The Pittsburgh Press (August 20, 1946)
Background of news –
Anti-Klan campaign
By Kendrick Lee
The Ku Klux Klan has been fighting a losing battle for the last 30 days. Most sensational charges were brought against the hooded order when Assistant Attorney General Duke of Georgia said that he had uncovered documentary evidence that the Klan had made plans prior to Pearl Harbor to merge with the German-American Bund.
Mr. Duke said the evidence would be used in the presentation of Georgia’s suit to revoke the national KKK charter, when the case comes up before the Federal Court at Atlanta in September. New Jersey filed suit on August 1 to nullify the Klan charter in that state, and the secret order was given 20 days – until tomorrow – to reply.
On July 29, the Klan’s charter was revoked in the State of New York. Kentucky will press charter revocation proceedings against the Klan when the State Circuit Court convenes next month. And the FBI has started investigations of the Klan in seven states – California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Tennessee.
On the other side of the ledger, state incorporation papers for the Klan were filed on July 21 in Alabama. And the recent admission by Sen. Bilbo of Mississippi that he was a member of the Klan, and expected to receive support from that group, brought back memories of the 1920s when a number of members of Congress were said to be responsive to the will of the Grand Dragon.
Rallying ground for prejudice
The Klan movement contains disquieting potentialities as a rallying ground for individuals and other organizations animated by prejudices against various minority groups.
It was in recognition of this danger that Gov. Arnall of Georgia initiated legal action against the Klan. He hoped to prevent it from gaining a strong enough foothold to repeat the performance of a generation ago. However, charter-revocation proceedings may not be enough to halt the renewed growth of the movement.
Revival of the Klan has been attributed, in the main, to a fear that the rising number of Negro voters will invade the South’s exclusively white primary elections, which were voided by the Supreme Court in 1944. To a lesser extent, the revival is believed to represent reaction to increased labor union activity in the South. Others suggest that re-birth of the Klan merely is a transitory development resulting from post-war confusion.
Accused of conspiracy
In the charter-revocation proceedings, the Klan is accused by the State of Georgia of conspiring to seize control of government agencies and of attempting to “enforce their doctrines upon the state by violence, terrorism and hate.”
Even if the charter of the old Knights is revoked, however, the unchartered Association of Georgia Klans intends to carry on, according to Grand Dragon Green. It will claim a constitutional right of assembly and continue to hold meetings. Thus the major effect of successful court act on by the State of Georgia might be to merely remove the state’s legal sanction of the old Klan organization.