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3 • THE KLAN IN ACTION I believe that we will have enough Klansmen who are deputy sheriffs on hand to cope with any situation that may arrive, therefore, I would suggest that nothing be done in the way of getting State Police on the ground. —michigan grand dragon, on planning for a Klan parade in Big Rapids “Do you have an automobile?” membership cards asked.“How many will it hold?” The automobile that had brought such change and population readjustment to Michigan literally powered the 1920s Knights of the Invisible Empire. This second Klan could move faster, farther, and more comfortably than its predecessors on horseback. And they had many places to go—initiations, demonstrations, speakeasy raids, political rallies . Piling into cars, they headed out to protect God and country. Klan members believed in common that too many people in positions of leadership were indifferent to their obligations, that some had been duped, while still others were cynically opportunistic. As a result, the situation had now become so dire that the true Americans must take action. Without needing any other battle plan, people who joined a Klan chapter in Michigan chose familiar and proven tactics: They became self-appointed enforcers of the law, they had the help of sympathetic public of‹cials and Protestant ministers, and they worked through the Republican Party. Now and then, some men opted also for intimidation and violence . And always, the Klan invoked bene‹cial laws and the constitutional rights guaranteeing them freedom of press, speech, and assembly. In the Name of the Law It required no stretch of the imagination for people in the Klan to regard themselves as an unof‹cial arm of the law, operating much as the Ameri68 can Protective Association had during the war. Now, rather than tracking down a traitorous element, these law-and-order champions advocated direct action to rout the criminal element, especially Prohibition violators. As part of its “constructive patriotic program,” the Klan under both Simmons and Evans consistently pledged to take action against bootleggers. Klaverns in Michigan drew heavily from those who had helped win Prohibition at the ballot box only to see its enforcement quickly fail. Rural Michigan residents had been the backbone of the Prohibition drive, and now their local papers were ‹lled with such headlines as “LIQUOR FLOOD IN NATION’S CAPITAL.”1 More worrisome, signs of the times were close to home. Newspapers eagerly spread the word to let residents know of such local events as“Synthetic Gin Seized”while“Jazz is reported to reign uncon‹ned at Benton Harbor Riverside road resort.”2 When Klan members took on the self-appointed task of law enforcement , agents and institutions of the justice system often appreciated their assistance or were themselves in the brotherhood. Newaygo County Sheriff Noble McKinley, a staunch Klan member, took the lead in the Klan crusade to halt rumrunners and bootleggers who blatantly violated Prohibition. In 1921 he had earned attention for rounding up scof›aws at the “Moonshiners’ Convention.” Anyone arrested in Newaygo County could expect to face city, village, and county of‹cials who, like Sheriff McKinley, were in the Klan and had the law on their side.3 The chief of police and several of‹cers in Pontiac were also alleged to be Klan members active in local politics. The chief was relieved of his duty, not for his complicity in renting the Detroit armory under false pretenses for a massive Klan meeting, but upon an unrelated charge that he was involved in framing a holdup.4 Connections between law of‹cials and the Klan differed from place to place, however, and sometimes the Klan regarded the police and sheriff’s of‹ce as part of the problem. Macomb County northeast of Detroit was the target of one more Klan cleanup campaign, but there, Klansmen suspected certain local public of‹cials of tipping off liquor dealers before raids. To thwart these inside leaks, the Macomb Klan imported men who were unknown in the area to hang out in roadhouses, win the con‹dence of the roadhouse proprietors , and make liquor buys. In Detroit, as in many other communities, law of‹cers were divided about the Klan. The police force in Detroit was uniformly white, but a signi‹cant number were Catholics with immigrant backgrounds who were opposed to the Klan. On at least one occasion, the Klan turned to the The Klan in Action • 69 [3.143.168.172] Project MUSE (2024-04-24 14...

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