherhood of man to such an extent as this, is -to court total disaster. We as a nation are asleep because selfish, -corrupt and designing interests among us have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> drugged us out of our -senses. These great interests want cheap labor. They are aided in their -designs by a crowd of well-meaning but ignorant sentimentalists, most -of whom do not dream that they are helping to destroy our American -nation in order to experience an emotional satisfaction. The employers -get their cheap labor, and the sentimentalists their self-satisfaction. -We, the foolish majority, are losing our freedom and our country. If -the facts do not cry us into action, why multiply words? All America -is hoping, praying and preparing for peace with Japan. But to further -permit even the smallest amount of Japanese immigration will surely -tend to war. In the event of war any American in Japan will undoubtedly -take the side of his own country. We shall fully expect him to do so. -For the same reason the hundred and fifty thousand Japanese in our -own country will prove to be a hundred and fifty thousand skillful -and resolute enemies. Making an American out of a Japanese under the -conditions above described is as impossible as making a sheep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> out of -a goat, or a dog out of a cat. As to whether or not we are superior -to the Japanese, is not the matter at issue here. The important fact -right here is that we differ greatly from each other in the basic -things of life, and these differences are largely inherited qualities. -Furthermore, these differences must surely make Japanese amalgamation -with our people wholly undesirable. Such a mixture of bloods runs -counter to a fundamental principle of biology which all high-school -children learn as a matter of course. The offspring of such a blending -of widely different stocks are likely to be unstable in mind. In -general they can not qualify as to either the physical, mental or moral -standards of either race. In amalgamation there is likely to be a loss -from the standards of either side.</p> - -<p>The Japanese child in the United States is sent to a school owned and -controlled by the Japanese Government. There he is taught the language, -ideals and duty of an abject subject of the Mikado. Finally,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> the -Japanese birth rate in California is sixty-nine per thousand annually, -the white birth rate nineteen per thousand.</p> - -<p>"But the pure descendants of the Japanese immigrants may surely change -and become real Americans," I hear somebody saying. Meanwhile, we -have just been informed that the son of German parents in Cincinnati, -who had accepted a Captain-Surgeon's commission in our army and gone -to France had not been perfectly Americanized. The fellow was hanged -for inoculating our soldiers with disease germs instead of typhoid -serum. This creature was born and reared not in the United States, but -in the German section of Cincinnati. With this in mind we expect to -Americanize the Japanese, the very breath of whose intense religious -emotion is the sacred worship of their absolute and august ruler, the -Mikado!</p> - -<p>Be it a million Russians or a million Japanese, a million Italians or -a million French-Canadians—either their importation or their birth -upon our soil prevents by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> the stifling force of economic competition -the birth of a million Americans. In the name of Almighty God and our -country, what has become of our brains? These facts are enough to make -any of us not totally bereft of his senses to go into the highways and -the byways crying for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, or if some man -has a better plan for safeguarding the nation conjuring him in God's -name to proclaim it.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Racial Limitations of Democracy</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">D<span class="uppercase">emocracy</span> is the practice of self-government by the people. It is the -rule of law instead of persons; of the majority instead of the minority -or individual. As a system both of government and social life it has -but recently been either widely accepted in theory or established in -practice. A short three hundred years mark its very real advance in the -modern world. Only during the past hundred years has majority rule been -accepted as desirable or possible among a very few of the more advanced -countries. If we examine the political map of the world we find that -the triumphs of democracy are limited to but a few nations. We may -generalize by observing that a very few nations have but recently -succeeded in making democracy work.</p> - -<p>What part is democracy likely to play in various quarters of the world -during our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> present century? Are we to see, now that Europe and Asia -are torn from end to end by revolutions, a sudden adaptation of all -these backward peoples to the democratic method? All recognize that we -are just now going through one of the greatest of revolutionary periods -in history. Maybe the millenium of universal freedom and democracy is -even now at hand. Let us see.</p> - -<p>The practice of political democracy to-day is practically limited to -two main groups of nations—the English-speaking and the Latin. Of the -latter group, Spain alone tarries in the Middle Ages. Besides these we -have Holland and the three Scandinavian countries, which, while ruled -by kings, are democratic in both thought and practice. In a previous -chapter we have described the pitiful surrender of the German people -to absolute monarchy and state socialism, and their recent trembling -efforts toward freedom, as well as the sad miscarriage of the attempted -democratic revolution in Russia.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> - -<p>Beyond the limits of Europe, the two Americas, and English-speaking -colonies over seas, there is little enough hope for the growth of -democracy anywhere in the immediate future. The most fulsome optimism -can not expect the Chinese republic to succeed in our day. For a long -time in the future, as in the past, the "white man's burden" is going -to include practically the whole of Asia and Africa.</p> - -<p>The limitations of democracy are set by many considerations. These -involve first the state of biological evolution in which a particular -race finds itself; second, the particular history of the particular -country under discussion. The African Negro can not realize democracy -to-day because he is psychically, and hence morally unfitted for its -responsibilities. The cause here is biological. The German people are -the first cousins of the English, being much the same in blood. The -difference between the two peoples are not biological, but historical.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p> - -<p>Democracy in practice requires certain mental and moral qualities. The -most outstanding among these are intellectual acumen and a knowledge -of public affairs. Among the moral essentials are a spirit of good -sportsmanship, a profound regard for the rules of common honesty, and -above all, a fine sense of personal honor. Democracy must be based -upon character. Every qualification we have mentioned necessitates a -large measure of economic freedom; for without this, the individual -is enslaved and driven in things political. They imply, also, freedom -from tyranny of intermeddling by any religious power. Unity of church -and state, or the interference in politics by a religious organization -for ulterior purposes, makes true democracy impossible. The individual -citizen must always have perfect freedom of political choice. For the -masses in any nation to acquire these qualities is to place that nation -in the very front rank of the world's political civilization.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> - -<p>We now come to the most important element of all. In any well ordered -democratic country there must be a high degree of unity in both the -thought and feeling of the people. There is a principle of mechanics -involved here. If the machine is to run at all, its parts must -function together properly. If it is to run smoothly, without mishap -of any sort, then those parts must have been most carefully fitted -and adjusted together. If a population is seriously divided along -lines of race, language, religion, or social classes, in just so far -is a working democracy made difficult. Given enough differences and -the machine breaks down. For instance, Switzerland is often cited as -a country where democracy works even though the people are divided -into three language groups. Nothing is more untrue. In Switzerland -the entire population is united because almost everybody uses two or -three languages in common instead of one. Religious differences among -the Swiss are not dangerous to democracy because church and state are -completely separated,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> and it is taken for granted that no church shall -meddle in the slightest degree in political affairs.</p> - -<p>Any larger disunity robs a nation of its hope of democracy. Witness -the peculiar failure in the democratic effort in Russia, where the -fanatical sect of Bolsheviki has set up a dictatorship in the name of -the wage-working class alone. What a lesson can be learned from Poland, -where religious difficulties have recently resulted in bloody riots; -or in Italy, where Nationalists, Socialists, Communists and Catholics, -each organized into a party, have recently gone out seeking the blood -of one or more of the opponents. In this the famous words of Lincoln -forever come into mind. "A house divided against itself can not stand. -This nation can not endure half slave and half free. It will be all the -one thing or all the other." Democracy in America has been successful -hitherto because we have been enabled, first and last, at whatever -sacrifices, to preserve our national unity.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus10.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE<br /> - -Where Country, Our Home, The Klan and Each Other are Secured</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> - -<p>Democracy is limited to those nations whose citizens possess these -peculiar and lofty qualifications of mind and character. It is limited -to nations which are blessed with unity and solidarity among its -people. It is further limited to nations which have grown into the -practice of democracy during long experience. Instead of asking what -nations and peoples are likely to fail at democracy, we had better -start by inquiring as to what few nations are fortunate enough to -possess all of these qualifications which, taken together, make -democracy possible.</p> - -<p>Democracy, we shall all agree, can not develop among the Australian -bushmen. It will not develop among the gypsies. It will not develop, -for a long time, among the African Negroes. Democracy will grow slowly -among the white peoples of central and eastern Europe. It will probably -grow much more slowly among the brown and yellow peoples of Asia. We -can best advance the cause of democracy in our time by saving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> it and -developing it in those countries where it has been already pretty well -established. Surely the greatest possible service we can render the -cause of democracy among the peoples not yet wholly fitted for its -practice is to give them a high and striking example of its success -in our own country. The supreme battle for democracy in this our day -is taking place in the minds and hearts of American citizens. There -is no immediate cause for doubt and worry concerning the preservation -of democracy in Great Britain and France. There is cause for deepest -concern in our own country, whose democracy is threatened from every -side, by greedy and designing powers above, as by a great mass of -incompetent, unprincipled and undemocratic voters from below.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The American Negro as Ward of The Nation</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">G<span class="uppercase">rover Cleveland</span> once declared that one American problem for which -he saw no solution whatever was the problem of the Negro. If we were -in The land of the beginning again, that country of our dreams, we -should, of course, not bring the Negro to our shores. It is easy to -idealize our American ancestors, but no doubt they made enough errors -in their time. Their most gigantic blunder, one to make Providence -himself almost despair of humanity, was the Afro-American slave trade. -"Man's inhumanity to man" brings at last the greatest of all sorrows -upon him who works the inhumanity.</p> - -<p>The first emotion that thought of the great problem of the Negro must -awaken in the hearts of all Americans is humility. Before Almighty God -we must resolve in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> this matter to do justice, and more than justice. -Here more than any other place, we must be moved by Christlike kindness -and love. The bane of us Americans, in all periods of our history, -has been carelessness. We have a tendency to let things drift from -bad to worse. Such has been particularly the case with reference to -our attitude toward the Negro. It is high time that we applied to our -public thinking some of that sounder knowledge of society and social -laws which recent years have given to us.</p> - -<p>Why should the simple truth give offense to anybody? The Negro in -Africa is a childish barbarian. Left to himself, he has never at any -time or place evolved even the beginning of a civilization. Do what we -may in the way of an education, the mind of the pure Negro, compared to -the white, on the average does not get beyond the age of twelve years. -To ignore this fact is to get into error from the start. Continue -to ignore this fact, especially in the execution of larger national -policies, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> we shall invite, as we have done in the past, trouble -that is deep and dangerous. Two facts should be remembered if we would -make real progress in this discussion. The first is that only those who -live among the Negro and so learn to know him at first hand can really -understand his manifold traits. To sit down five hundred miles from the -nearest considerable Negro population and write books about the Negro -is not likely to help much.</p> - -<p>The second fact to be kept constantly in mind relates to our population -of mixed blood. Every distinguished leader of the Negro race in the -United States has been part white. In fact, a majority of the more -distinguished have contained only a small infusion of Negro blood. It -is the presence of this Mulatto element which clothes the whole problem -in porcupine quills. It is this portion of our colored population which -is restless and often unhappy to the point of bitterness because of our -present policy with reference to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> Negro. If there were no mixed -population to consider our problem would not be nearly so difficult.</p> - -<p>I have always felt that superficial minds have a peculiar tendency to -lay hold of the Negro problem. For instance, witness the illogical -claims of some of those who think they are the special friends of the -Negro and who continually emphasize the necessity for an enlarged -sphere for Negro opportunity. On the one hand they boast of the very -great progress the Negro has made during his half century of freedom. -On one page they will emphasize Negro accomplishment. More than half -of our adult Negro population, for instance, can read and write. Tens -of thousands of Negro families own their own farms or city homes. An -even greater number of Negroes are attending high schools and colleges. -Then, on the very next page, the same author will take pains to show -that the Negro is most foully treated. He is kept in ignorance and -poverty. The wicked white population<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> which surrounds him denies him -every advantage and means of progress. Of course both of these tales -can not be true at the same time.</p> - -<p>Those of us who grew up among the Negroes and have lived with them on -terms of mutual kindness and of helpfulness all our lives are inclined -to the conclusion that it is easy to exaggerate the progress of the -Negro. The record of what we people of the South have done and have -tried to do for the Negro during these fifty years is an open book to -all the world. It need not be described or analyzed here. Our task has -not been easy. In general, I think we have tried to do it in a way to -win both the approval of our own conscience and the commendation of our -fellow citizens of other sections of the country. Yet we have acted not -only according to our means, but also according to our knowledge of -what could be accomplished. In so far as we have failed we simply ask -that our fellow citizens of the North and West make special<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> effort to -understand the true cause of our failure.</p> - -<p>This brings us to the main issue of this discussion. The Negro problem -is not peculiar to the South. The Negro problem is the burden of the -nation as a whole. The Negro was brought here during the seventeenth -and eighteenth centuries on the merchant ships which sailed mostly from -the ports of Great Britain and New England. Some few put forth from -Philadelphia and New York, but none from the South. This was not due to -the fact that all Southern people were morally above taking advantage -of the African slave trade. It was because commerce on the high seas -was not developed in the South. We were then wholly agricultural. -But the fact remains. The Negroes were brought to us by the ships -of old England and New England. For this terrible error of all the -English-speaking world of colonial times we in the South have paid and -paid and paid. We have paid by reason of the very fact<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> of slavery, -which continued so long among us because no one knew how to make an -end of it. We have paid and are still paying in the form of the most -inefficient labor force in the world. We paid in the War Between the -States and during the Reconstruction, until extinction threatened us; -and we still pay. Not the least portion of our bill is the disesteem -in which we are often so wrongly held by those of our own language and -blood throughout the world. Yet we patiently await the day of complete -understanding, of perfect reconciliation.</p> - -<p>How long will it be before our modern knowledge of the fundamental -facts of American history are accepted and used in our political and -social thinking? Slavery continued in the South and died out in the -North not because our people were different at the start. They were -quite the same. But the climate was different. Crops were different. In -the South the slaves produced cotton, tobacco, and sugar-cane during -a long growing season, and hence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> slaves were profitable to their -masters. In the North where they produced only food and fodder crops -during a short growing season, slaves were an economic loss. Short -summers and long winters do not permit the Negro to become a permanent -inhabitant of Northern climes. So the few Northern slaves were mostly -sold South and total emancipation followed.