Mr. EMMONS. The speakers we had-Doctor Evans, I believe, would be able to the ordinary man-now, I want you to know this, Doctor Evans could almost convince the average klansman that we had in the State of Indiana that Jesus Christ was not a Jew, because the boys were sold on him over there. [Laughter.]

The CHAIRMAN. You must have a highly intelligent membership. Mr. EMMONS. That is the reason we keep our visors down. I asked Doctor Evans once why not put the visors up and he said, The morale of the klan would kill itself." [Laughter.]

66

The CHAIRMAN. You mean the appearance of the klan?

Mr. EMMONS. Yes. It kind of got my goat, too.

The CHAIRMAN. Proceed.

Mr. EMMONS. There is a letter, if you wish to read it, that I got from W. Lee Smith when he found that there were several organizations holding meetings that were not going to be favorable either for the Democratic or Republican Senators. I called that a sort of a threat.

The CHAIRMAN. This has been marked "Exhibit No. 279." [Reading:]

EXHIBIT 279

Office of chief of staff, Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Realm of Indiana, post-office box 648, Indianapolis, Ind.

To all exalted cyclops, terrors

What is a terror?

Mr. EMMONS. He is an officer just above the exalted cyclops. He ranks just a little higher.

The CHAIRMAN. That does not help me much, because I do not know how high a cyclops is; but we will get to him after a while.

Mr. EMMONS. The exalted cyclops is president of the local klan. The terror, he is the fellow that is allowed to carry the votes, if I understand it right-you see I have only been connected three years, and when I get to some of these deeper documents you will have to go to some of these bigger klansmen that are here, who know more about it than I do.

Wait a minute. You are not making a fool out of me.

The CHAIRMAN. No; I am not. We have got to have these words, because we want to use them. I would not get it wrong for anything. Mr. EMMONS. Is that the terror?

The CHAIRMAN. The terror, and you spoke of the klarero.

Mr. EMMONS. The klarero is a meeting that is held for the appointment of the grand dragons. They send their klapeers. The klapeers are the officers they send along there, and each klapeer, is entitled to one vote for every hundred members.

The CHAIRMAN. He is what we would call a delegate to a convention probably?

Mr. EMMONS. Yes; a delegate. He carries the power of voting: that is, if you are in good standing with the imperial palace. You must be in good standing-financial standing-with the imperial palace. If you are not, the great klazik [laughter]——

The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, we can not have any undue levity. This is a solemn occasion. [Renewed laughter.] Spell these names for this unfortunate reporter.

Mr. EMMONS. I am just letting him spell them all.

The CHAIRMAN. I am saying that seriously.

Mr. EMMONS. I know you are.

The CHAIRMAN. Proceed. It may be humorous, but it is also

serious.

Mr. EMMONS. That is all right.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, this letter, where it says--you told me what a terror was. I think I know now.

Mr. EMMONS. Before we go into that letter, while we are in this, if you will just read the close of Doctor Evans's own personal letters, yon will see that it is a little hard to just understand all of those things. [Handing document to the chairman.] That is one of Doctor Evans's personal letters. The way he closes, you can tellThe CHAIRMAN. This is just the second page.

Mr. EMMONS. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is the first page?

Mr. EMMONS. I just wanted you to get some of those names, how he closes his personal letters to a good klansman.

The CHAIRMAN. I will read it at your request.

Mr. EMMONS. If you will.

The CHAIRMAN. This paper that you handed me appears to be the second page of the letter.

Mr. EMMONS. It is. I have the first page. It is the complete political set-up of the State of Indiana. Here is the first page, showing all of the provinces and the towns.

The CHAIRMAN. Mark that as Exhibit No. 280. We will get these names after a while.

Mr. EMMONS. You might read that, Senator, then. There is something that might be interesting [handing another document to the chairman]. It is only part of a letter and I have not got the other

part.

The CHAIRMAN. We will get them all in.

Exhibit 279 is an official document emanating from Doctor Evans's office?

Mr. EMMONS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. By the way, what is he a doctor of, anyway; medicine?

