Fryeburg Academy - Academy Bell Yearbook (Fryeburg, ME)

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THE Ag,4DEMY BELL 20 r inion. But there was one party of men chang1HblC?i5FEtt313Ilti11and take what was forced upon them. 251130 wisok the law into their own hands and attempted to do ese I . t. idation what thev could not do in political fields. Dy In lm . 0 d f 1 This group W 1 K1 h K K U Em- . . ordegnt Delayu 1865 3 few men of the younger set in Polaski, Tennessee finding life monotonous after the war, formed a secret club for the single purpose of amusement. They called themselves Kuklas Cthg Segretj, Secrecy and mystery were their main objects, secrecy in regard to the members, and 'of the place and objects of the meetings, and the mystery of dis- guise ancl parades in the moonlight, white masks, .tall card- board hats, white-sheeted figures and muffled hoofs of horses. It was the satisfaction of seeing the looks of terror they brought from the darkies, that put thoughts of mischief in their heacs. This example was found very tempting by dishonorable men in other Southern states., Every town wanted to have its own Ku Klux Klan, until in a few years there was formed An Invisible Empire of the South, bound together in a com- mon cause. Instead of being a joke the organization had grown to be serious. They were to protect the people from indignities and wrongs, to succor the suffering, particularly the families of dead Confederate soldiersg to influence what they conceived to be the real laws of their states and defend the Constitution of the United States and all laws passed in conformity thereto, to aid in executing all constitutional laws and protect the people from unlawful seizures and from trial otherwise than by jury. ln a short time other similar orders had been organized: Knights of the White Camelia, Pale Faces, Constitutional Union Guards, and the White Brotherhood. Soon became impossible to keep these lawbreakers as the beginning of that now large an power u ltd angler hand. Mere rogues began imitating the gang and set- ACE PCTSOIEIEJ gfudges. The leaders of the Reconstruction wer Wifob riven from their country. If the Klanls orders burial? ti Syed, force was used to make them. Houses were Street ' den OCCUPHIHS shot, men were dragged into the s an tarred and fe th d ' the North were in Const a dere . Even social workers from . ant anger Man brut l ' if re Commltt , . , - y a crimes ue ed. a veritable reign gf terrorv held Sway.

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X UUE it have First thing doeslnake I S0 I had 53Udl was I the toast 31116 more. F 'Cause I the cream ntry with . throwin' ' tryin' to IC HH, up- ind to do Ied doum think my ew cover f dreaded t started n such a 2 feather nd when igin' an' man at lim that :ause of I wanted d, an' a ne hair faste of Jver up :H I I ever nted to him so 1 I got .er dye hair I THE ACADEMY BELL 19 would have! I closed my eyes an' put my head into the soapy water an' poured the dye in. Then I soused it up an, down an' then found my way to the looking-glass to see my black hair,,an' then I opened my eyes. Was that black hair I saw? No, no, a bright purple! I didn't know what to do. What had I done? I knew that man was a fake! I looked at the directions an' read, Use no soap whatever as it is apt to change color of dye. Then that was what was the matter. I had used soap an' I had purple hair! That was awful! Wrhat would Jake say? I thought I'd appease him by givin' him some hot biscuits and canned blueberries for supper 'cause he likes 'em awful well an' so I went down cellar after the blueberries. I got 'most to the top step when along came that cat an' I guess she was scared of my hair, anyway she ran right between my legs an' upset me an' I tried to put that jar of blueberries on the step when I felt myself fallin', but they came a-crashing down on my head. How it hurt! Wust of all I felt blueberries runnin' down my neck an' into my face. I didn,t fall far 'cause I caught hold of the railin', but my hair was a wreck. But anyway them blueberries saved the day 'cause I let ,lake believe that that was what made my hair purple and let everybody else think that, too. I didn't have any more bad luck that day. That cat started my bad luck an' then she helped me out by making me spill blueberries all over my head. I don't know zactly what to think of that cat. MARCIA BERRY, '27. THE KU KLUX KLAN The Ku Klux Klan was a direct outgrowth of the Recon- struction Acts of 1867. In the Reconstruction Acts the dom- inance of the Negro in the South was to be included even in the Constitution of the United States. When this new article was really put in force, 1870, the Southern white men were stirred with the desire to protect themselves, by means no matter how desperate, from the defects of a government made by ignorant blacks. As the new law forbid the brilliant South- ern statesmen their right in politics the only way which they had of preserving themselves was by private means, as a force hostile to the government. Experienced and sober men understood that the only way which could mend the breach was the slow process of the

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-X men Them. 70 do Clds, irful iski, id 3 lled fere 1 of dis- Lrd- ses. ley in Jle its ed H- Ld rn Y Lt d 1 l THE ACADEMY BELL 21 In 1871 a committee of twenty-one was sent to the South to determine the true facts in regard to the outrages being committed. Cn April 20, 1871, an act was passed which was meant to crush the Ku Klux. This provided that any act, of violence or of intimidation, was a conspiracy against the gov- ernment, and was punishable by fine or imprisonment. Presi- dent Grant immediately took advantage of his power and ordered the arrest of some daring clansmen in South Carolina. The Federal officers in the other states followed the example and in less than a year an end was made of the whole business. At the height of its power the Klan was composed of nearly a half million persons. The Klan accomplished one of its main purposes: white supremacy in the South. In Georgia in 1915 another Ku K-lux Klan sprang up and very quickly spread through the North and West, creating national alarm. This time the activities were directed against Catholics and jews, as well as negroes. In 1921 some murders took place in Louisiana and were attributed to the Klan. That government pleaded with na- tional authorities to stamp out the organization, but in 1923 no action had been taken by the Government at Washington. The following facts are from the defense of the Klan by Hiram Wesley Evans: The klan does not attempt to argue on the doctrine of universal social equality. Science does not support it and the average American does not believe in it. This matter can never be settled by argument. If ever settled, it will be by race instinct, personal prejudices and sentiment. Actual so- cial equality between whites and any other race is not prac- ticed to any great extent anywhere on earth. Facts prove the idea unworkable. The Klan looks forward to the day when the union of a white person with one of any other race will be illegal in every state in the Union. This is the basic idea of the Klan: VVe believe that the pioneers that built America be- queathed to their own children a priority right to it, the con- trol of it and of its future, and that no one on earth can claim any part of this inheritance except through generosity. We believe, too, the mission of America under Almighty God is to perpetuate and develop just the kind of nation and just the kind of civilization which our forefathers created. This is said without offense to other civilizations, but we do believe that ours, through all possible growth and expansion, should