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, let it not be forgotten that during the period when cotton -was king, the North shared with the South in the profits of slave -labor. The economic system of our country was based upon cotton -and tobacco. For a full generation it took the following form: the -South sent her products to Europe, America received, in return, not -commodities but capital. This capital was invested in railroads and -other public improvements. Pennsylvania, New York and New England -furnished the articles of manufacture which the South needed at prices -much higher than obtained in Europe. These high prices were main<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>tained -through a protective tariff. The profits of slave labor were thus -divided between the South and the North. When, in the Constitutional -Convention of 1787, Virginia led the border states in demanding the -Constitutional prohibition of African slave trade, the New England -delegates joined with those of the far South in keeping this nefarious -traffic open for twenty-one years more. When we say to-day that the -problem is in every sense a national problem, we base our statement -not only upon present necessity—but also upon the basis of historical -facts which lead to definite conclusions.</p> - -<p>Finally, the title of this chapter has a wider significance which I -would emphasize with all possible vigor. In maintaining that the Negro -is a ward of the nation I wish to place emphasis upon WARD. The Negro's -presence among us requires an ever greater interest and care on our -part. It is high time that the people of the South made a wider appeal -to their fellow citizens of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> North and West. A stupendous moral -responsibility is involved in the presence of these ten millions of -black people. Not only the past, but the future, too, is looking down -upon us. All Americans may well realize that in this, as in so many -other matters, we are being weighed in the balance as a nation. As a -people we are fortunate in being quick to let bygones be bygones. We -of the South know that if other sections come to understand us and -our peculiar problem better, not only we, but they also, will be the -ultimate gainers. The sooner the nation unites in looking upon our -ten millions of colored folk as ten millions of children for whose -protection and care we are morally responsible, the sooner we shall all -be placed upon solid ground.</p> - -<p>Let me repeat here what I have been constantly touching upon in -these chapters. The maxims of our democracy are not for universal -application. Some Europeans are a hundred years, others five hundred -years, behind us in the process of democratic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> evolution. We may -guess, but we can not know, how long they will be in catching up. -How far behind them the Negro may be in these things I leave for the -anthropologists to determine or surmise. But what we of the South -assuredly know, because of our experience, is just this—to treat the -Negro as the political equal of the white is to do grave injustice not -only to the white, but to the Negro as well. We can not justly enforce -the laws among children that we make for adults. To enforce the white -man's law, in all cases, upon the Negro is an injustice so great that -the effort often causes sorrow to every normal mind among us. Cared for -and protected as a child, the Negro's better qualities are developed -and made evident by his works. But when he is burdened by moral and -legal responsibilities which neither his mind nor his character is -prepared to bear, in the vast majority of cases he breaks and falls -under the load. The errors of our mistaken policies during the past -fifty years have caused unfathomable suffering among our Negroes. Our -country took its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> foolish fling and sowed its wild oats of democratic -Utopia during Reconstruction days. We proved then that the vote is -an unmitigated curse to the Negro. From this curse he still suffers. -We were forced by Federal act to make him everywhere subject to the -white man's civil and criminal law. Often enough the white man's law -sends him to the penitentiary for twenty years when twenty days of -hard work upon the public highway would be punishment enough for his -unthinking crime. In this matter we have simply tried to put a gallon -of water into a quart bottle. So we have spilled much water and come -near breaking the bottle. The people of the Philippine Islands are, -on the average, much more highly developed than our Negroes. Yet the -better advised among them realize that they are not yet ready to get on -without our supervision and help.</p> - -<p>Let me not be misunderstood. I am not here trying to offer any -permanent solution for certain aspects of this problem. That<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> solution -if ultimately sought will require, for many years, the painstaking and -united efforts of our best thinkers in all sections. I am now merely -stating certain facts and principles upon which any future solution -whatsoever must be based. All I ask is that we take these facts into -every phase of our argument. The Negro is not yet prepared, mentally or -morally, to share all the results of our civilization with us. Amid the -great complexities of modern social and political life, it is difficult -indeed to prepare our white electorate to bear the responsibilities -of government. Wherever the Negro numbers twenty per cent of our -population, his vote on election day would endanger democracy. In every -state where he lives there are and will be vicious white demagogues who -will work upon his credulity to mislead him and misuse him politically. -Where he numbers forty per cent of the population, his suffrage would -throw us back to Reconstruction times and make democracy impossible. -Let us not refuse to shoulder the full burden of this responsi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>bility. -But the burden belongs rightfully to the Nation as a whole, not to -the people of the South alone. We of the South know full well that, -once rightly understood by thoughtful minds in other sections, we -can ask the nation to undertake those larger policies of reform and -readjustment which conditions undoubtedly require.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus11.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> Revealing the Mysteries at Midnight</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">We Americans are a Peculiar People</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">E<span class="uppercase">ven</span> among the various nationalities of the white race there are very -great differences of character and temperament. To try to overlook -these, to declare that they do not exist, is both dishonest and -dangerous. Moved by the inspiration of a common cause in the Great -War, no doubt the American troops and the French people made every -possible effort to be agreeable and companionable. Still their very -real differences caused friction. We recognize all sorts of peculiar -characteristics among individuals. Why this folly of trying to deny -their existence among nations? Sound conclusions in any matter -are reached only by starting with facts. But the humanitarian and -sentimental purposes which some of us have in mind often lead to the -misuse of facts. Self-deception is the very last support upon which to -build a sense of international or interracial friendship and good will.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p> - -<p>Democracy, as a working system, as we have said in previous articles, -is peculiar to a few nations of the white race. As such it is perhaps -the greatest social and spiritual adventure in the history of humanity. -Democracy can thrive only where it sinks its roots deep into the -personality of the individual soul. In a successful democracy the -citizen must be free, honest, intelligent, informed, sportsmanlike, and -willing to be always active in the performance of his political duties. -These qualities can not be brought forth by the hocus-pocus of wishing -them upon anybody. They are the result of a long evolution. They -have grown, thus far, only in particular environments and only among -peculiar peoples whose whole history furnishes the essential background.</p> - -<p>It is often pointed out as an evidence of the success which follows -the mixing of our various nationalities, that we original Americans -have resulted from the greatest of all mixtures. We began, in Colonial -times, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> English, Welsh, Scotch and Irish; as French, Dutch, German -and Swedish elements. The results of this mixture, we conclude, have -been entirely satisfactory. But right here we are apt to come to error.</p> - -<p>True, the original American people were formed by the mixture of -these various nationalities. Yet the success of out great experiment -was due to the fact of a much greater social unity than at first -appears on the surface. Our American people were drawn, mostly, from -a single European class. This was the class of small property-holders -and skilled workers. They came from the progressive countries to the -north and west of Europe. What members of the British country gentry -who came to Virginia and South Carolina were quickly unified with -those among whom they settled. Indeed, ever since Magna Charta, the -English country gentry were thrown together, especially in the House of -Commons, with the representatives of the small farmers and the towns -people. To ignore this fact<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> of essential unity is to leave Hamlet out -of the play. The dominant group, the great majority in every colony, -was this mixture of gentry, independent small farmers, shopkeepers and -skilled mechanics. This was then the rising class of Europe, struggling -to find itself; hungering to give expression of its peculiar form of -civilization; ardent in its desire for larger freedom. These facts can -not be over-emphasized.</p> - -<p>The original settlers, in large part, came to America to find the -freedom and political opportunity they so richly deserved. If they -did not, at once, always grant freedom to others in their own -settlements, there was plenty of room for the others elsewhere. The -Baptists, driven out of Massachusetts, found refuge in Rhode Island. -The Quakers, whipped out of New England, discovered room and to spare -in Pennsylvania. The Cavaliers, forced into exile during the Puritanic -tyranny of the Commonwealth period, settled in Virginia and South -Carolina. When the French Protestants came, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> the Revocation -of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, they were not really foreigners in -America. They possessed the same faith, they were guided by exactly the -same system of morals, they were the same class of people basically, as -those among whom they settled. One of the most liberal and democratic -groups to organize a colony were the English Catholics of Maryland. The -secret of understanding the beginnings of America is to know that there -was room for everybody and for everybody's beliefs. Even the bigot in -Europe eventually became the liberal here. The indentured servant, -of whom there were comparatively few, eventually found freedom and -acquired property in the wilderness.</p> - -<p>It was this abundant opportunity to possess free land which finally led -to the complete triumph of our democracy. The real America has always -been country America. The settlers came from Europe ready in mind and -heart for the great adventure. The effort required independence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> -self-reliance and high courage. The weaklings failed and died. With -every movement into the wilderness these mightier qualities of body, -mind, and soul were renewed and developed. So our American democracy -came, at last, to its greatest triumph west of the Alleghenies. Here -the limitations upon opportunity which obtained in the coastal colonies -were not to be found. Here was, at last, rich soil in abundance for any -hand that could wield the axe or hold the plow. Under the leadership -of men like Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln there was finally builded -a great nation upon the broad foundation of universal white male -suffrage. Here came, with the nineteenth century, the realization of -the democratic visions of twenty-five hundred years. Here our American -vanguard of democracy, at last, placed the banner of its hope and its -triumph upon the topmost pinnacle.</p> - -<p>Sometimes we refer to these pioneer Americans as "common people." In -fact they were most uncommon. The wilderness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> environment made them -deeply spiritual, even mystical. In men like Andrew Jackson and Abraham -Lincoln their basic qualities, however crude the outward aspect, took -on the forms of genius. The mind and the spirit of this individualistic -American is seen in everything he was and did. He built his solitary -house, hidden among the trees, upon his own land. In physical form -and manner he came to resemble the native Indian quite as much as the -European. He grew to be slender, "rangey," keen of eye, and ready of -hand—a "Jack of all trades." This type to-day can not possibly live in -American cities as it is unless it keeps one foot in the country.</p> - -<p>As to unlovely qualities, we Americans have no doubt been richly -endowed. The frontiersman farmer readily enough fights his neighbor -with fists or firearms. The laws we make for ourselves we often find -too irksome to obey. We are careless, often inefficient, and most -wasteful of our national resources. Recently we have been led far<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> -astray by the deceitfulness of riches. Finally we are apt to become -blind to the quieter graces and refinements of life. In certain -sections an original austerity gives way these days to pleasures that -do not really please anybody. Having conquered a continent with such -tumult and shouting, we have not yet learned how to live sanely or even -safely. The finer values of life easily elude us, even when we try to -seek them out. Yet, are we entirely in error when we claim that we, -as a people, have had something valuable placed in our keeping by our -history and evolution? Are we not worth preserving in the world? We -know that we are. Even in the moments marked by failure and humility we -can not lose our national pride and sense of worth.</p> - -<p>Assuredly, we Americans are a peculiar people. The conditions of our -European origin gave us a careful selection of personal qualities. Our -remarkable environment has upbuilded us. Infinite possibilities have -been opened up to us through the extent and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> resources of our country. -We have lacked nothing needful to a great destiny. Our future has -seemed so certain that we have never permitted it to be questioned. So -have we been prepared to become the ancestors of a glorious and ever -unfolding race. And now, within the short span of half a dozen years, -we are given over to every terrible doubt and misgiving. Ours has been, -were we but so minded, the wonderful privilege of continuing to select -the ancestors of America's future. We have shamelessly neglected this -privilege which is, indeed, the most sacred of duties. The ancestors -of America's future sons and daughters have been recently drawn, in -large part, from the most stolid peasantry and denizens of the slums of -Europe and Asia, simply because these sell themselves cheapest in the -labor markets of the world. So we are self-accursed. History may unfold -every page of her story and discover nowhere a profounder reason than -this for damning a great nation to destruction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - -<p>Our peculiar Nordic civilization, the creation, par excellence, of the -whitest of the white European races, has found but one primary field -for its larger expansion. That field is North America. Both South -America and Africa lie too much within the tropics to make of them the -home of our race. The Southern extremity of South America, including -Argentina and Chile, possesses a soil and climate comparable to our -own in the Northern and border states. But the incoming Mediterranean -people are giving this temperate area the aspect of a subtropical -civilization.</p> - -<p>The larger portions of both tropical South America and all of Africa -will no doubt be kept for or won for the darker peoples. The white -population of South Africa is now less than twenty per cent of the -whole. Australia, too, is largely tropical. Within the greater portion -of her territory the Nordic white man can hardly conserve, through -centuries, his distinctive physical and spiritual qualities. Our North -American continent was destined by history to be the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> greater Nordic -Europe. Here our stalwart race has been offered a gigantic area for its -expansion—a suitable field upon which to play its mighty part in all -the future. Indeed, this marvelous home is suited by nature to meet our -reasonable needs for many thousands of years. An intelligent population -policy might have permitted us to welcome from Northern Europe a -considerable number of immigrants throughout the twentieth century.</p> - -<p>Restricted to Europe and a few outlying insular colonies, our race -will, at an early date, cut but a sorry figure beside the populations -of the colored peoples on the one hand, and the undeveloped white -peoples on the other. The British Empire is to-day more than -three-fourths colored. The World War has only hastened the sinking of -the hopes of the European. The "natural" tendency in racial evolution -is always for the races with the more developed standards of life and -culture to be dragged down and engulfed by the surrounding world of -less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> developed peoples. A high standard of living with leisure among -the masses must be jealously preserved from competition or it will -become extinct in another generation. The most expensive thing in the -world is a moral ideal. The most wasteful system of government is a -democracy. But these things are worth the cost. We Americans have set -out upon a great adventure in social life. We have made some valuable -discoveries. Our spiritual possessions are numerous and valuable. We -can not successfully give them to all the world by first letting the -world take them away from ourselves. The "rising tide" of the colored -peoples and the backward white peoples, their ultimate domination of -the human process, to-day OVER-TOPS IN IMPORTANCE EVERY OTHER FACT IN -THE WORLD.</p> - -<p>We are throwing away North America as the home of our people and our -civilization. Were we to open our gates to hostile armies and welcome -the yoke of servitude<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> to a foreign autocracy, the results, in the end -might be less tragic. In the Hawaii of to-day, with its white American -element a small minority and rapidly becoming a fading remnant, we see -the North America of to-morrow. Across the length and breadth of our -Continent falls the darkening shadow.