◆ SpookStack

yght ade: a ee Spee is a fhe nee ne Cale ee a re survey of the District Attorneys of the State has produced a com- pletely negative report on the question of criminal acts being per- formed, instigated, aided, abetted, counseled or procured by any Klan organization in the last five years. There is evidence of a strong effort by practically all Klan leaders in Louisiana to negate violence and to promote political action as the basic policy of their organiza- tions. The Klan groups operating in Louisiana at this time have all developed since the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of “State ex rel Gremillion vs. NAACP” in 1961, The first modern Klan group chartered in Louisiana in 1959 did not prosper to any significant degree until after the 1961 decision. The legislation voided by that decision had successfully repressed the Klan for thirty-seven years in Louisiana. It appears to the Committee that since the 1961 decision, it has been, and is now, practically impossible to regulate the Klan in Louisiana by a constitutional statute. None of the 2iian groups active in Louisiana today is the same as any of the four Klan groups placed on the Subversive List of the Attorney General of the United States in 1950, nor were any of these four Louisiana groups in existence at that time. One week before this report was sent to the press, a large- circulation national magazine commented on the “secrecy” in “The Klan” on “even the smallest details about organization or recruit- ing.” The Committee has found the Klan to be substantially less secret than many other organizations such as the Knights of Columbus or the Masonic Orders. The evidence obtained by our staff and re- produced in this report clearly shows the lack of secrecy and security in the Klan organizations. Anti-Catholicism is evidently no longer a significant factor in the policies of the Louisiana Klan organizations. One of the four Lou- isiana Groups, the Old Original Ku Klux Klan, now accepts Catholics in its membership. Why do Louisiana citizens join the Klan? What need in their lives does it fill? The answers to these questions are varied and num- erous, but the basic answer is that modern society and government have not provided these citizens with adequate means of expressing their frustrations. The Klan does this to some degree. The prime factor in this problem appears to be frustration with the current national administration. Every speech by a national political figure demanding more federal control over the lives of the people, advocat- ing appeasement of the Communists, urging some greater measure of 88 oak a Yr 1 oe icon er ee Ti TS TTT Pee surrender of our national sovereignty, attacking the constitutional system of federalism or “States Rights”, or denying the existenct of Communist infiltration which is actually a matter of incontrovert: ible fact, is a recruiting speech for the Klan. The Courts of our natiot help Klan recruiting significantly with each decision that throug devious and sometimes ridiculous interpretation of the Constitutioi weakens or destroys the basic constitutional rights of the Stated supports the Communist Conspiracy against the legitimate interest of free society, frees obviously guilty or even self-confessed criminal; on the vaguest of technicalities or even usurps openly the law-makinj function of the people constitutionally carried on through the Congres and the Legislatures. Each manifestation of forced race-mixin: through executive order, Court judgment or the bald-faced dictat of some Federal agency, is a help to the Klan recruiting program The frustration of citizens concerning these things, and the growin: - fear that the basis for such things is pure political expediency rather than a sincere interest in the welfare of the nation unde the Constitution, is the reason that many Louisiana citizens hav joined the Klan. They are unable to individually do anything abou such problems, and the Klan apparently offers a means of collectiv action. The Klan ritual, secrecy, and stated policy, offers some measur of collective security to people who see the whole political, economi and social structure of this State under concerted and vigorous attac! Up to this time, the Klan in Louisiana has not been the vehicle fe violence that it has been in various other States. The orientation « the Klan is currently shifting even further toward a political-actic group in Louisiana and will probably continue to fellow this tren: Much Klan activity seems to be based upon the member’s liking fc secrecy and intrigue along with a certain Halloween spirit that common to most Americans. The Committee does not seek to either justify or eondemn tl policy statements under which the Klan organizations purport ; operate in Louisiana. They are contained in detail in this repo and the reader may agree or disagree with them as he chooses. T) Committee does take particular note of the existence of the non-Kl: organizations mentioned in this report, particularly as te the differe! und much more militant policies of these groups. It is not the functi¢ of the Committee to criticize or praise the philosophy or orientatic of any group or individual in regard to race relations, or any oth! subject outside the mandate of the Committee which deals with su versive activities, The Committee does state again, as in all its pa 89