THE BEE: OMAHA, SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 1021.
Omahans Assist
In Initiation of
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Exclusive Pictures of First Ku Klux Klan Initiation in Nebraska
Special Offering and
Sale of
National Aluminum
; Steam
Pressure Cookers
K.K.K. at Lincoln
High-Powered Cars, Speeding
Over Lonely Highways,
Carry Local Members to
Lincoln Rites
to
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The Ku Klux Klan is in Omaha.
Omalia men Were in automobiles
which-Friday night slipped out of the
city secretly and took, the trail to
Lincoln where 73 candidates were in
ducted into the secret order of the
Ku Klux Klan.
Utmost secrecy nas surrounucu
the activities of 22 Klan organizers
who have been working in Nebraska
... . i . . j-j
since May 18 and yesterday tor the
first time pictures and story of the
initiation ceremonies, were made pub
lic. Permission was granted tor an
Omaha Bee reporter and camera man
to make the trip to Lincoln Friday
night, under oath that the identity of
the men they saw and met should be
kept secret.
Gives Names of Towns.
Then it was that the King Kleagle
of Nebraska made known the names
of Nebraska und Iowa towns where
Kaverns now exist. These towns i
are:
Omaha Council Bluffs
Lincoln Fremont
Hastings Grand Islanc
Suttcn Minden
Neligh Holdrege
McCook Sioux City
North Platte Nebraska City
' The reporter met the King
k'lMtrt hv anrmintment earlv Fri
day evening. 1
He was introduced on Farnam
auctri iu a man vyiiit nnum iav m w
to Lincoln.
Such was the experience of the
camera man, only in a separate car.
again was met by the King Kleagle
and led to a bujlding in the heart of
the business section of the city.
Men sat around the room, smoking
and talking.
'" Knock at Door.
A knock at an inner door, and the
reporter was told the ceremonies
WCIC lu aidli. lie men miiu ituvugu
the door and the reporter and camera
man were left outside to wait.
' No sound came from the closed
;,J"oom and after a short wait, the King
Kluatrl anniarrl eairl fh initintinn
was over ana invited tne camera man
into the lodge room to takeosed
pictures of initiation ceremonies.
Then the King Kleagle allowed the
" reporter the first interview ever
made public north of the Mason and
Dixon line. ;
' Active in Lincoln.
The Klan has been active in Lin
. coin for several weeks and already
the city numbers more than 300
Klansnien, according to the Kleagle.
Friday night the "aliens," as candi
dates are called, took the same oaths
of allegiance to the United States, its
constitution and the Invisible Empire
1 as did the original Klansmen in the
wes and pine torests ot soutn caro-
i;na in iooo.x
f - . t.
vcrciiiuiuca wcic iu iittvc Lieen vun-
ducted in Robbers cave, a huge un
V derground cavern south of the city,
but at the last moment the plans
were changed and the "aliens" were
"naturalized" in a building in the
heart of the business district of Lin
coln. King Kleagles of North Da
kota and Nebraska officiated with
Omaha and Lincoln Kleagles.
This is the first ceremony held in
the north to be followed by official
statements regarding the inner work
ings of the Klan.
Lawlessness Forbidden.
On the statement of the King
Kleagle of Nebraska in the oath to
which the "Klansmen swore last
night, there is nothing which per
mits violence or lawlessness.
"The Klansmen swear allegiance to
the United States, its constitution and
the Invisible Empire," the King
Kleagle said.
"The order is open to any man
born on American soil, gentile, and
who owes or has taken no oaths of
allegiance to any foreign ruler or
power, civil, military or ecclesiasti-
"The Klan does not sanction vio
lence or lawlessness of any nature.
Any Klansmen found guilty of such
misdeeds is immediately banished and
the Klan helps the officers of the law
in bringing them to justice," said the
King Kleagle.
"There are many humorous state
ments made in application," he con
tinued. No Need for Horse.
"Recently I received an application
from a man who stated his qualifica
tions as a horseman. I immediately
told him there was no need of horse
manship in the order, that if he was
looking for or expected to do ' any
night riding on a fiery steed he
would have to join an order that did
such things."