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Giantism—the National Disease of America</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">G<span class="uppercase">iantism</span> is a disease. In the human body it is caused when certain -glands do not function properly. A child does not stop growing in the -right way or at the right time. Perhaps the whole body, more often -parts of the body, grow to enormous size. The head or the hands may -become too large. The features are apt to be made ugly by frightful -distortions. For any child to grow too fast is dangerous. For certain -organs or features, or the whole body, to keep on growing when the time -has come for them to retain normal size is in itself a sign of this -terrible disease of—Giantism.</p> - -<p>Economic and social giantism is the curse of the United States. Our -larger cities have grown far beyond the bounds of national safety. -New York, Chicago, and a dozen other large cities are monstrosities.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> -It will take a full generation, with no immigration at all, and the -forces of reform fully mobilized, to bring them to correspond properly -with the other parts of our country. Everywhere the disease works -havoc. We crowd a few square miles with stupendous structures, leaving -narrow chasms for streets. Each new building shuts the light and air -away from many others. Then we pack ourselves into these buildings -more like stifled vermin than human beings. Whereupon we go about the -world boasting in a loud voice, as though we deserved praise for our -achievement.</p> - -<p>Giantism is found in every form of our national activity. We measure -the greatness of a university by the size and number of its buildings, -or by the millions of money which constitute its endowment. The richest -among us in money figure most in the newspapers, which proves that -they are considered by the public to be the most important. An author -is held in esteem in proportion to the number of copies of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> books -which are sold. Works of art prove interesting because they bring -fabulous prices on the market. At every census the inhabitants of our -cities and states wait with bated breath to discover whether or not -they have increased in numbers more than their neighbors.</p> - -<p>Giantism everywhere. To boast of the greatest city as the city with the -most people is like boasting of an enormous scrofulous swelling. We -even boast of the height of mountains, the size of lakes, or the length -of rivers, as though we had created them all. One state cries out that -it is the first in the production of hogs, another that it slaughters -more wild animals and peddles more furs than any other. Often there are -not nearly enough houses to shelter the people of a "great" city; many -of the students of a "great" university may leave as ignorant as they -came, and weaker in mind and morals. The colossal battleships we build -are used as targets before the sound of our boasting has died away. Our -piled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> up statistics of "progress" mostly prove our degeneracy.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus12.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> The Fiery Cross on the Mountain Top.</p> - -<p>All this seems to escape the accredited leaders and teachers of the -people. The tendency shows in us as individuals. A large proportion of -our people are cursed by overeating, lack of exercise and overweight. -Meanwhile the unemployed may starve. Everywhere that old and absolutely -sound principle of "plain living and high thinking" is surrendered -for the exact opposite. In all our great cities we build palatial -private residences which are more fit for cold storage houses than -for human habitations. A woman pays fifty thousand dollars for a -fur wrap weighing two pounds. If the most abominable whiskey at ten -dollars a quart did not find plenty of purchasers, the price would -be falling instead of rising. Behold the size, weight and contents -of our Sunday newspapers! They need no further describing here. A -popular magazine recently contained eighty-two pages of advertising, -and less than twenty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> pages of reading matter. In whole sections of -our cities natural human affection is lavished on expensive dogs. In -other sections the swarming children of the poor lack food, shelter, -clothing, affectionate care and education. Meanwhile we boast of both -the number of children and the value of the dogs. Fatty degeneration of -the heart is one symptom of giantism.</p> - -<p>If we continue in the way we are going, our future national self can -be easily enough pictured. Any amateur mathematician can plot the -curve of our "progress." Our wealth to-day totals two hundred and -fifty billions. Pretty soon we shall be worth a full trillion. The -last census of New York gives its population as 5,620,000. Of this -total a single Brooklyn insane asylum contains four thousand. Several -of our states spend as much of their taxes to care for the insane as -to educate their young. Let us have pencil and paper and calculate how -many will be shut up in lunatic asylums or homes for other defectives, -and what will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> be the cost of their keep, when we number three hundred -millions of people. If we bring all the underfed masses, all the -beggars and peddlers and criminals from every country in the world, -and thrust them into our over-populated cities to prey upon us, then, -assuredly, we shall have soon enough more inhabitants than China or -India. Some of our private dwellings now cost as high as eight millions -each and the windows are boarded up because the owners live in Europe. -According to our present standards that, too, may be taken as an -indication of our "progress" and "greatness."</p> - -<p>Of course the masses of the factory and office population, and most of -the idle rich, are physical weaklings. They get no adequate exercise. -They breathe no clean air. In some of our southern states the curse of -degenerating factory labor for young children is still permitted by -law. But whether enslaved in factory, idle upon the streets, or shut -up in a crowded apartment the child of the city has no fair chance -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> grow. Always the thought—this mass of weaklings is fit only to -be the subject of a more or less absolute monarch. They can not be -citizens in a republic that is a reality. Any strong, healthy, normal -American farmer turns from looking upon these city types, hopeless for -his country. Our cities are not built to live in. They are built to -get rich in. Jefferson was right. Unless they are reformed they will -destroy both democracy and civilization. Somehow we must spread our -cities out in the air and sun upon the countryside.</p> - -<p>The old America of our fathers is everywhere fading from sight. The -new America is full upon us. And that new America is rapidly becoming -a stench in the nostrils of the decent and intelligent minority. We -Americans must change our ways. We need a great revival—a revival of -common sense and healthy-mindedness. Our national life is starving -for the want of fine, thoughtful, educated, young persons with the -courage to wish themselves poor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> Our whole national life must change -its direction. We are not going ahead. We are going backward. Instead -of seeking to find, through our wealth, a richness of mind and heart, -we crave yet more bigness and fatness in things purely physical. We -seek our brother's purse strings instead of the affection of his heart. -We are holding fast to lies instead of the truth. All this abnormal, -distorted growth is making us ugly and disgusting in almost every -feature. In us the better America will soon be hardly recognizable.</p> - -<p>Never before have we so much needed the stalwart teaching of those -who have led us in our greater past. These still speak to us if we -would but listen. Benjamin Franklin still says on every page of "Poor -Richard's Almanac" that "We are giving too much for our whistle," and -that an old coat is often more to be desired than a new one. The tall -Thomas Jefferson still rises above the petty minds about us to say that -it were better that we had a nation com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>posed of two persons, a man and -a woman, who were truly free, than a nation with millions enslaved. -The calm voice of Robert E. Lee urges upon our hearts that he who does -his duty with all the strength he has may well leave even the matter -of victory or defeat to Almighty God. During these later years, the -entire nation has claimed to do honor to the name of Abraham Lincoln, -even while we forget everything he stood for, by word and deed, when he -was among the living. He is much honored for making the black man free. -We have forgotten that great speech of his in which he declared that -the white man's freedom should be forever guaranteed by free soil as a -national institution. One Robert E. Lee or Abraham Lincoln is worth a -great city full of crowding and scheming neurotics, treading upon one -another's toes, always trading in their eternal souls for a chance to -get rich and then mostly losing out and dying in misery and poverty.</p> - -<p>Present-day America is unworthy of the mighty voices which have, in the -past, led<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> her and called her to the leadership of the world. Those -voices spoke to us when we were weak, unformed and poor, yet so rich in -thought and in the impelling forces of our national soul.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Drifting</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">O<span class="uppercase">ur</span> country is not lacking in incurable optimists, more commonly known -as fools. Do we not always hear, they repeat, the cry of "Wolf, wolf" -by night, and do we not always wake up in the morning quite safe and -sound? I maintain that these poor words of mine are no mere warning -of the wolf. Yesterday he was in close pursuit. To-day his jaws are -closing upon our flesh. This outcry wrung from pain and fear is due to -no imaginary ills.</p> - -<p>We are drifting on every hand. The stupendous national problems -which beset our country internally can not be counted off on the -fingers of both hands. The exploitation of our farmers is leaving our -countryside, the cradle of our national character and well-being, -depleted of population. The Great War is over, but high prices largely -remain. We have not even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> approached a solution of the problem of both -safeguarding and properly controlling the nation's greater industries. -Labor strikes take on the nature of social revolutions. The advocacy -of Bolshevism arouses mighty crowds to wild enthusiasm. The children -of the rich and poor alike grow up without proper normal training, not -to speak of spiritual vision. With millions of people lacking houses -to live in, we find ourselves with millions of people unemployed. The -problem of the Negro is no nearer permanent solution than it was forty -years ago. I might go on adding to this list indefinitely.</p> - -<p>Throughout the length and breadth of the land our political life -draws ever weaker character and poorer mind to political leadership. -Strength, purposefulness and astuteness, when united together, are -used mostly to win riches. The weaker brethren are more and more being -drawn into the public service, into the pulpit and into the profession -of teaching. If we really wanted, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> in the past, our first-class men -to preach to us, to teach us, and to direct our government, we could -easily enough secure their services.</p> - -<p>A century ago our national problems were exceedingly simple. Their full -meaning and purport could be quickly explained and grasped. To-day our -economic and social problems are infinitely complex. Keeping the trains -running between New York and San Francisco in the year 1921 is a vastly -different piece of business than keeping the stage coaches running -between New York and Boston in 1787. But the average of intelligence -and character in both our state legislatures and in Congress is far -lower than it was in 1787. If any be disposed to deny this, let him -make a comparison between the debates of the Federal Convention of -1787 and the debates of our Federal Congress or the average state -legislature of to-day. Our political mind, in so far as we have any, -is still living on the contributions of our national past. The last -quarter of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> the century, especially, has registered failure with -reference to almost every internal national problem presented by our -time.</p> - -<p>Reflect, for a moment, upon the present colossal issues of municipal -government. A hundred thousand, a million, or five millions of persons -are forced, for better or for worse, for good or for evil, to live -together. In the recent municipal elections, the great city of New -York continued the domination of Tammany Hall, by a vote of more -than two to one. The people of Buffalo elected a mayor who received -a majority of votes because he promised upon election to throw the -Eighteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution into the waste basket. -Youngstown, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, elected "freak" mayors, -ignorant and inexperienced, whose campaigns for office both they and -those who heard them treated as huge practical jokes. The great city -of Cleveland, Ohio, containing nearly a million inhabitants, elected -as mayor a man who was expelled from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> position of Chief of Police -because of proved irregularities and unfitness to hold office. In -the midst of our war with Germany, Chicago re-elected as mayor a man -who, throughout the war, was an outspoken enemy of his country. In -the outright venality of every sort, the government of the city of -Chicago, I am informed, exceeds any in the country, even New York. -Through the South we have not been able to secure since the War Between -the States, as a general thing, that fine type of political leader -who did such honor to our section in the earlier period. Our country -is not receiving from the South that contribution of leadership which -history might lead us to expect. The industrial North and East should -naturally lead the nation in the solution of the peculiar problems of -industrialism. Its remnant of American population readily admit their -utter failure. We of the South can offer no help.</p> - -<p>A full generation of so-called reforms have ended largely in failure. -Even seats<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> in the United States Senate now go to the highest bidder -like old furniture at an auction sale. The minority which is decent, -honest, and informed, is giving up the fight. The ballot in the hands -of ignorant and untrained immigrants, of Negroes, and of illiterate -native whites, has proven to be a terrible flare-back, burning our hope -of progress to ashes. Again force the ballot upon the southern Negro -and we of the South will outdo the North in political failure and decay.</p> - -<p>Our greater internal public problems, only a few of which I have -enumerated at the beginning of this article, will ever grow more -complex in character, more threatening in aspect. Who can expect men -with neither work nor property to take an idealistic attitude toward -our government and the public service? Their vote must express their -meanest immediate interests. He who stands in the bread line votes for -sugar in his coffee and a bigger slice of bread. Every unemployed man -is a pros<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>pective Bolshevist. Every illiterate man who votes inevitably -supports bossism and graft rule. With such an electorate how can -we move safely and intelligently into the uncharted and terrifying -future? Soon we must rule the great industrial organizations by law, -or they will rule us ignoring the law. Meanwhile the efficiency of -the individual wage-worker is decreasing. His joy in his work becomes -less and less. His loyalty to his task has almost struck the zero -point. Ignore the problem of the white small farming class yet a little -longer, and we shall be driven into farming on a great scale, with -armies of stolid peasants doing the work. We already have agricultural -communities where a score or a hundred small farms have recently been -joined together in one estate. What a sign post of our times to see -the old farm house made to serve as the dwellings for the immigrant -serfs who till the land! So "Wealth accumulates and men decay." It is -with a shudder that any patriot foresees the time when the countryside, -like the city, shall have lost its free, independent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> population. -In our South this small, free, white farming class requires special -consideration. The danger of its submergence and total loss here is -greater than in any other part of the country.</p> - -<p>As an American, ardent alike for Americanism and the Americanization of -our foreign born, I have often enough been accused of narrowness. I saw -others burning with enthusiasm over the hope of the League of Nations, -but I felt my own heart chilled by the sense of the shortcomings of my -own country. With the majority I was hesitant. The map of the world -to-day, in all its parts, strikes suffering into the heart that feels. -The blood lines in every direction indicate that the world as a whole -is drifting from failure unto failure. Europe is struggling helplessly -in the midst of storm and crying piteously for help which never comes. -With the German financial system broken down, France, denied the -reparation she expected, is immersed in gloomy despair. The smaller -nations East and Southeast of Germany are collapsing,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> if not already -fallen down, starving and diseased; their peoples are becoming every -day more helpless and hopeless. Italy, wasted by the war, is now in the -throes of civil strife and revolution. Russia, the first white nation -of the world, continues to rot in her insane orgies. With the passing -months and years hope for the early salvation of Russia no longer -deceives us. The battle lines of the Greek army, facing the Turks in -Asia Minor, are awaiting reinforcements and supplies in order to resume -the offensive. The four hundred millions of China, torn from without -for a generation, lacerated by revolution and civil wars for ten years, -have merely proven to us their incapacity for self-help. India is in -revolution and Egypt cut adrift. All the world is more decadent to-day -than when America entered the war. Again and again the nations come -to us begging for the strong arm of leadership. Again and again they -go from us, broken hearted and bowed down by the weak words of our -indecision and failure. Yet again they come because elsewhere there is -no help to ask.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus13.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> The Imperial Wizard Kneeling and Kissing the Flag, the -only Flag to which a Klansman Kneels.