Mr. EMMONS. No, he was a dentist; he had a little one-chair shop down in Georgia. I thought he was a doctor of divinity when I joined the organization, and that is one of the things that had a lot of influence with me.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, coming back again after this interruption, the letter which has been marked "Exhibit 279," the letterhead of which I read, is as follows [reading]:

EXHIBIT No. 279

INVISIBLE EMPIRE,

KNIGHTS OF THE KU-KLUX KLAN, REALM OF INDIANA, Post Office Box 648, Indianapolis, Ind. To all Exalted Cyclops, Terrors and Klansmen in the Realm of Indiana, greetings:

Certain meetings are being called here and there over the State in an attempt to spread dissension and destroy the klan. Treason is one of the major crimes against this organization. I shall deal with matters of this kind swiftly and

justly. Those men who attend and take part in such meetings I shall be forced to suspend from our organization and deny them entrance into any klavern in this realm. The preservation of our klan is one of the duties incumbent upon me, and I shall not hesitate in the execution thereof without fear or favor.

Faithfully yours, in the sacred unfailing bond,

[SEAL.]

W. LEE SMITH,

Grand Dragon, Realm of Indiana.

That has the same official seal attached that was attached to the other document?

Mr. EMMONS. In other words, following up, if we went out and started, as we figured, against Watson, he sends in a letter threatening that we will be banished without fear and without favor.

The CHAMMAN. Well, did you understand that it might include something besides banishment; "The preservation of our klan is one of the duties incumbent upon me, and I shall not hesitate in the execution thereof, without fear or favor"? You may answer that or not, just as you see fit.

Mr. EMMONS. It was just a threat letter, was all.

The CHAIRMAN. Proceed, now. We have gotten along to the black bag and the $10,000 and the letter that you received shortly afterwards, which I have just read.

Mr. EMMONS. All right. Then W. Lee Smith, as I started to tell you, called me up and wanted to know if the boys would not like to have Doctor Evans come down to South Bend. I said: "Personally, Lee, I do not see where the doctor could do any good coming to South Bend. He could not come into our klavern or into our hall, for it has been on the minutes, voted unanimously, that we would not allow either the grand dragon or the titan or any of the officers of the organization to enter our klavern." He said, "I believe you could get the high school and call in a committee from the various klans in the northern part of the State. He is not coming down there telling you what you have got to do, or anything like that, but the doctor has always had a desire to come to South Bend." I said, "Well, he was there once within 3 miles, and they took him back to Indianapolis in a high-powered car."

That was the day of our riot, and he did not come on in. He was to have spoken before us at that time, but D. C. Stephenson came on into the city and spoke that day; but Doctor Evans was rushed back to Indianapolis. Well, to make a long story short, I said:

I will put it up to the advisory board, Lee, and if they want to get Doctor Evans come down here, we could not stop him from coming to the schoolhouse, that I know of, anyway, but we will allow him to come down here, and we will get out some folks to hear him.

We rented the South Side High School-junior high-which would handle about 400 people. Doctor Evans came into our city and ate something in the evening, and I met him at the LaSalle Hotel.

The CHAIRMAN. Where?

Mr. EMMONS. In South Bend. The doctor was a little unfortunate in not having any extra suit with him at that time, and so he went to bed while they had his clothes pressed, and he did not get out to the high school until nine-something. There were about 400 people waiting out there in the high school auditorium to hear

Doctor Evans. Doctor Evans told me, Now, this is to be a closed meeting." I said, "Yes, sir." He said, "Do you suppose it would hurt anything if I would speak along the lines, a little bit, of whom we should support in this senatorial race?" I said, "Why, I do not suppose it would hurt anything, Doctor." He said, "My intention is to speak upon the World Court, but I think I will bring a few things in about our senatorial race.' Just one hour before the time for our meeting a man by the name of Joe Myers, who has assisted me there in the work, called me in the LaSalle Hotel and told me that the school board had met and had absolutely canceled our contract unless we would leave the doors open to the public; that they were not using the public schoolhouses for secret klan meetings; and that the school board were there at this time in the high school auditorium. So I said, "You had better call Doctor Evans;" and I told Doctor Evans that this would not be what was known as an air-tight meeting; that there would be other folks in there. He said, I am mighty glad you have told me, because I am going to speak on the World Court and the World Court only," and he did. I think he made a wonderful address, as far as the World Court was concerned.