According to the description of
last night's ceremonies by the King
Kleagle of Nebraska, they are pro
foundly impressive with a deeply re
ligious and patriotic strain through
out. "The 'aliens' are brought before
the flag-draped altar and '.he fiery
cross from an adjacent room. There
they are confronted by the Kleagle
in robes, the exact replicas of those
worn in reconstruction days. They
kneel before the altar, on which is
a Holy Bible opened at the 12th
chapter of Romans, across which
rests a sword."
The robes of the Kleagles are
white, trimmed in various colors, red,
black, yellow and purple. On the
breast of each is the fiery cross.
A tall white cap of conical shape
trimmed in various colors from
which a long white mask descends,
bscures completely the face.
A majority of the ceremonies is
conducted in a semi-darkened room,
' illuminated only by the light of the
riery cross. No names are spoken
and no Klansman reveals his identity
. another. After Kaverns or
' lodges have been established, all
Klansman wear the white robes.
"When real Americans discover
the real purposes and hopes of the
Ku Klux Klan and how it combats
un-American influences emanating
from foreign and domestic radicals
they all will want to don the regalia
of i Klansman the King Kleagle
declared.
Define Purpose of ..Order.
Under "objects and purposes of
the order, contained in a pompniet
V " V"1111 a-.. I ill " n h ' i y
1 ' ' ' " l i ji I
rPii
These photographs, which
where the first initiation ceremony
The upper picture shows a
of the initiation ceremony.
regarding the order,, the following
section' is found:
"The obiect of this order shall be
a common brotherhood of strict reg
ulations for the purpose of cultivat
ing and promoting real patriotism
toward our civil government; to
practice an honorable clanishness
toward each other; to exempmy
practical benevolence; to shield the
sanctity of the home and- the
chastity of womanhood; to maintain
white supremacy: to teach and
faithfully inculcate a high spiritual
philosophy through an exalted rit
ualism, and by a practical devoted
ness to conserve, protect and main
tain the distinctive institutions,
rights, privileges, principles and
ideals of pure Americanism.
"Section 2: To create and maintain
an institution by and through which
the present generations shall com
memorate and memorialize the great
sacrifice, chivalric service and patri
otic achievements of our original so
ciety, the Ku Klux Klan of the re
construction period of American his
tory." According to the King Kleagle the
m tft 0 y V:-.-.. A j
appear exclusively in The Bee,
of the Ku Klux Klan in Nebraska was held.
class of candidates kneeling before
The King Kleagle of Nebraska
came to Omaha May 1& from Rich
mond, Va., just after he had natur
alized 2,000 new citizens in the "in
visible empire." Names of eligible
men in Omaha had been furnished
the King Kleagle by the Imperial
Wizard at Atlanta, Ga., and with
these few men the Omaha Kavern
was started.
After investigations more members
were naturalized until now there is
a membership of several hundred in
the Kavern, the Kleagk, declares.
22 Organizers at" Work, ,
In Nebraska 22 organizers or
Kleagles are at work instituting new
Kaverns. The membership now is
almost as strong in the north as it
is in the south, the King Kleagle de
clares. In answer to attacks made on the
Klan, the Grand Goblin of the do
main of Missouri sent the following
message recently to the King
Kleagle in Kansas City which he
forwarded to Omaha.
"We are taking active steps today
to counteract the vitriolic slanders
which our enemies the past two
Were taken Friday at Lincoln
the Kleagle, who has charge
weeks have been hurling at us, and
you can rest assured that the pres
ent nationwide volleys being fired at
us will be met with the same strong
situation as other attacks and wilr
amount to nothing but mere flurries.
Stands for Law.
"Keep clearly in your mind that
this organization stands only and
solely for the supremacy anJ majesty
ot the law and that violators of the
li-.w, whether they are members of
this organization or outsiders, will
leceive no consideration at our
hands and will be prosecuted
through the regular channel of the
law without fear and without favor,
tegardless of whom it may concern.
"We arc taking active steps to
have the message given out generally
into the public prints but you should
get' this message to all men in your
territory and let them spread it."