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> - -<p>Such is the world which our times have given so largely into our -keeping. This world demands a leadership such as gave our country unity -under the Constitution of 1787. The giants of those days—a full dozen -strong, loom large over the succeeding generations, and like Titans of -old, their deeds illuminate our whole history. Much accursed as we are -to-day by petty minds and selfish hearts in high places, we read the -history of our heroic period with deepest yearning that the mighty dead -might rise up and speak to us the living words we need to hear. We feel -so helpless, so lost, and gone astray. What mind and character we may -still have has ceased to function normally. From now on we may expect -a steady drift toward monarchy. In a decadent republic monarchicalism -is a natural growth. First comes a great class of the rich on the one -hand and a great class of poor on the other. Both tend, because of -their conditions, toward corruption. Both corrupt the state. The one -will barter the ten commandments to keep what it has;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> the other to get -what it wants. For a time the proletariat is oppressed with free corn -and the circus, with organized charities, baseball and the movies. No -republic can long endure on that regimen. Gold has already paved the -way that leads to the United States Senate. All that is needed is more -gold and the way will be smoothly paved to the throne of Caesar or -Belshazzar.</p> - -<p>It has always seemed to me that our stupendous national sacrifices -during the War Between the States have never been recovered. We lost -a million of the sturdiest and best men who ever grew to manhood -in the world. So did that generation lose a million homes. We have -to-day, instead of the ten millions of their descendants, equally -divided between the city and country, some twenty millions of unskilled -foreign workers crowded into the cities alone. With the close of the -War Between the States we ceased, in every section, to produce first -class national leaders. To-day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> Charles Murphy has replaced Alexander -Hamilton. In Illinois, Lincoln the Great gives way to William Hale -Thompson the Little. The passing of Woodrow Wilson from the public life -leaves the South searching, perhaps in vain, for a leader to present to -the service of the republic. Into our Southern political life, as into -that of the North a generation ago, there is creeping the hireling of -special interests. Only the ignorant can say that we have not fallen on -times that are weak and evil and failing at every point.</p> - -<p>So we drift—on and on; when to drift at all is to drift toward the -abyss. With each setting sun we become less capable of doing well the -great task assigned to us. We are deceived by the superficial results -of mechanical progress. Hence we do not care to know that each waning -summer marks a loss for us in all the fundamental determinants of -blood, of character, of all the elemental forces. These basic elements -of our peculiar civilization can be main<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>tained only through the most -watchful care. A single careless deed done to-day by the nation and -countless ages must pay an ever increasing price of failure and misery. -Our English-speaking peoples are as a ship of democracy struggling in -the sea of unfaith,—an ocean of the world's failure and despair. We -are driven before a furious gale; great waves wash over our decks. We -drug ourselves into believing the theory that somehow Divine Providence -always has cared for, and always will care for, the children, the -lunatics and the United States. Of course this theory is trash. The -Almighty helps only those that help themselves.</p> - -<p>You millions of the middle classes of America, living in comfortable -ease—upon your conscience is the greater burden placed! Will you -continue to fiddle while the common weal is in flames? The future -throughout your country and the world will hold you responsible! "BE -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>. -NOT DECEIVED, GOD IS NOT MOCKED. WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT ALSO -SHALL HE REAP."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</a></p> - -<p class="center">"<span class="smcap">The Federal Union—It Must Be Preserved</span>"</p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> American government under God shall not perish from the earth.</p> - -<p>In 1830 Andrew Jackson arose before a group of distinguished men -assembled at a dinner in Washington and proposed the toast which forms -the title of this chapter. It seems to me that this expression of the -iron resolve of the old war-worn hero should be placed among those -statements of our great leaders which have been as divine commands in -the great crises which our country has experienced. Jackson loved the -Union. In 1830 few people understood those peculiar underlying forces -which were drawing the Union apart. It is evident to us now, after -studying the history of the generation preceding the Civil War, that -only a Union which exists in the minds and hearts of all its citizens -can be an enduring entity. It may seem rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> trite to say again that -national unity is based first of all upon an individual sentiment. -Even during the War Between the States this love of the Union as an -ideal never ceased to animate the people of the South. They sought -merely to rebuild the Union on a different basis. After the surrender -at Appomattox the South faithfully accepted the old Union under the -changed conditions of its re-establishment. Since that time their -loyalty to the Union, as it is, has never been questioned. All must now -recognize that until the great differences which severed the Union had -been finally settled, the Union itself could not be re-established.</p> - -<p>If a nation is to exist at all, certain basic principles and forms of -procedure must be generally accepted by all its citizens. As regards -these essential things we cannot afford to differ at all and yet try to -live side by side. In English-speaking countries, for instance, we must -needs all accept and support the constitutional bill of rights. Without -freedom of speech, of the press<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> and religious worship, to mention -three of the more important guaranteed constitutional rights, any -English-speaking country would very quickly find itself in the throes -of revolution and civil war. We must agree, also, to be subject to the -same general principles of morality. If a citizen argues, for instance, -that the crimes of robbery and murder are sound and correct modes of -political procedure, he thereby rejects his citizenship. We must all -agree to live peaceably and lawfully under the same constitutional and -legal system. Finally, to attain national unity and national peace -we must not only accept, but unitedly support, with affection and -enthusiasm, the prevailing system of law and social order. That great -poet of democracy, Walt Whitman, expresses this thought so exquisitely:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"To hold men together by paper and seal, or by compulsion, is no -account;</p> - -<p>That only holds men together which aggregates all in a living -principle, as the hold of the limbs of the body, or the fibres of -plants."</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> - -<p>Our American people, if we are to be perfected in unity, must come to -be a sort of family.</p> - -<p>Differences of personality among individuals, differences of opinions -among groups, differences which show themselves in a variety of -religious beliefs and political policies, all these are not only -natural but necessary to civilization and progress. Absolute unity in -thought and action can be attained only among a tribe of savages. The -political unity of an absolute monarchy is a leftover from savagery. -Above all, these valuable and desirable differences show in all the -interesting variations to be discovered in our cultural life. In the -education of children these differences of personality should be not -only tolerated but purposely developed. The growth of this quality -of personality is one of the most precious results of our democratic -civilization. Yet it can not be too much emphasized that all these -differences must work themselves out and perform all their desir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>able -functions within the restricted bounds of a generally accepted law and -custom. Otherwise nationality is impossible; and this is but another -way of saying that human society is impossible.</p> - -<p>Imagine a group of relatives and friends sitting down to break bread -together. They differ in age, in appearance, in understanding, and in -almost every purpose of life. Some will reject soup, and others fish. -As the dinner proceeds sharp differences of opinion lend interest -to the conversation. In our present day society any two members of -this group may well belong to two different political parties and -two different religious organizations. Yet if there is to be a true -companionship in this place, how dominating must be the things that -unify! This group, to get on well, must speak the same language and -abide by the same established forms of social manners. In all the -deepest things there must be the same regard for essentials, the same -attitude toward life. In the mind of each, unity with all the others -must be truly desired as a spiritual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> attainment. How seldom do we -pause to reflect upon how many such principles and forms are taken -for granted, every day and all day, in ordinary business and social -intercourse. If people are to live together happily they must not only -tolerate one another. They must enjoy companionship, one with the other.</p> - -<p>On the same soil you can not have, permanently, two systems of law. -Two basic forms of moral conduct can not function side by side. If -there are two groups of people in any society, one of which totally -rejects the other, trouble is sure to come. Given two groups of people -with such a gulf fixed between as is never crossed, for instance, by -intermarriages, and it is time to hoist the danger signal. Civil strife -lurks in the offing.</p> - -<p>That generation of Americans which grew up under the shadow of the -Civil War, and in the terrible period of Reconstruction, has had -occasion to have burned in its in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>most consciousness, as by intense -religious conviction, this necessity of national unity. Such a complete -sense of unity, such a practice of solidarity, I have visualized for my -country. It is the disunity of the present which, with "Hope deferred, -maketh the heart sick." About us on every hand are discordant voices, -clashing interests, screaming recriminations and blazing hatreds. Our -republic cannot continue unless we re-establish, and that very soon, a -status of civil peace in the minds and hearts of all our people.</p> - -<p>Everybody who reads the newspapers or talks with his neighbors knows -that the conflict between labor and capital is drifting us into another -civil war. We can already reach ahead in imagination and fix our eyes -upon the dreadful moment when the forces of class revolution will -raise their standards and move to the attack. Among thousands it is -being openly advocated. Among great numbers of quieter citizens of all -classes it is accepted as a sort of grim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> necessity. Men seem always -to be ready enough to fight. However, a sound national life can not -be maintained by crushing down the masses, any more than freedom and -progress can be secured for anybody through a Bolshevistic revolution. -And how much more deadly is disunity between classes than between -sections!</p> - -<p>How difficult it is to make men so desirous of peace that they will -consecrate their lives to secure its conditions! Are there none among -us so devoted to our Union, so ardent in the cause of peace, that -they are willing to rally around the principles which will make both -peace and unity possible? I steadfastly maintain that, if properly -led, a majority of Americans are willing to think and act in order to -forestall anarchy and civil war. A vast majority of our farming people -and middle classes are ready to demand, as Andrew Jackson demanded in -1830, that the nation do lawful justice to all. We who still constitute -the solid body of the nation wish to urge upon the wage-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>working people -with all our hearts that America and Americanism can solve their great -problem without rebellion and bloodshed. And we are just as ready to -assure those who own and direct capital, even those who are so often -hated because of their great riches, that no penny shall ever be taken -away from them without due process of law. Surely a majority of us -have not yet lost faith in the very foundations of our democratic -union. The recent stupendous events in revolutionary Europe should -cause every thoughtful American mind to re-examine most carefully the -principles of our government and of our democracy. We stoutly maintain -that these principles and the constitution based upon them furnish a -peaceful means, even a brotherly means, for the solution of the labor -problem. But if, under the dangerous conditions which impend, our -Federal Union is to be preserved, our love for it must draw us ever -closer together in its service. Every principle of the bill of rights -must be steadfastly defended. Embittered hatreds and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> suspicions must -be allayed. The nation as a whole must be persuaded to take counsel -in a quiet way. To those who shriek out upon us that "Might makes -right," and that "Government is founded upon power and wealth alone," -we must be able to reply that our Constitution and laws are still -vitalized by the love of our American hearts, and by our willingness -to sacrifice self for the sacred things of the Union. May we not still -reply, also, that freedom is only curtailment of power—power to rule -over others—and that true freedom can be experienced only in a nation -whose citizens highly resolve to protect the freedom, the rights and -interests of all.</p> - -<p>Both plutocracy and Bolshevism are new forms of tyranny. Neither have, -as yet, run their course. None can refuse to take note that during the -last decade some of our rich, as for instance, Mr. Henry Ford, have -begun to learn the lesson of the stewardship of wealth. With what pride -and pleasure we have observed, too, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> organized labor in America -has rejected Bolshevism and declared ardently and almost unanimously -for purely democratic methods of action. It is not among the twenty -per cent who are organized; it is among the eighty per cent of our -workers who have not the capacity to organize, or who are denied the -right to organize, that Bolshevism is raising its ugly head and weaning -the workers away from democracy and from the love and service of their -country. If our Union is to be preserved in our day, it must win a new -hold upon the affections of this vast number of our people, native-born -and foreign alike. Among them all its interests must be made the -subject of constant thought and conversation. All must learn that no -man who hates his neighbor can sit down in peace under his own vine -and fig tree. So, to this, our altar of unity, we who labor for social -peace must bring in absolute sacrifice the work of our hands and all -the cultural results of our civilization. Only thus shall we be enabled -to lead the warring classes back to Ameri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>canism. The Union, if it is -to be preserved from social disintegration, must be established upon -character as well as upon a common material interest.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> Consecration to the Flag</p> - -<p>The time has fully come for all Americans to reason together and -finally think this thing through. Who among us can say that he knows -exactly what to do? But this we all can say: That if our people -approach this whole matter in the attitude of affection, one for -the other, if we consider this issue as ardent patriots and sincere -Christians, then we are sure to discover, presently, the straight way -in which all can walk together in unity and fellowship.</p> - -<p>The Ku Klux Klan is composed, I trust, of men who will face this -crucial issue with relentless firmness. We shall say to Americans of -all classes who now prepare their minds for civil war that they must -and shall make peace. We do not propose, as the years pass, to wait -and wait and drift and drift. Let none mistake our purpose.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> Civil war -is the most terrible curse a nation can suffer. We do not propose to -look idly upon the mischief of others until it rages all about us. We -shall prevent war by planning for peace, by preparing for peace, and by -knowing in our inmost hearts that peace can be maintained. The way to -the peace we demand lies through justice, righteousness and affection. -"The Federal Union, it must be preserved."</p> - -<p>National unity, as we here understand it, is more than a means to an -end. National unity is an ever enlarging result. It is the loftier and -worthier goal. In the full joy of its realization the individual soul -is enriched and finally saved. Thus is patriotism made to share in the -spiritual values of religion. So the individual losing self, shall -again find himself in the service of his fellowmen.</p> - -<p>Looking back beyond the temporary issues of the War Between the States -we can see, rising in clear outline against the times in which he -lived, the tall spare form<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> of "Old Hickory." There rung through his -brave utterance both resolution of will and high purpose of policy. So -were his faith and his hope maintained. To-day, amid the clamor and -disunity of our times, his memory again urges upon the troubled hearts -of our people this great word of a day that is done, that it may again -be made flesh and dwell among us.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Our Country's Part Among the Nations</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">P<span class="uppercase">receding</span> chapters have indicated our present national unfitness -in so many things concerning our domestic public life. Yet, until -recently, we were enabled to concentrate what public mind and spirit -we had upon such problems as arose among ourselves from the conditions -of our internal growth. Now, being weak, hesitant, and our wills -quite unformed, we are suddenly hurled into the very center of the -international whirlpool. In the preparation for and in the execution of -our part in the Great War, we were, no doubt, quite magnificent. But no -one ever doubted our ability to fight. It is in the execution of the -greater tasks of peace that we falter and fail.</p> - -<p>With the close of the war there was presented to us, in the urge to -world leadership, the most difficult and dangerous prob<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>lem of all. -Here, again, we were offered no alternative. We must go. We must -help to "settle order once again." We drew back from Paris, only to -reassemble the nations at Washington.</p> - -<p>Two opposite opinions have settled in the minds of the majority of -Americans with reference to the subject matter of this chapter. One -would have us move far out and lose ourselves in a mad mixing world. -The other would withdraw us from the world utterly and hide us like a -"hermit crab" in any rotting shell we find. I shall here show that one -of these policies is impossible to execute. I shall prove, also, that -the other, if fully carried out, would destroy us as a people. Between -the two, surely, there lies a way in which our ship may move more -safely towards its appointed haven.