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Atlanta, Ga., July 23, 1922. To All Masonic Grand Masters: _ Another attack: ‘has recently been launched against the Knights of ‘the Ku Klux Klan by the New York World. The Klan would not be in terested in the matter ‘at all but for the dastardly effort of the paper to involve Masonry in conflict with the Klan. While the influences’ behind this journal would delight to destroy the Klan, they would have been much more gratified had they succeeded in bringing disruption in the ranks of Masonry. ‘The only regrettable fea ture about the whole matter is that the New York World succeeded in_in weighing a number of grand masters into making ill-advised, unjust and unwarranted attacks upon an organ ization that is just as clean in char acter, just as pure in principles, and just as clear in conduct as s Mason- Ty. As a Mason, IT must express re gret that these gentlemen have been so misled by the false statements and malicious propaganda of these alien influences embodied in the New York World as to denounce a real patriotic fraternity without seeking “more light’ on the subject. I am aware of the fact that the disposition to prejudge individuals and organi zations is a “weakness common to most men. I am also confident that these grand masters could not have been induced to issue any such attack upon the Knights of the Klu Klux Klan had they been possessed of the real facts concerning the order. However that may be, this much is true: One cannot know the secrets, the principles and the purposes of Masonry until he is ‘‘Mande a Mason.” Neither can one know the secrets, the principles and the purposes of the Ku Klux Klan until he becomes a Klansman. Since these attacking grand masters disavow any connec tion with the Klan, how can they know what the intents and purposes of the Ku Klux Klan are? In my mind, Masonry has always stood for truth and honor and justice. True Masonry shall never be regarded by me in any other light. Its holy char acter always reveals these attributes. Its spotless banner must never be dragged through the mire of false hood, dishonor and injustice. The exponents of Masonry must be cer tain of their ground before they at tack an organization of which they have no first hand knowledge, or, since they will jeopardize the inter ests of Masonry more than they will injure the order they denounce. I am assuming that those denuncia tory grand masters have acted hasti ly, as men too often do act, but, nev ertheless, they have done the very thing that the enemies of both Ma sonry and Klancraft wanted them to do. They have not pleased the great body of Masons who hold to the prin ciples that are cherished by the Klan, but they have greatly gratified those whose han rests upon Masonry and the Klan. Some Masons have be come disaffected and to me, have threatened their severance with Ma sonry. My plea is that these Masons shall regard these condemnatory ut terances as expressions of unenlight ened individual opinions and not as the authoritative voice of Masonry, Is More Than Klansman. Before I proceed further, may I state that I am not only one of the national officers of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, but that: I am al. 50.8 Master Mason, a Knight Tem plar, a Scottish Rite Mason of the 32nd degree, and holding the honor ary rank of knight commander of the court of honor. It is quite evident that I should know. something of Masonry as well as of the Ku Klux Klan. ..I am prepared to assert that every Mason, of whatever rank, who can qualify for membership In the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan will find himself the better equipped to fulfill ‘his’ obligations’ and to perform his duties as a Mason. Please do not misunderstand me. We claim no affiliation with Masonry,or with any other order. Like Masonry, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan cannot become affiliated with any other or der. It has its own identity to main tain, and it has its own mission to fulfill. The undeniable fact, how ever, is that a great many Klansmen are true and loyal Masons, and it is an occasion of right to us that some of our brethren have seen fit !) launch an unjust and unwarranted attack upon us, Appeals To Fairmindedness. Now, I shall take into account these condemnatory utterances, be iieving that all fair-minded men are willing to recognize our purity of purpose and our honest intent in the mission to which we have dedicated ourselves. The attack upon the secrecy of this order will have little weight with those who know the history and the operations of Masonry...It has not been so many years ago since Masons in this country were compelled to conceal their identity and to keep unknown— their meeting places. This necessity obtains today in many other countries in other parts of the world. There are other organizations in America that maintain the surest secrecy and veil themselves in deep est mystery. In some of them iden tity is masked by discarding true names and accepting ‘‘society” names. In others, activities and op erations are concealed behind stone walls. When one unveils all the others must unmask, Common Enemies of Masonry. Some of these grand masters have accepted and voiced the judgment of the common enemies of Masonry and the Klan that ours is a “sheeted and hooded” fraternity assuring all kinds of judicial powers and every kind of governmental authority. Is all of this usurpation to be charged up to us simply because we have an unusual kind of regalia that we use only in our meeting places and on ‘parades that must be authorized by national headquarters and approved by local police authorities. Why not attack the Order of Red Men because they disguise themselves as Indians and so conceal their identity that even their friends cannot recognize them? Nobody has raised any fuss about their disguise, or about the dis guises of other orders that I can name. I will get you into a secret. In many other orders the candidate is “hoodwinked” so as to hide from him the persons and the lodge-room mysteries until the time when dis closure is to be made. In our Klav erns the initiate is not ‘‘hood-wink ed,’’ but we hide our faces until the time for him to be greeted as a Klansman—and that is all there is to the mask. Charges Not Proven. Again, some of these grand mas ters cite the malicious slanders against us that the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan are “Night-riders who usurp the lawful process of the courts,,and who whip and scourage and tar those under the penalty of their decrees... While these charges have been made against this order by papers of various kinds and by in terested individuals, they have not been proved. The national head quarters would welcome evidence to prove that any Klan or Klansman is guilty of any violations of law. It.s easy to accuse. It 's easy to con demn,. Our Lord Jesus Christ was accused, tried, condemned and put to death by His enemies, even though the Roman governor sat upon His case and pronounced Him * guiltless. 