When asked why he permitted pic
tures to be taken of the initiation, the
King Kleagle said:
Time for Publicity.
"There is nothing secretive in the
workings of the Ku Klux Klan, and
The lower picture, on the left, shows the Kleagle administering the oath of the order to a
candidate. On the right is a closeup of the Nebraska Kleagle in his costume.
The phologtapTis were taken by a photographer for The Bee through special permission;
given by the Nebraska Kleagle.
it is time now for the order to be
come better known. When we be
gan organizing in the north we knew
we would encounter many obstacles
and we decided to be as secretive as
possible until we had gained sufficient
numbers to demand recognition.
"There is nothing but pure Ameri
can principles taught. Men in the
Klan practice nothing but patriotism
?nd the love of country their fore
fathers practiced before them.
"In Omaha, citizens are being
naturalized in Ihe Invisible Empire
in large numbers each week," the
King Kleagle declarded, "and now
that we have decided to make a more
open and intensive campaign for
members I have no fear that in a
short time Omaha will have one of
the largest Kaverns in the north."
Reports that the local department
of justice had been investigating the
work of the Klan with an idea of
preventing its organization here
were denied by the King Kleaio.
Photography is 82 years old next
August, the secret of the first pic
tures, those of Dagucrre, having
been disclosed in 1839,
Mexican Congress
To Study Oil Law
Compromise Plan Provides
Article 27 Is Not Retroactive.
Mexico City, Aug. 6. Considera
tion of article 27 of the Mexican con
stitution, nationalizing petroleum de
posits, will begin in the Mexican
congress next Monday. A commit
tee of the lower house, appointee! by
the liberal-constitutionalist party,
which forms a majority of the cham
ber, has submitted to President
Obregon a project for the immedi
ate settlement of oil problems.
The project submitted .contained
six fundamental points upon which
legislation relative to oil might be
built and the president expressed the
opinion that they might he reduced
to onlv three, one of which would
state that article 27 was not retro
active in its effect. The committee
decided to begin immediately' a
study of the problem for early de
cision at the president's suggestion.
Because ci the rapid increase in
motor traffic in Pennsylvania high
ways entering the larger cities may
be extended to 100 or 120 feet in
width.
Sand Your Clothis to bt Cleaned
D&EStiER brothers'
I Dytri, Cleanera, Hatters, Furriara,
I Tailor and Rug Cleaners
. 2217 Farnam St. Omaha
(Wa pay return charfte on eut-o(-
town orders.)
-i"ri-i-M-,-iniin.rn.ii
BAND CONCERT
Desdune's Band
RIVERVIEW PARK
Today 3:00 P. M.
and Hotro'nt Grills
.
KwaatGriU,
The pleasure of electric
cooking is now made possible
for all users of electricity with
this special offering and sale
of National Aluminum Pres
sure Cookers and Hot Point
Grills.
10 qt. Pressure Cooker
regular price $25 -with (10 A
$12.50 Hot Point Grill . . d JU
12 qt. Pressure Cooker
regular price $29- with (PQ4
$12.50 Hot Point Grill. . PM
10 Reasons Why You Should
Have a
Steam Pressure Cooker
in Your Home
Time, labor and fuel are saved.
Foods are never scorched or
burnt in cooking.
The Cooker is convenient, dur
able and easy to operate.
Money is saved on meat and
"grocery bills.
An entire meal of three dif
erent courses can be cooked
at the same time, without the
flavors blending.
t Food flavors are better be
cause there is no loss of juices
in cooking.
It can be used as a fireless
cooker.
An entire meal including the
dessert can be properly cooked
in thirty minutes.
Can be used for canning fruits
and vegetables.
Its use means more comfort
and less work for the house
keeper. '
7.
10.
OLDWAY ,
, loft,' CHICKEN, ,;lrtn
Min.f
POTATOES
Min.
HAM 'Va50.
J 'PORK AN 0, &EAK4(y
See display-and demonstration by
factory representative at the
Electric Shop.
Nebraska Power Co
Farnam at Fifteenth St.
2314 M St. South Side
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A. HOSPE CO.
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at mm GAACC and
CHARM lHand HABIT.
UAL USE of VENUS
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