</p> - -<p>Changed international relationships are largely the result of new -forces, physical forces, in the economic and social life of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> world. -These forces were drawing and pushing all the nations of the world -very close together. The first wireless message has only recently been -sent entirely around the world. Commercial aviation, already widely -in vogue upon land, will presently span the Atlantic and then the -Pacific. The commercial and financial dependence of each modernized -country upon the other is too commonly realized to need much emphasis -here. If Europe does not buy cotton, the Oklahoma farmer can not pay -his taxes or his grocery bill. If the Germans can not borrow money in -New York and London, they can not buy raw material to work upon; hence, -France, Belgium and Italy, getting no reparations, will not be able to -pay their American creditors. So runs the system into every counting -house, factory and cow stable of the civilized world. Railway lines now -penetrate the deserts of Asia and the jungles of Africa. Everywhere -the half-naked savage is trained to work at strangely modern tasks. -So is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> his labor interwoven by the machine process into our gigantic -fabric of international industrialism. All the world unites because it -is impossible to any longer stay divided. He who does not understand -these things of the world's work can not begin to think intelligently -concerning international relationship.</p> - -<p>Our large American part in the life of the world is, and is to be, -determined by a number of factors. These include our wealth, our -comparative numbers, our national state of mind, and the place we hold -in the opinions of other peoples. We are seven per cent of the world's -population and sixteen per cent of the world's white population. At the -table of the great International Disarmament Conference at Washington -we sat with Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. Our wealth is probably -greater than that of all these combined, including the white colonies -of the British Empire. In power to make war we undoubtedly stand alone. -These ele<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>ments of physical greatness indicate our natural part in the -reorganization of the shattered world. We can not leave the world to -its ways and build a Chinese wall around America; nor would we if we -could. No wonder our old-fashioned American citizen was deeply worried -in the year of 1920. "Whither," he asked, and "how far are we going?" -So he decided to pause and wait awhile. Deep within the national mind -was the terrible knowledge that, with our feet entering strange and -devious ways, our lamp was untrimmed.</p> - -<p>We cannot accept an internationalism that would compromise the -immigration issue either in the East or West. We can not serve Japan -by permitting her to annex California as she has already annexed -Hawaii. We can not save the world by seeking first our own dissolution. -An international market for money and goods is one thing. A free -international market for wage-laborers is quite another. If we are to -undertake our international task, we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> must ever more jealously guard -the strength which is ours by inheritance. Let us cleave even more -firmly to those things of mind and character that have created us a -nation. As a unified and democratic people, as a successful, happy and -educated people, we can no doubt play a leading part in organizing the -world for better things. All the world cries out for this leadership -of America. But we are as yet unfit to lead. The nations, which are -sinking, stretch out their hands to lay hold of ours, but we ourselves -are falling into the pit. One who reaches down his hand to rescue a man -falling into Niagara's current must first be sure of his own footing. -If we are to save others we must begin by first saving ourselves. It is -impossible to resist the influences that make for internationalism. But -it is possible, it is absolutely necessary, to save and make perfect -our nationalism upon which any useful internationalism must be based. -To speak of internationalism as taking the place of nationalism is to -deny the very meaning of the word from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> start. The separate nation, -in its world relationships, may be compared to a separate home in a -community. The citizen joins with his neighbors to construct a road, -to build a village school, to maintain a police and fire service. But -the community effort is not undertaken for the purpose of dissolving -and destroying the home. Just the contrary. The community protects and -serves the home. It accomplishes what the single can not undertake.</p> - -<p>Eventually there will come, if we learn to lead, a great world -community. It will come slowly, growing through the centuries. Our own -country, ever more positive of her individuality, of the deeper things -of her own personality, of the true worth of her inmost soul, and with -a realizing sense of the value she can so contribute, may yet aspire to -the privilege and the honor of that world leadership which will make -for the peace, unity and well-being of all.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">We English-Speaking People Must Stand Together</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">H<span class="uppercase">ere</span>, too, a choice is not permitted us. The desperate condition of the -world is forcing our minds and hearts. The demand is given to us who -speak English: "CO-OPERATE, OR PERISH WITH A PERISHING WORLD."</p> - -<p>This broken world can not be put upon the path of peace and prosperity -without the most careful and courageous leadership. Modern industrial -and commercial conditions, in a word, the machine process, has thrown -all the nations of the world together. If we can not separate ourselves -from the other nations, if all the world must eventually march in the -same direction, the only practical question relates to the direction -of the march. Are we to be saved together, or are we going to fall -together into the pit of a new sequence of the Dark Ages?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> The great -masses of the colored races, mostly unfitted for self rule, must be -protected, civilized, educated, and led onward and upward toward the -best that they can do. On the other hand lies the dread alternative -of a military imperium which might eventually organize the whole -of China and India. If we do not organize the world for peace, it -is not impossible to conceive that twenty-five years of astute -propaganda might win all these seven hundred and fifty millions to the -militaristic leadership of Japan. A great Indian nationalist leader -recently said that no one fact had so aroused and encouraged the spirit -of India as the present brilliant role of the Japanese nation. Such a -pan-Asiatic movement might very likely draw Russia, Germany and several -other European nations into a new and terrible alliance. The poor and -the dejected always seem to find cause enough to pick a quarrel with -the rich and the powerful. I repeat, if the English-speaking people -will not undertake together the task of giving ordered progress and -freedom to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> the world, upon what nation or nations is the duty to -devolve? We have rejected, rightly or wrongly, the League of Nations. -What next?</p> - -<p>In this connection the happy solution of the age-worn Irish -question makes straight the way. While the Irish in the home-land -were in rebellion against Britain, the political waters of every -English-speaking country in the world were made muddy. Peace in Ireland -makes our task of co-partnership with the British Empire easier and -simpler. Indeed, directly after the signatures were attached to the -British treaty of peace with Ireland, a distinguished Irish leader -remarked that he hoped to see America cooperate with all the other -English-speaking people who are united through the British Empire.</p> - -<p>Let us glance briefly at some essential conclusions to which the -reduction of naval armaments inevitably leads. The American and the -British navies are to be made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> about equal. In ten years time an almost -perfect equality will be secured. These two navies, taken together, -will of course dominate the seven oceans. The only naval power which -will remotely compare to either is that of Japan. Because of our -wealth and population, also because of our industries, production and -commerce, the United States and the British will have no immediate -rivals. Together, we can declare the world's peace. Together, we can -give the world a decent measure of order. We include, of course, -the practically independent and rapidly growing nations of Canada, -Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It will be readily seen how -much greater is our power, a united power, for good than any other -possible combination of nations in the world. Here, tossed about in a -sea of color, lies the white man's hope. Here, too, is large hope for -all the world. Under the world peace we can establish the forces that -make for international justice which will at last be given a chance -to function; while under the threat of war every sort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> of inhuman and -barbaric force will win its way. Given an assured peace and better -minds and gentler hearts among our English-speaking people will never -be silenced. They will triumph in our own countries first. They will -save the world as a matter of course. On the other hand, world anarchy -and world war will always submerge every liberal voice and every -progressive policy among all nations, ourselves included.</p> - -<p>We need no formal alliance with the British to bring these things to -pass. The alliance of the American with the British people is formed by -all the qualities we have in common. These are already more powerful -than any document. The theory that competition for the world's trade -makes co-partnership in everything and anything impossible for us is a -piece of ignorant nonsense. All our better humanity is crying out the -command that trade keep to its rightful place in human affairs. If this -Anglo-American understanding could have been possible ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> years ago -there would have been no World War. At that time we in America were not -ready for co-operation. If we are not entirely ready for it to-day, -then under the Providence of Almighty God, and being responsible to Him -alone, those of us who see the light must make all ready for it.</p> - -<p>With every forward step we try to take toward the peace and the -salvation of the world, we shall find, at first, blocking our way and -attempting to push us back, our great foreign cities. The war, in so -far as we Americans ourselves are concerned, has not liberated us -from this tyranny of the foreign vote. It is, in large part, still -mobilized on the wrong side of almost every public question we can -think of. However, we may now expect this influence to slowly give way -to better knowledge and wiser counsels. With the Irish question finally -settled, our Irish fellow-citizens here will have no further occasion -to oppose the British at every step. Our German voters, too, may soon -come to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> learn that Germany cannot be saved if the world be lost. -If we American-born citizens can only attain sufficient unity to once -for all ignore the foreign vote, and rule ourselves intelligently, -we shall soon discover that vote has ceased to be a danger. But it -will not cease to curse America for fifty years if it is not met with -the firmness of a united American will. Let us draw a line about the -foreign sections and about the hyphenated votes, and declare our -absolute independence of them. During the war this foreign vote was -silenced and nullified. So it will be again as soon as we speak our -national mind with certainty of purpose.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption">Illustration: God is our Refuge and Strength</p> - -<p>In perfect harmony with the British people, we are now seeking and -securing naval disarmament. Having limited and equalized our power for -defense, it is absolutely essential that we stand together to prevent -the building, among possible enemies, of dangerous armaments on sea -or land. No doubt Japan will, from this time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> on, carefully heed the -united demand of our two English-speaking peoples. The first imperative -duty that we must accomplish together concerns the protection of China -from the lusts of the exploiter. The independence of the Chinese nation -must be guaranteed. Her unity must be re-established. Her resources -must be protected from the greedy ones among our own citizens who would -take from the Chinese people the resources they so much need for their -future. To-day China can not protect herself. It is incumbent upon us -to afford her the fullest measure of protection. The gratitude and -esteem our children will receive from the Chinese nation will be in the -future the strongest and surest of all the guarantees of world peace.</p> - -<p>We in America are as much interested in the care and progress of the -African peoples as are the British. Why should we not share in this -responsibility? What a boon to the future of those backward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> black -people of Africa, should they find themselves more largely united -through the more general teaching of the English language! More and -more will such of our American Negroes as are unhappy here, find a -place of refuge in their native land of Africa. We should be serving -the highest purposes in a number of ways were we to purchase the Congo -Free State from Belgium and the Portuguese colonies in the Southern -part of the continent. Side by side with the British Empire we could -help in administering the affairs of those barbaric peoples in their -own interest. The third international plague spot is the Near East. -With the heavy tyranny of the Sultan removed, the conglomeration of -broken and unhappy peoples who composed his subject population have -been freed. To-day they fight and fester like vermin stifled and -starving in a dark place. It seemed to many Americans that, after the -war, supervision of these Christian peoples was our particular duty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> - -<p>Why should we, speaking the language of the mighty dead, who gave -command in the English tongue, be so fearful of sharing each other's -purposes and each other's tasks? We are what we are; and it so happens -that we are forced by circumstances to guide the world. Let us lead -wisely and well, winning for our children gratitude and esteem. Let us -have done with all this sickening pose of Pecksniff and Uriah Heap, -and do the great deeds to which our times call us as Cromwell and -Washington would have done!</p> - -<p>We need world vision to-day. "Without vision the people perish." -But we need more than vision. We require great, practical, general -policies of world reorganization; and the veritable cornerstone of that -policy is this mighty English-speaking co-partnership. This saving -fellowship we Klansmen propose to advance by every means in our power. -The common language through which the whole world must ultimately find -communion is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> English language. This is evident to anybody who -even casually surveys the linguistic map of the world. North America, -India, Australia, more than half of Africa—such is the future empire -of Shakespeare and Milton and Lowell and Poe. Beside all the various -national languages and local dialects, our language will be used as a -means of universal conversation. So shall our every word, for good or -for ill, be a word spoken in authority to the whole world.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Nemesis of Immigration</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">O<span class="uppercase">ur</span> American civilization has received during these three hundred -years two crushing blows. So staggering have been these onslaughts -that it is still doubtful whether or not we can recover and go on as a -democratic people. On both occasions the blows have come primarily from -a relatively small group of profiteers. During the first two hundred -years of our history the African slave traders of old England and New -England traded their vile cargoes of rum for the black man, and sold -him throughout the Americas. So they accursed half our country with -slavery. To-day their deeds remain in the form of a large population of -black people, which, like a millstone about its neck, still drags upon -every natural aspiration of the Southland.</p> - -<p>The desire for cheap labor was not fully satiated through the -importation of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> African slave. The coming of modern industrialism -gave it a new turn. Our American system of industrialism has been -based, from the first, largely upon a European system of labor. Without -the slightest question as to their unfitness to take part in our social -life, or our political democracy, without thought of anything in the -world but securing much labor for little money, our employing classes -have, until very recently, persuaded the nation to give them a free -hand in their immigration policy. What the importation of the black man -did to the South in accursing our history for centuries, immigration -has done and is still doing to the industrial districts of the North -and West. Having advanced far beyond Europe in the development of a -democratic civilization, we have now again, deliberately, turned back -upon our past and prevented the social, intellectual and political -progress of our country by instituting the conditions of a degrading -poverty, illiteracy, overcrowding, slums, and mediaeval religious -worship. The gang rule and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> boss rule of our cities are simply a -return to monarchical forms without the decencies of government and -the refinements of society which an hereditary monarch provides. All -this we have gotten together with the riches we so much craved. We have -amassed our wealth only to realize, perhaps too late, that our very -food and drink are ashes and vinegar.</p> - -<p>There have come into America during the last fifty years great hordes -of immigrants. The tide reached its height in the fiscal year ending -June 30, 1914, when it totalled 1,320,000. From Europe there came -during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, 805,000. With our cities -swarming with millions of unemployed, congress was impelled at the -end of the last fiscal year to pass the three per cent law. This law -permits, annually, immigrants to come from each European nation to the -extent of three per cent of their peoples already here in 1910. That -is, if 100,000 Rumanians were settled among us in 1910, 3,000 a year<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> -are now permitted to come. This law is difficult to enforce. Within an -hour I have read in the day's news that 1,100 immigrants, mostly from -Hungary and Armenia, brought over by the greedy shipping companies -in excess of the three per cent quota of those nations, are to be -admitted. This is done as a Christmas gift to these unfortunate people. -Once arrived at our ports, who can have the heart to return these -unfortunates to Europe. No doubt this act of charity will be repeated -again and again.