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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As to permitting foreign membership corporations to do business in a State, it should be enacted that before being permitted to engage in the business of soliciting members from whom initiation fees or “donations” are to be secured, the corporation should be required to file with the Secretary of State a sworn statement of all its national officers, its plans for doing business, a copy of its charter of incorporation, its constitution and laws, and, where agents are employed to canvas for members it should be specified what compensation they are to be paid. These agents should be licensed by the State as the “Blue Laws” require the licensing of stock salesmen. The organization should, furthermore, be required to file a bond with the Secretary of State insuring the good behavior of the organization while engaged in business in the State, and it should be specified that the bond be forfeited should any local branch be guilty of committing a lawless act, in which case, also, the right of the corporation to do business in the State should automatically be terminated. No foreign corporation which permits its members to go about, in other States, disguised should be permitted to enter. After having complied with the foregoing provisions, the act should further provide that at stated intervals the secretary of each local branch be required to make two copies of the roster of membership of his branch, filing one copy with the county clerk of his county, and mailing one copy to the Secretary of State. These two copies should be open for public inspection at all times. In the event that the local branch fails or refuses to file its roster, the right of the national organization to do business in the State should automatically terminate.

As a matter of safeguard to the community, every State in the United States should have a statute enacted along the lines of the Tennessee Ku Klux act (Sections 6668, Shannons Code et seq.) which reads:

In connection with this Tennessee statute, it is interesting to note that the leading case, reported in the State, based on the act fully sustained the statute. In the case of Walpole against the State, 9 Baxter 369, delivered in 1878 by a Supreme Court composed entirely of Democrats, with several Confederate soldiers the court held:

In closing its opinion the court said:

If every State in the Union will pass a law along similar lines to the above Tennessee statute, there will be no Ku Klux parades, no midnight burnings of the fiery cross, and no repetition of the tar and feathers occurrences that have been prevalent in the State of Texas. I think that there should be a modification, however, of the Tennessee statute, making it a misdemeanor to go about disguised in the daytime, and a felony at night.

There are already enough laws on the statute books of the States against mob violence, assault, murder, mayhem and other crimes, and the enforcement of these laws will go a long way toward killing the “masked terror.” No law, however, is enforceable unless public sentiment is behind it, and if the public officials, especially the sheriff’s forces and the city police departments are filled with men sworn to obey “unconditionally” the orders of the “Invisible Empire” and to use “any and all justifiable means and methods” in the accomplishment of the Ku Klux program even public sentiment can do but little. In this connection, I want to call attention to an editorial which appeared in the Searchlight, the official organ of the Ku Klux Klan, under date of July 23, 1921, which reads:

The attempt of the Ku Klux Klan to enlist the police authorities in its organization and bind them with its vicious oath is the most serious count in the indictment against the system. The potentialities are far-reaching, and unless the organization is checked in that direction, the consequences must necessarily be grave. How the situation, in that respect should be met, I leave to others.

The foregoing suggestions are merely intended to set people to thinking, and from these ideas may come better suggestions as to the proper methods which should be pursued in checking and eliminating the rising tide of Ku Kluxism. It should be carefully remembered, however, that the task of wiping out Ku Kluxism will not be an easy matter. The organization is headed by a shrewd individual who has already tasted the sweets of success. All the energy that desperation and cunning can devise will be used in resisting any effort that will be made to suppress the organization. Behind this individual are thousands of fanatics, who for one reason or another believe that this “noble cause” is the salvation of the country. While fully one-half of the men who have parted with ten dollars went into the organization out of curiosity, and will probably drop it, the other element will do all it can to keep the movement alive, even in spite of the exposure made by the New York World.

Behind the publicity of the World should therefore come the united efforts of every agency in America which discountenances such a scheme. Every organization engaged in civic work should bring all the available pressure to bear upon the legislative branches of both State and Federal governments to secure the enactment of suitable laws against Ku Kluxism. Then when adequate laws are secured, the power of public opinion should demand that these laws be enforced and irresponsible and secret government, private regulation of the public peace, interference with law-enforcing authorities, and class hatred and prejudice should be crushed.Half-hearted measures will do no good. Unless the American people are prepared to deal vigorously with Ku Kluxism, they may as well turn over to the system the free and untrammelled right to carry out its secret program, because mild measures will have but little effect in stemming the tide this movement must inevitably bring should its propaganda be successful.