1. can ‘recall the one-time accusation that Masonry was responsible for the disappearance and death of one Morgan, who gave an ‘‘Expose” of Masonry. It is said that in one of the Eastern States there is a statue “erected. to the memory of this man bearing the inscription, “Murdered by the Masons.”” We who know Ma sonry know that this accusation is false, for Masons just do not do this kind of thing. We who are Klans men know that these charges against the Klan are false, for Klansmen do not engage in the things of which they are accused. I assure you, as a Mason, that if any Klansman were 30 to forget his oath as to engage in any act of lawlessness, and we had the evidence against him, we would not only expel him from this order, but we would assist in his prosecution in every possible way. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a law-abiding order, insisting wpon the enforce ment of law by the constituted au thorities,as all good Americans have a right to insist. But more than this, we are teaching our members respect for and obedience to the laws of our country and of the States com prising these United States. This is one of the fundamentals of the Khin gospel. We do not accept responsi bility for present-day violations of law any more than we are willing to accept responsibility for the lawless acts of the night-riders who terror ized the tobacco sections of Kentucky more than a decade ago, or of the murderous activities of the Molly Maguires, or of the Irish mob who tore down the flag of a friendly ally at a meeting of the Union Club, or of the death of the Pops, or of the Ar menian outrages, or of the Chinese massacre, For Law and Order. The Ku Klux Klan stands for law and order and for honest, decent gov ernment. We stand for the whole American doctrine as outlined by the Declaration and as defined by the Constitution of the United States. We cherish and teach the highest civ il, national and Christian ideals. This being true, we enter a strong protest against being characterized by anyone as an “Activity that would substitute anarchy or mob rule for Constitutional government and law.” The grand master who so branded us did So ignorantly, but he is none the less inexcusable since he might have ascertained the true facts about us had he so desired. As a Mason, he was obligated to seek “more light’, even on the subject of the Ku Klux Klan before voicing an opinion upon it. This does not seem to me to be good Masonic conduct or example. The grand master of New York states a fundamental Klan doctrine when he affirms concerning Masonry: “Respect for constituted authority and obedience to law is good’ Mason ic doctrine.” I want to inform this brother and all others that while Masonry gently inculcates this doc trine in a passive sort of way, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan im presses this doctrine upon its mem bership in a most positive manner and holds any of its members re sponsible for any sort of law viola tion. Klan Policies Compared. We are attacked by others be cause we have seen fit to define cer tain qualifications for membership in our order. I am certain that this practice is not peculiar to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. There are certain Masonic Grand Lodge jurisdictions in which negroes were not admitted to membership in Mas onic lodges. Is Masonry to be ccharg ed with racial bigotry, and accused of ‘seeking to stir up race prejudice because the negro is excluded from these lodges. I am told that the Knights of Columbus will admit to membership only those who are “Good, practical Catholics.” I have yet to learn that any of these grand masters have charged the Knights of Columbus with bigotry and with stirring up religious prejudice. There are many of us Masons who cannot qualify for membership in the B'nai Brith or other Jewish or ganizations. Why do not, these denunciatory grand masters, and their official mouthpiece, the New York World, launch a crusade and religious prejudice. I must call your attention to these unanswerable facts. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is not anti-Catholic, but Catho lcs are anti Klan, for they see in the Klan a real Protestant movement sworn to champion and to proclaim those Protestant principles that are the sources and bases of our, real American Protestant civilization. We are not anti-Jew, but very many Jews are anti-Klan because they see in this order the forming of a powerful Christian organization. We are not anti-negro or anti colored of any kind, but the colored and the mongrel faces are anti-Klan because they see the forming of a powerful white man’s organization, sworn to preserve the white man’s race in all of its prestige and to maintain the purity of white blood without taint or stain of any kind. We cannot and will not sympathize with those per sons ,who areavorable to the com mingling of races and the intermix ture of bloods. Teaches High Ideals. The Ku Klux Klan holds and teaches certain high ideals. For ex ample, it teaches ideals of citizen ship. It seeks the development of the highest standard of citizenship. It seeks the development of the highest standard of citizenship among its membership. It stands for the en afrcement of law by the regularly constituted authorities, and by no other organization or individuals of any kind, color or creed. The Ku Klux Klan is opposed to mob_ rule, mob law, or any kind of lawless ac tivity. Within its own ranks _ it teaches absolute respect for and obedience to the law, and will not accept knowingly into its member ship any person who does not re spect and obey the laws. What The Klan Stands For The Ku Klux Klan stands for un divided, unqualified, supreme and ex clusive allegiance to the government of the United States. The Ku Klux Klan stands for the preservation of all the rights defined by the Declara tion and guaranteed by the Consti tution of the United States. The Ku Klux Klan stands for the mainten ance of free public schools, for freedom of speech and press, for freedom of conscience, for separa tion of church and state, for just laws for liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Surely no Mason can condemn us for championing these solved Constitutional privileges. As a Mason, I resent the efforts of Baptists and other antiMasonic or ganizations to bring about discord in Masonic ranks, by arraying Masons who are not Klansmen against Ma sons who are Klansmen. ~ In conclusion, let me express re gret that any Masonic grand master has been misled by the sales propa ganda of the New York World and kindred journals. And let me exhort all grand masters and brethren of the craft to seek and find ‘more light” about the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, in order that true esti mates and correct judgements may be formed concerning this truly pa triotic, Protestant American order, Faithfully yours, WILLIAM JAMES MAHONEY Master .Mason, Knight Templar, 32d degree, K. 0. C. H., Wetle of the Mystic Shrine, Imperial Klokard, Knights of the Ku Klur Klan.
Newspaper Details
Connersville News Examiner
Connersville, Indiana, US
Mon, Oct 09, 1922
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Abraham I.
USA 26 May 2026
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