</p> - -<p>If we permit this three per cent law to be continued during a time of -economic stress and unemployment, we may expect the profiteers, and -cheap labor advocates generally, to come upon us with their demand -of unrestricted immigration as soon as times are better and workers -are more in demand. Of course, as might be expected, these foreign -born already here are most zealous in their advocacy of unrestricted -immigration. In the first place they wish to bring over their relatives -and friends. Then, too,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> the foreign born wrongly interprets all -opposition to unlimited immigration as being a base imputation against -his particular people. The thoughtless and unpatriotic appeal of all -these groups is usually made upon the basis of a sentimentalism. "Is -America not the haven of refuge for the oppressed?" they ask. In the -same manner was the trade in African Negroes defended three hundred -years ago. The blacks were being brought over, it was said, "in order -to Christianize them." If half of them died on the way and were thrown -overboard to feed the sharks, as often happened, still our intentions -were said to be Christian. This sickly, and ofttimes affected, -sentimentalism is one of the most disgusting features of both the -criminal profiteering of the few, and of the criminal carelessness of -the many among our people.</p> - -<p>Reflect for a moment upon the fact that there are at least one hundred -millions of poor in Europe, who would come to America now if they -could. They await only ship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> space and money to pay for their passage. -To bring over one million this year is always to prepare the way for -two millions next year. Each incoming crowd soon invites and pays the -way for a greater host of relatives and friends.</p> - -<p>This importation of the poor and destitute does not much benefit -European countries, if indeed it helps them at all. A country, which, -like Italy or Belgium, is primarily industrial in character, has long -since reached its limit of population. Remove a million Belgians or -a million Italians to America, and their places are at once refilled -by a million more births at home. Hence the creation of Italian or -Belgian slums in Boston, Pittsburgh and Chicago does not ultimately -decrease the size of the slums in Brussels or Naples. Nor does the -overflowing tide help the home country where, as from Poland or -Hungary, the emigrants are largely peasants. The land of Poland and -Hungary is held in large estates. Every peasant who deserts the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> -soil of Europe to fester in our cities merely postpones the change -in the land system which denies him opportunity in his own country. -Furthermore, in Poland, Hungary, Rumania, etc., this peasant is now -needed more than ever before to raise food crops. He leaves his country -because conditions are bad. These evil conditions are due, in part, to -the aftermath of war. But this is only secondary. The primary cause -of poverty among the peasants of Southern and Eastern Europe has been -large holdings of land and conditions of practical serfdom, but, above -all, primitive and backward means of production. Instead of plowing his -land with a plow, this backward peasant turns it up with a hoe three -times the weight and with only half the cutting edge of an American -garden hoe. Instead of reaping his grain with a reaper, the Polish or -Russian peasant reaps with a scythe of about the size, weight and shape -of an American fence rail. So, to compensate for his own ignorance, -backwardness, and the crude mediaevalism of his whole environment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> -this peasant escapes responsibility by rushing to the United States. -His case is exactly the same as that of the city wastrel from Belgium -or Italy. In leaving his own country he does not help it in the least. -In coming to America he drags us down to the pit of Hell.</p> - -<p>As regards the immigration from Japan, the West Indies, and Mexico, -the conditions are only exaggerated. They are exaggerated by greater -differences in race and by the wider gulf which separates our economic -conditions from theirs. There are tens of millions of people in India -who never know from one year's end to another what it means to have -enough to eat. One good American dollar will outfit their wardrobe -for twelve months. Throw these millions into the industrial life of -America, and in twenty years' time their place in India will be taken -by as many millions more, just as wretched, just as absolutely hopeless -as the millions who are begging, starving and dying to-day. Here is a -place where senti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>mentalisms are only trash. A sentimental attitude by -an American toward this problem is a criminal attitude. It is a sort -of criminal insanity which makes for suicide. If the suicidal intent -concerned only the individual, we should not worry nearly so much. But -it is our country which is committing suicide.</p> - -<p>The problem may be simplified by a comparison. Let us picture our -sentimentalist as possessed of an American family of wife and three -children living in an eight room house. Will this average citizen -welcome the arriving immigrants into his own house to the extent of -five per room? If he lives in Texas, will he fill his home with Mexican -peons; if in California, with Japanese and Hindoos; if in New York, -with Sicilians or Turks? All that I ask is that he be fully consistent. -If the sentimentalist is willing to prevent his own children from -having homes in America in order to provide homes for the Japanese; -if he is willing to prevent his American neighbors from having -chil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>dren in order to make way for the children of the Japanese of -to-morrow—then he ought to be willing to open wide the door of his own -house in order to provide for the destitute immigrant.</p> - -<p>There is something quite terrible in the stern fact that this country -will belong to the people who multiply most rapidly. The imbeciles and -the other feeble-minded, if permitted to do so, multiply much more -rapidly than normal persons. Suppose that we permit this class to -multiply at will and carefully preserve its progeny from disease and -other causes of a high mortality. In that case we can easily calculate -the time when the feeble-minded and insane will number a majority of -our population. Among the competing races in America the birth-rate -is the ultimate victor. The German and the Irish among us outbreed -the original Americans. The French-Canadians and the Poles outbreed -the Germans and the Irish. The Negroes and the Japanese outbreed all -the whites. Return to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> the liberal immigration policy of five years -ago and we shall become a conglomeration out of which it will be -impossible to build a nation. Under such conditions almost no sound -reform policies, no national progressive movement of any sort, can be -successfully advocated and executed. Stop immigration and a homogeneous -English-speaking nation will again be developed. Such a nation will -solve every economic and social problem as it arrives. Such a nation -will develop according to our Anglo-Saxon methods of free speech, -free press, democratic methods and popular respect for the law. We -are dealing here with the most crucial and fundamental issue of our -generation.</p> - -<p>The time has come to brand every advocate of continued immigration as -the outright enemy of this country and of our American civilization. -We are already two generations late in waking up to this matter. We -are on the very brink of the pit, and if we are to act at all, we must -act in unity and at once. Eventually, after our present<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> foreign -element has been Americanized and absorbed as best it may be we might -permit again a small amount of carefully selected immigration annually. -But even that would be a mistake. Future Americans should be born and -reared in America. Again and again let me urge that I am not claiming -that Americans are inherently superior to other peoples. We have a -peculiar civilization to guard and to guide. The tendency in our -industrial regime is always for the weaker, the more humble, the more -serf-like peoples to undermine the sturdier native whose standard of -living spells his destruction. The lower standard of living which the -immigrant willingly accepts, at least at first, is his essential curse. -Admitting swarms of low standard Europeans in order to "bring American -working people to reason" as regards their wages and conditions is a -piece of ignorant folly. In the end this always increases, instead of -decreases, our labor difficulties.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus15.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> -<p class="caption"> A "Klonklave" where One Thousand "Aliens" were -"Naturalized" and Became Citizens of The Invisible Empire.</p> - -<p>As I have already stated, our American labor problem can not be solved -by break<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>ing down the American standard of living and the American -spirit among American born working men. Our labor problem can be -solved only by winning the employers and workers alike to accept a -common policy of justice and Americanism. The view that there is ever -"more work in America than we can do ourselves" is the falsest of -false economic theories. Why should we try to exploit our resources or -develop new projects of any sort at the crazy and destructive rate of -speed which has marked our industrialism during the past generation? -Just the contrary is the correct policy. The unskilled labor of America -must be done by Americans. A dozen of our presidents have wielded -the axe and guided the plow. The very foundation of our country is -a sturdy, intelligent, characterful and self-respecting working -class, who do not at all crave to be parsons and college professors. -Better build fewer miles of highway or dig less coal than destroy our -civilization by the admixture of unsuitable and unworthy elements. -There is an old story of a farmer who burned down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> his barn in order to -get rid of the rats. Here we have a case of burning down one's house -in order to settle an argument as to who is going to wash the dishes. -Right here appears what may be our supreme test in the building of a -great nation, in the conservation of our democratic civilization. Are -we Americans ready and willing to eat our bread by the sweat of our -brow? If we are, we shall live and prosper as a people. If we are not, -if we crave the importation of an ever larger servile class, then we -shall perish, and we shall deserve to perish. Democracy is impossible -in the presence of a class which holds common labor in disesteem. On -the other hand, no idle aristocratic class exists in all the world, -that the mills of the gods will not grind to dust and oblivion in the -end.</p> - -<p>Another aspect of European emigration deserves especial comment. Let us -take for granted that it is desirable for a certain number of Europeans -to emigrate from their various home lands. Why do they not go<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> to -South America, where millions of square miles are as yet untilled -and unbroken, and where raw materials in countless amounts await the -tools and the initiative of the worker? Or, why does not the European -emigrant go to East Africa, where a fair and fruitful land, resembling -California, is open to settlement by white men? Australia, with three -millions of square miles, has a population of only six millions. She -can take millions of immigrants, and provide lands and plenty.</p> - -<p>The answer is simplicity itself, the mass of European wage workers -and peasants to-day do not wish to become pioneers. Those who are -physically, mentally and morally capable of becoming independent and -successful farmers no longer emigrate. They stay at home and improve -their conditions by instituting modern methods, as in Germany, Ireland, -and Scandinavia. They know that we have no longer free lands for them. -The present European emigrant is one who wishes to become a city<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> -wage-worker or petty trader. Here in America considerable numbers have -attained great wealth. It is this story of the poor emigrant boy who -acquires millions of money and perhaps political distinction which -troubles the mind and disturbs the sleep of the unemployed European -wage worker, the peddler and the landless peasant. Stop European -emigration to the United States and within ten years South America, -Africa and Australia will begin to receive such emigrants as they need -for their natural and rightful development. But those who emigrate from -Europe to the great open spaces of the world will be forced to become -farmers, foresters and miners, producing the solid wealth which all the -world needs.</p> - -<p>One further word. We shall presently come again upon a period of -prosperity. It will be limited by world conditions, probably, to -a few months, at the most to a year or two. During this period an -enormous propaganda for unlimited immigration will be again financed -by the profiteers and sup<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>ported by the feeble minded and weeping -sentimentalists. At that time the intelligent and patriotic portion -of our citizenship must be especially alert and active. We must -so organize our working forces that great numbers can readily be -shifted from city factories to the harvest fields and back again. -Certain seasonable trades and outdoor construction work can be made -to supplement one another, so that the workers will not be forced out -of employment at any season of the year. To a man of the breadth and -experience of, for instance, Mr. Ford, the execution of such a plan -would be simplicity itself. We Americans can and must solve these -peculiar industrial problems on the basis of a slowly increasing native -population.</p> - -<p>I realize fully that to consummate so great a reform as the permanent -stopping of immigration requires the setting in motion of larger forces -than the Klan can command. To this end every American must function -through his political party, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> fraternal order, his business -associates or labor union, and his church. All the argument is on one -side. What we require is action, and we Klansmen propose to have it -without further dilly-dallying and compromise.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Problem of Restricting the Suffrage</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">D<span class="uppercase">uring</span> nearly the whole of the nineteenth century our American people -played up hill and down dale with a very dangerous political doctrine. -I refer to the theory of unrestricted suffrage. Probably a majority of -our people actually came to believe that because a man (or a woman) had -arrived at the age of twenty-one, that was reason enough for granting -him the right to vote. This individual might be illiterate. He might be -mentally undeveloped, perhaps an imbecile. If our imaginary voter were -deaf, dumb and blind, besides being halt, he could still be carried to -the polls and his vote registered and counted.</p> - -<p>Only recently have any considerable number of our people come to take -a practical view of this thing. At last we are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> beginning to see -that this, like any other good principle of life, may be driven to -excess. One may work too hard or think too much. Even the most exalted -virtues may be overdone. So it is with the principles of democracy. -Having succeeded with a large measure of democracy, by the time our -government was put into operation, we did not lack those who were -prepared to see it carried to fanatical and dangerous extremes. So the -spoils system has been long defended as being a necessary attribute of -democracy. Politicians discovered that votes might be secured through -disclaiming all breeding, culture, and even denouncing efficiency in -office. Instead of trying to make of our democratic system a sound -and reasonable way of conducting public business, our people fell to -advocating certain democratic political and social theories with a sort -of religious frenzy.</p> - -<p>So it was with universal suffrage. A corrupt government at Washington -would never have been permitted to enfranchise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> the Negroes directly -after their emancipation had it not been for the wide acceptance among -our people of this false theory of the suffrage. If "everybody should -vote," then, indeed, how could the freed Negro be denied this "inherent -and inalienable right."</p> - -<p>Of course, as a matter of fact, the vote has always been denied to -certain groups and classes. To begin with, the young people under -twenty-one years of age, in the eyes of the law, "infants," were -disfranchised. These had no "inherent and inalienable" right to -vote, because of their immaturity. Until recently women were not -allowed to vote on the basis that the franchise would interfere with -the performance of domestic duties. Paupers and criminals are also -disfranchised.</p> - -<p>However, it is quite true that heretofore our theory of the suffrage -has been that any adult male could vote unless specific cause were -shown why he should be disfranchised. Right here we must reverse our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> -approach to the subject. The burden of proof should be upon the other -side. Our prospective voter should be made to show indisputable reason -for enfranchisement, instead of being permitted to vote unless cause -for disfranchisement can be shown. In other words, the ballot must be -considered a privilege and not an "inherent and inalienable right."</p> - -<p>This brings us to the question of the standards to be enforced. -No doubt this is a very difficult matter to decide. A very large -proportion of our people are quite likely averse to any change. That -the wind is blowing in the right direction is indicated, however, by -a general tendency to raise the standards of the suffrage. Thus, in -the State of New York, in the last election (1921) an amendment to the -State Constitution was passed requiring that a prospective citizen and -voter should read and write in English. What is needed is an amendment -not only to the various state constitutions, but to the national<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> -constitution. In preparation for such a drastic and far-reaching step, -the national mind should be prepared by the widest possible discussion -of the problem.</p> - -<p>The suggestion that I am to make here I wish to be understood as purely -tentative. I realize fully that the whole discussion is just beginning.</p> - -<p>Hardly anybody will deny that reading, writing and speaking the -English language with facility should be required of every voter. -Without the ready use of English it is impossible for foreigner or -native born to keep himself sufficiently acquainted with affairs to -vote intelligently. This requirement would disfranchise a considerable -portion of our native born whites, and a much larger portion of -our Negro and immigrant population. It is not too much to say that -the graver danger of the ignorant voter would be abolished by this -measure,—that is, if the measure were properly drawn and strictly -enforced, and at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> the same time would guarantee absolute and complete -rights of all under a real intelligent democracy.