Then we got into my car and I ushered him back to the LaSalle Hotel, the doctor and I alone. He had his bodyguard at the Hotel LaSalle waiting, who would go with him to Valparaiso to catch a train for Washington, D. C. It was just a stop-over trip.

On our road back to the hotel, Doctor Evans said, "Pat, old boy, how is Jim going over for United States Senator in the State of Indiana?"

The CHAIRMAN. Whom did he mean by "Jim"?

Mr. EMMONS. He meant James Watson. I said, "I do not believe that there is any man in the State of Indiana. personally, who can beat Watson for long-term Senator. Now, you know I am a Democrat, and I would like to ask you a very personal question. You may answer it or not, if you so desire." He said, "Go on and shoot, Pat. I have never refused to answer any questions you have ever asked me." I said, "Why is it that we are having Watson "--and these are the very words I used—“ crammed down our throats in the State of Indiana, when it has never been proved that he was a klansman? He said, "Now, Pat, I am going to tell you something that you may not know. Senator Watson, in the first place, is a personal friend of mine, though I am not using personality to put him over in the State of Indiana, but the Ku-Klux Klan is a debtor to your United States Senator." I said, "That is news to me, Doctor Evans." He said, "I am going to just draw you this picture and then I will leave it to you as to what you want to do with your boys in South Bend. It was through my influence with Senator Watson that Senator Watson got to Senator Moses and had one of the best klansmen in the United States seated in the United States Senate, Senator Mayfield." Now, that was all Latin to me, because, honestly, I am not a politician; I have never run for office. I have been offered a few appointments, but never accepted one in my life; and I did not understand a whole lot about this until I got to talking with the sheriff and the prosecutor and some of those fellows, who kind of explained it to me. I said, "Well, it may be that we do owe him,

but I do not just understand it yet." He said, "I want to tell you something else, Emmons. You know that Watson is favorable to the Ku-Klux Klan, whether he is a member or not." He did not say he was, and he did not say he was not. He left the doubt that he always left; but he said, "Whether he is a member of the Ku-Klux Klan or not, he is favorable and has always gone down the line for us. The man who has sacrificed more than any other man in the United States for the Ku-Klux Klan is a man by the name of Zumberlen "I believe it is.

The CHAIRMAN. Zumbrunn?

Mr. EMMONS. Zumbrunn. He said, "He has acted for us: he has gone to the front, where no other klansman could have gone.' I said, "What do you mean by that? He said, "He is a mixer with the United States Senators and their wives; he wines and dines those people." I said, “All right; but that is all Latin to me, too. I can not make that out." He said, "Well, he does, and the reason that we should put Senator Watson over-you know you are not going to beat him." I said, "I do not think so." He said, "If you put him over strong enough in the State of Indiana for United States Senator, we are going over into the Hoosier State to get presidential timber, and Watson will be presidential timber for 1928; and if he is, Pat,"--and he threw his arms around my neck; he kind of acted girlish at that time [prolonged laughter] and sort of loved me up; he just pulled me right over to him and said, "Pat, old boy, if we put Watson in for President of the United States, we will send the best klansman in the United States, Bill Zumbrunn "I believe the name is

The CHAIRMAN. Zumbrunn.

Mr. EMMONS. Down to Mexico as ambassador to Mexico. He knows the situation down there, because he was down there once "on something about the water question. He said," We will send Bill back down there; and do not forget that when the klansmen march down Pennsylvania Avenue, if Watson is President of the United States they will be invited to march right on through the White House."

That is his message to me of why we were in the fight to support Jim Watson, because he had seen to the seating of Senator Mayfield, and we should make him timber for President of the United States. Here is a man who came in here-here is his own handwriting. [Handing card to the chairman.] You may know him. I don't know him. He is supposed to know all of the Senators. That is his own writing. I will leave it here. Zumbrunn's name is on one side and that man's name is on the other. He came there for Zumbrunn. He came down with the same message of why we should put Watson in for United States Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. The man whose name is here and you say written in his own handwriting-is that this name, "John H. Connaughton"?

Mr. EMMONS. That is it.

The CHAIRMAN. 410 Jefferson Hotel.

Mr. EMMONS. That is the room in South Bend that I was to meet him in.

The CHAIRMAN. He wrote that on there and gave you the card?