</p> - -<p>But the literacy test is not enough. Government to-day is intricate -and the duties of the voter are most varied and difficult. Very few -Americans will hold it necessary to so restrict the suffrage that -only a minority will be qualified to take part. But any American -intellectually fitted to discuss this problem will presently come to -hold, I believe, that the standards may well be raised. They should -be so high that our more backward young people in the schools must be -forced to strive diligently in order to fit themselves to attain this -great privilege and responsibility.</p> - -<p>It would be simple enough, in connection with our public school -system, to establish boards of examination to pass upon prospective -candidates. A majority of these boards should have had experience as -school-teachers. They should have in hand the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> matter of providing -facilities for educational preparation on the part of the student, -young or old, who might wish to continue his school work in order to -qualify for the use of the ballot.</p> - -<p>The nature of the educational requirement, in my opinion, would have to -do with two sorts of preparation other than the ability to read, write -and speak the English language. First, we should demand an intelligence -test such as is now required of every applicant for enlistment in the -United States Army or Navy. These tests have been reduced to a high -degree of scientific accuracy. The specific requirements would be -somewhat different, of course, than those demanded for the admission to -the Army or Navy, insofar as they would have a different object. But -the principles should be the same. The purpose of such a test would -be to reject all imbeciles, morons, and the mentally unbalanced. We -now know that these groups number from ten to fifteen per<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> cent of our -population. Placing the ballot in their hands amounts to the same thing -as intrusting it to children from six years to fifteen years of age.</p> - -<p>The second feature of our test should have to do with a different -sort of qualification. The purpose of the intelligence test should -be to reject those who are so lacking in natural intelligence as to -be unfitted for the simpler responsibilities of life. Our second -requirement would have to do with positive preparation. Any applicant -should have a full measure of sound knowledge with regard to the -history and government of the United States and current political and -social problems. Unhappily not only many immigrants, Negroes, and -illiterate native whites are at present unfitted to vote intelligently. -I fear that an enormous percentage of quite intelligent, and in some -respects well educated, persons are not in a position to pass the -simplest examination upon the elements of our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> history and government. -Let me not be misunderstood here. I do not propose to limit the -suffrage to those who are qualified to become judges on the bench -or professors of history and political science. I would favor no -standard so high that an intelligent young person could not fully -prepare himself in a year, by careful study for a few evenings a week. -The last two years of any efficiently graded school should furnish -courses sufficient to prepare the student in these things. Indeed, -any child completing his grade course where such studies were offered -and required would naturally be considered as having measured up to -this part of the suffrage requirement. His diploma on leaving school, -properly attested, signed and publicly registered, should give him, -upon arriving at the age of twenty-one, the right to vote. For children -who have not been enabled, for any reason, to complete the grade school -work, the necessary process seems simple enough. Evening classes or -other means of preparation can be furnished them at any time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> during -the years preceding voting age. Whenever they can pass the examinations -they will receive the testimonial of proficiency, so there will be -placed in their hands a most valuable and precious document entitling -them to the sacred privileges and duties of an American enfranchised -citizenship.</p> - -<p>My basic contention in this matter is simply this: both our young -people and our immigrants must be asked to fit themselves with the -greatest care for the use of the ballot. I am agreed that a great -many, native-born and foreigners alike, should be admitted to every -other privilege and right of citizenship except that of the ballot. -Nothing should be denied these except the power to degrade and destroy -our government through ignorance and incompetence. The ballot is both -a sacred heritage and sacred privilege. It must be recognized and -appreciated as such. The scandal of the criminal use of the ballot by -outright purchase is the primary source from which flows political -corruption. A premium is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> put upon the achievement and honors conferred -in the hearts of the people upon the successful politician regardless -of the methods by which he attains success. Most recently this has -broken out upon the body of the nation as a putrid sore, revealing -within a systemic condition portending the decay and death of our -democratic civilization.</p> - -<p>Our American democracy, generally successful at first, has more -recently left much to be desired. Even a hundred years ago, when we -were a primitive, farming population, our victorious democracy had -its seamy side. It brought with it every sort of inefficiency. It -thrust upon the nation the diabolical spoils system, which is still -so largely with us. Yet at that time democracy was saved by the very -simplicities of our national life. To-day all is so different. It is -time for democracy to tie up its loose ends and pull up the slack at -every point. Our public problems to-day are most perplexing to the best -informed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> minds among us. Our whole citizenship must not only acquire -a degree of education in public affairs which no people has ever yet -attempted—they must be reanimated by a spirit of sound morals and -an intense desire to serve their country well. Otherwise no purely -negative reforms can save our democratic system.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">National Solidarity Through Education</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">I<span class="uppercase">n</span> discussing the public school system of the country there is little -new for me to say. But the importance of the public school system -in our democracy makes it necessary to state again and again the -dependence of our government upon the public school. In the building -of a peculiar civilization, the home and the church, as two necessary -institutions of divine planting, have been everywhere emphasized. -But in the maintenance of a democracy, a system of free schooling -is as absolutely necessary as the home or the church. Democracy, -however interpreted, must mean a leveling of all the people upward. -Intelligence is essential to progress. There is no pathway to higher -and better living except that which is illuminated by the light of a -general intelligence. Our democracy must be taught to think, and taught -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> think right, if it is to live. The nations that continue to grovel -and grope, indeed, the nations that are being overwhelmed by internal -revolutions and internecine strife, are all untaught or badly taught. -I have been told that a hungry man near starvation has strange dreams -of palaces and feasts. Untaught human minds, unfed by information, -unstimulated by sound knowledge and undirected power of logic, have -strange dreams. Communism, Sovietism, Bolshevism, Anarchy, are the -nightmares of ignorance.</p> - -<p>Our American democracy, in its earliest declarations, emphasized the -necessity for the general public training of the children and the -youth. Probably this was the real thought in the mind of Mr. Jefferson -when he wrote his equality clause in the Declaration of Independence. -Nothing he ever said has been so misinterpreted and misapplied. -Certainly he could not have meant that all men are fundamentally and -constitutionally equal. John C. Calhoun, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> most logical mind in -American history, except perhaps Hamilton, said that that would be a -self-evident falsehood and not a self-evident truth. The great Lincoln -said that there were physical differences between the African and the -Anglo-Saxon that precluded political and social equality. No two things -in the universe are equal in this impossible sense which has been -distorted from Mr. Jefferson's statement that, "It is a self-evident -truth that all men are created equal." Among the billion colored -people of the earth, the black, the red, and the yellow, not one -nation has ever developed and maintained a constitutional government. -If there were equality in the essential things that go to make up the -characteristics of the colored races, certainly during the ages there -would somewhere have developed among them a civilization capable of -producing an upright, dignified, independent manhood. All that this -phrase meant at the founding of the republic, and all it means to-day, -is equality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> of opportunity for realizing the inherent possibilities -that are locked up in human nature.</p> - -<p>This, of course, contemplates a national school system into which -all the children and the youth of the nation are to be brought to -have their eyes enlightened, their hearts trained, and their ideals -harmonized. So distinctly American must the public school system be -that the young life of the nation, without respect to race, color or -creed, shall be brought into it and subjected to its moulding and -developing process. National unity and integrity cannot be maintained -if a part of the nation is taught and a part remains in ignorance. -A democracy must have uniformity and universality in the elementary -training of its young life. Neither can the nation maintain its -existence and work out its destiny if in its early training its youth -is broken up into sectional, racial and sectarian groups.</p> - -<p>Concessions have been made to foreign elements that have come into this -country and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> organized themselves into communities, holding tenaciously -to the language of the country from which they came. The almost -insuperable difficulty of undertaking to mobilize the American people -in time of war had its roots in just this thing of permitting aliens to -occupy the American soil, live under the American flag, and continue to -teach the political loyalties of their respective countries in their -own languages. It necessitated the draft law by which these people -were compelled to bear arms in defense of the world's civilization. No -thorough American required any sort of compulsion to put him into the -great conflict. The right to volunteer in the time of national danger, -or in defense of the great institutions of human liberty anywhere in -the world, was the inheritance which had been transmitted from the -Revolutionary period to succeeding generations until it came to us and -to our children. We were denied our birthright when drafted for service -in war, and in that fact there is a tremendous indictment of the nation -for its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> failure to Americanize all its growing life through the public -school system and the English language.</p> - -<p>In every state of the union the Ku Klux Klan will insist upon -thoroughly Americanizing the children of the nation through the public -school. All the racial elements in the country must be brought under -the same standard of tutelage. Only in this way can these peoples -be harmonized. It was the idea of Cecil Rhodes when he founded -scholarships in Oxford for American students that British and American -ideals should be harmonized. The difficulty with Mr. Rhodes' idea is -that the American youth are to be harmonized with British ideals, but -he made no provision in scholarships in any great American institution -to which British students might come and be harmonized with American -ideals. The public school, however, contemplates taking all the -elements that are represented in our vast population and harmonizing -them with the ideals of our democracy. So poorly has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> this work been -done in many sections of our country, and especially in our congested -centers of population, the large cities, that the product turned out -from the schools has frequently contradicted the purpose for which -the system was founded. We cannot take a person of foreign birth or -extraction into our schools maintained by taxation and turn him out -Italian-American, British-American, Irish-American, Jewish-American, -German-American, Japanese-American, Chinese-American or Afro-American. -He must come out an American with all of his distinctive qualities and -characteristics swallowed up and absorbed in American democracy. The -institution was founded by the fathers and the pattern of American -life was made by the great architects of human liberty, and every time -a hyphenated American is turned out of any American school it is a -contradiction of the very purpose of the republic.</p> - -<p>This work of educating the youth of the nation must be done in the -open. We have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> no objections to the foundation of schools privately or -by communities of peculiar racial distinction, or even by sectarians -who, because of peculiar tenets, wish to keep their children under the -eye of the church. To repeat what we have already stated, all we insist -upon is just this—that these schools shall be in every sense public, -open to public inspection. They must be subjected to regulation by -properly constituted authority. The same courses in the fundamentals -of Americanism must be taught in a privately owned or conducted school -as in the public schools. Democracy can not be taught and developed -behind closed doors. Its vital breath is openness. It has recently -broken down many doors throughout the world. There are to be no more -secret treaties, no more diplomatic intriguing, nothing between the -governments of the nations upon which the eyes of all the world may -not look. Surely, a democracy demanding openness in all the ways of -mankind, as the nations move surely toward a common fraternity, can not -undertake to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> conceal any part of its young life in its training for -service to its country and to the world.</p> - -<p>Holding as the Klan does that the tenets of Christianity as a code of -morals are essential to our democracy, we are only too ready to agree -that there should be distinctive religious training. Here, at the very -threshold, there is a difficulty. Absolute freedom of conscience in -religious matters is granted to American citizens. The public school -teachers are drawn from various religious organizations, without -respect to their church affiliations. In the average public school the -children being taught represent numerous Christian sects and not a few -non-Christian sects. It would be contrary to every fundamental of our -national life to introduce specific religious doctrines or tenets among -this diversified group. Perhaps the plan recently tried out in New York -City would solve this problem. The children were dismissed from school -a part of a day each week, that they might go to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> their respective -places of worship and there be taught by ministers or lecturers of -their peculiar faith in the essential things of religion and ethics.</p> - -<p>This much is sure: These foreign peoples must be unified in Americanism -and it can not be done except through our public schools. North -Carolina has adopted the slogan, "Abolish illiteracy in ten years." We -should take that slogan for the whole American nation. By "literacy" -we should mean literacy in English. This can only be accomplished, -however, when native and foreigner, Catholic and Protestant, Jew and -Gentile, gladly bring their children together and place them side by -side to be taught in the things of democracy.</p> - -<p>Demands have been made during the past few years that the funds -collected in taxes for the maintenance of public schools be segregated. -Our fellow citizens of one powerful religious organization have -insisted that monies paid out by members<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> of that church in taxes -for public education be returned to the denomination and applied to -the parochial schools, which are owned and controlled by the church. -Of course this means that a considerable percentage of the young -population of the country would be withdrawn from the Americanizing -schools of the public and trained only as the church directed. Church -and state are forever separated in the democracy of America. Any -tendency to bring them together in building the solidarity of the -nation should be arrested. It is not worthwhile to experiment further -in this matter. All history shows the utter futility of attempting -to build a robust, virtuous, enlightened national life through union -of Church and State; and I wish to say with the utmost composure, -and speaking, I trust, for every real American, that not one dollar -of public monies shall ever be diverted from the public schools for -sectarian institutions. This declaration may sound explosive. Yet I -hope it will give no offense to anybody. The sooner it is ac<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>cepted -as final, so much the sooner will a very real cause of difficulty and -misunderstanding be removed.</p> - -<p>A study of our history is fundamental to the construction and the -maintenance of a sound national life. Thomas Carlyle once very -correctly said that one cannot manage the present or predict the future -except from an accurate knowledge of the past. All sectarian textbooks -in histories, partisan textbooks or sectional textbooks, are naturally -distorted and perverted. Men who hold tenaciously to a particular -setting, given a religious truth or any other historical fact, have -looked at their fellowmen through a distorted perspective. The trivial -has frequently appeared to them to be the magnificent, and the -magnificent the trivial. Bias has characterized all such narratives. -It is difficult enough to secure a history of any country or its -people in its political, economic, industrial and social development, -that is basically true to the facts. The man who writes is apt to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> -tremendously impressed by the age in which he lives. The tale that -he tells is often a crude compilation of errors. Only recently the -manuscript of a history in its making was tendered by a well known -publishing house to a patriotic organization of the South for review. -One of many glaring errors that obtruded from this book, which was -designed to become a text book, was the statement that the democratic -party originated with the original Ku Klux Klan of the Sixties. Another -history in common use in the public schools of the country, filled with -all sorts of inaccuracies and misstatements, was recently taken from -the schools in one great section of the country. When the attention -of the author was called to the inaccuracies, he offered to expurgate -the offensive statements of which the section complained, but refused -to change his history for other sections of the country where the -statements were as yet unchallenged. If such histories are foisted -upon our school system, and our children are taught the errors of the -prejudiced and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>accurate historian, how much worse, and how much more -dangerous, would the teaching be if the history texts are purposefully -written by narrow sectarians, and the facts discolored by religious -prejudice? The time has surely come when real history should be written -by the truthful and wise, and the facts of our national virtues and -vices, our strength and our weakness, our dangers and our securities, -should be taught in our public schools, and taught to all the children. -The preparation or selection of school text books in history is no more -a fitting subject for rancorous bickering among sectarian politicians -than the writing of text books in chemistry. It is entirely a matter -for trained historians and professional teachers. We must insist that -politicians of all breeds keep their hands far removed from these -things.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</a></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Conservation of the American Home</span></p> - - -<p class="drop">T<span class="uppercase">he</span> American home is rapidly becoming a failure. After countless ages -of biological and social evolution, that marvelous process of change -and growth which has produced us, we are committing suicide as a nation -and as a people. A home without children is not, in a social sense, a -home at all. It is only a place in which, and a condition under which, -two persons of opposite sex live together more happily and comfortably, -perhaps less so, than they could do apart.</p> - -<p>The American home, the home in which healthy, intelligent and -characterful children are bred and reared, both for their own sakes -and the nation's service—this home is the veritable rockbottom of our -national well-being. Let the home fail, and all our wealth and material -achievement is naught but poverty and trash.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p> - -<p>The millions of homes in which there are no children, or only one -child, the birth of which was perhaps wholly unintentional, are so -many millions of tombs in which the nation's hope and future lie -buried. The millions of young unmarried Americans, between the ages of -twenty-one and forty years, whatever be the cause of their unnatural -and unsocial condition, are just so many millions of Americans who have -rejected life. All of the unmarried, all of the married who do not -reproduce themselves, are a crushing accusation against our national -intelligence, our national morals, and our national social policy. What -do these figures not mean in terms of disappointment and despair, of -social purpose unfulfilled, of negative sorrow and anguish in the heart -of the individual, of souls unfed in terms of every higher realization -of life?</p> - -<p>A people which can calmly behold a large per cent of its marriageable -young people homeless and childless has confessed itself to be a broken -and dissolving remnant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> among the nations. We, lords of the richest -land in all the four quarters of the world, voluntarily place our -national head upon the block and beckon to the executioner, axe in -hand, to make haste.</p> - -<p>Visualize this old-time American home—on the hillside, among the -trees. For many generations it has stood foursquare against every -blast of winter, every ugly aspect of circumstance. From its wide -portals have gone forth a myriad of the young and gay, the hopeful and -the brave. Its offspring peopled all our West. Its victories in the -wilderness, through a hundred years, have no counterpart in all the -history of humanity. The history of America has been the history of the -American home—of what that home has accomplished for the citizens that -were born and reared under its sheltering roof.</p> - -<p>Open the door! Wait! You shall see none enter here. Only a going out—a -funeral procession. A death march sounds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> forth, a mighty people, the -hope of the world—such a people is borne to the grave. Where there is -no laughter of children, there Death is King. And those that see make -jest and frolic.</p> - -<p>In the even scales of biological law and of mathematical calculation, -our people are being weighed in the balance and found wanting. We -Americans, all that we have been, and all that we are, are being borne -to the grave in execution of the law. We have been tried and condemned -by a just Judge.</p> - -<p>It is a most dangerous error to undertake to build a national life -on the individual as a unit. "God has set the solitary in families," -said Moses, as he led his people through the vast wilderness unto the -promised land. We may destroy all else, but leave the home and the -family, and yet all the elements and works that make the nation can be -once again regained and rebuilt. We may possess all else, wealth and -power, all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> arts and all the knowing, thriving schools and majestic -temples—but if the home crumbles and decays, we perish with it utterly.</p> - -<p>Oh! The deep, deep and terrible tragedy of our Nordic race in America! -We have been decimated by fratricidal war. Our flesh and blood have -been corrupted by industrialism. Now, however, we go to our destruction -simply because we do not care to live. We go as blindly as a species -of animals whose conditions of life have been completely upset by -new forces with which they do not know how to deal. Sheep and swine, -nay, the wild beasts of the field, could not act with such utter -carelessness and immorality as we. All that we have done will perish -with us. Other nations have lived and left record of their labors in -a lofty literature or a resplendent art. The glory of the temples -they have builded keeps their memory green centuries after their very -language is forgotten. The people of the age of Pericles will live on -in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> work, to beautify and glorify humanity for twice ten thousand -years. But we Americans are perishing miserably to leave no record of -high value, because our greater work has been bound up in our very -selves. We have all lived and labored together as free men. We have -proven to a faithless world that the humblest toiler could wield the -mightiest and most glittering scepter of power. We have made good the -proud boast of a triumphant democracy. All that we have been, as a -beckoning star among the nations, all that we have meant to the world -of hope in the common man, is doomed to perish with us.</p> - -<p>All I seek to do in these chapters is to bring the mind and heart of -my country to this place. Here, in the old-fashioned American home, -we shall do battle. Here we shall fight the last fight, to win or to -lose. If we are to have a greater and better America, we must begin by -breeding better Americans in larger numbers. There is no other way. The -man who says our young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> men and women, in general, do not desire homes -and children, says a falsehood. We neither desire nor expect fifteen -children in the home. What we do insist upon, in recreating all the -conditions about that home, is two, three, four, and sometimes, in -exceptional cases, five or six children. For our country as a whole, -during this century, we crave but a small increase in native born -population in every decade—perhaps ten or twelve per cent. We would -reject, by taking forethought and preventing marriage, the children -of the criminal, the children of the imbecile and the insane, the -children of those who are accursed with incurable diseases or incurable -indolence. We would remould all that needs remoulding in order to -receive into the hearts and the homes of our country the children -of the healthy and the industrious, the honest and intelligent, the -high-minded and the sensitive.</p> - -<p>Give our young people of America but half a chance! Let them have -their own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> country in which to test out the labor of their hands and -the love of their hearts! Let them again lay upon themselves the first -duty of the supreme law of nature! They can and will preserve to this -continent every higher value, every article of faith left to their -keeping. Remove from their environment a competition that is unfair -and killing. Give them bread and not a stone for their toil. Give them -solid assurance and not a gnawing insecurity of livelihood, and they -will give to their country a future through the sons and daughters of -their love.</p> - -<p>To admit that there is a growing number of our young women who reject -child-bearing as a burden is merely to re-emphasize the crying need -of a socializing education. It is the work of those who know and who -care, to teach those who are ignorant and careless of duty. We teach -our young people that they must help prepare themselves for citizenship -and self-support. Citizenship for our American young women includes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> -the essential duty of motherhood, and for our young men the duty of the -creation and support of a family. A cornerstone of our ethical teaching -should be the preparation of the minds of the young for home-building -and parenthood. Every able-bodied man, or woman, who deigns to eat, -should perform some sort of useful work. Similarly every normal young -man and woman who accepts life should be gladly willing to create life. -Around and above these homes and these children we must place the -protection of every means furnished by applied science. To educate them -and to fit them for useful work and public service, we must apply the -first fruits of our nation's wealth. To offer to these young citizens, -upon maturity, full opportunity for fruitful labor and self expression, -we must be ready to reject much error that is ancient, and accept much -truth that is new and sometimes startling.</p> - -<p>America consists of and exists in the home. The home is America. To -lose the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> fight here is to lose all. To win at this point is to win -for ourselves national salvation, and for the world our share in its -ultimate redemption.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="A_FINAL_WORD" id="A_FINAL_WORD">A FINAL WORD</a></p> - - -<p class="drop">L<span class="uppercase">et</span> me confess that I alone am responsible for the reorganization of -the Ku Klux Klan. No one suggested it to me. No one helped me in the -formulation of its new task, nor in the working out of any of its basic -principles or methods. So it may not be entirely uninteresting to the -reader for me to close this statement with a brief narrative of the -first growth of this concept in my own mind.</p> - -<p>To begin with, my childhood fancies were much laid hold of by the -stories I heard of the original Ku Klux Klan. These stories were -told me in my own home. Sometimes in Negro cabins the old darkies -would play upon my boyish mind with marvelous tales of the hosts of -white-robed horsemen—the souls of the departed soldiers of the great -war—who were used to ride up and down the countryside. Sometimes I -would imagine these cavalcades passing swiftly and silently, like a -white cloud,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> across the starry heavens. Later, when a more accurate -book of knowledge of this strange epoch of American history was opened -up to me, I eagerly devoured all the reading I could find pertaining -to the subject. Yet the impressions made upon me by the legendary -account never entirely lost their force. So, as I grew to manhood, -my mind, perhaps overburdened while yet too young, with a sense of -the responsibilities of citizenship, made the service of my country -a deeply set conviction. I never went very joyously either to my -studies or to my active duties. To my generation, as it grew up in -the defeated, broken and impoverished South, the problems of life -presented heavy tasks rather than stirring issues. We had to make all -our beginnings as a people over again. Our mood was much like that -of the Puritan founders of New England when they set themselves to -struggle against the stern climate and the thin and unfruitful soil of -their section. A statement of Robert E. Lee to a member of his staff -the day before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> he surrendered at Appomattox has been more than once -my sheet-anchor. "Captain," said our great leader, "I should gladly -lay down my life, but it is now my duty to live. The way for me has -been hard, very hard—no pathway of duty is easy—only those who -have encountered obstacles, faced difficulties, and endured extreme -hardships, know how much easier it would be for me to die, than to live -in response to the call of duty."</p> - -<p>We people of the South lived on. We have tried to do our duty. We have -even tried to forget the past, though often it may not seem so to our -fellow citizens.</p> - -<p>In 1898 it was my privilege to enlist in the glorious service of our -reunited country. Of course every youth who then donned the uniform -imagined that he would proceed at once to Cuba and do battle for the -liberation of that country from the tyranny of the Spanish monarchy. -My first evening in camp, under the old flag of the Union,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> was an -experience never to be forgotten. I believe that all of the thousand -young men in the Alabama regiment with which I served felt their hearts -moved by something of the same great emotion. We were to be under the -command of Nelson Miles and Fitzhugh Lee, of Wesley Merritt and Joe -Wheeler.</p> - -<p>The heat and noise of the day gave way to the soft, warm flush of the -evening. Such an evening! Under the clearest of skies and the brightest -of stars I stood on guard at midnight. My mind seemed to be so passive, -so sensitive, so subjected to the thoughts that rushed out of the -universe, from the past and the mysterious present and the unknowable -future, to take possession of my soul. I saw my country ennobled by -the great task of liberty and of love to which she had set herself on -that occasion. United at last! United in a common cause! Reforming a -Union which had always existed in the hearts of all, underneath those -superficial forces which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> so long troubled us and kept us apart. -And now a great fountain of joy and of pride, pressing from the -heart, filled every artery almost to bursting. On that night I first -understood my country and saw, emblazoned in the sky, the part to which -the Lord of Hosts had called her.</p> - -<p>To a young man whose heart is truly enlisted in the issue of a great -war, the mighty thrill of the soul is the ultimate experience of -life. So is the banner of his country raised aloft. So are his arms -consecrated by the deepest impulses of the spirit. Lyric poetry has -often exhausted its meters and its music at the altar of the lesser -loves. On that strangest of nights I knew that here was a love that -makes the heart of youth deny all that comes from self and lift burning -eyes to the stars.</p> - -<p>Oh my people—soldiers—workers—pioneers—adventurers—saviors—in -the four quarters of the earth! Be you—your deeds—your vision,—all -in all—imperish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>able! The world listens to hear the sound of the -song you sing upon the march. Somehow I feel and know that you shall -live—gloriously—throughout the ages.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KLAN UNMASKED ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b08577f..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus01.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus01.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index cdcc31e..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus01.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus02.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus02.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 75b1b03..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus02.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus03.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus03.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1bd68d3..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus03.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus04.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus04.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 64b8841..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus04.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus05.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus05.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b1394af..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus05.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus06.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus06.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f993b9f..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus06.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus07.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus07.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9b62ba9..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus07.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus08.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus08.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a3c9018..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus08.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus09.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus09.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0727b76..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus09.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus10.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus10.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 42cfeb6..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus10.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus11.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus11.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e0427c5..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus11.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus12.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus12.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0de2904..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus12.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus13.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus13.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3885006..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus13.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus14.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus14.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1c7b8f4..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus14.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66917-h/images/illus15.jpg b/old/66917-h/images/illus15.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0b48856..0000000 --- a/old/66917-h/images/illus15.jpg +++ /dev/null |
