As soon as it can be conveniently done, the legislatures of the States
should enact various laws for the purpose of killing Ku Kluxism, laws
directed against membership corporations stirring up religious and racial
prejudice, against secret membership, against unwarranted interference
with the law-enforcing branches of the Government, and against going about
the community in disguise. More stringent laws should also be enacted
providing for the registration of foreign membership corporations seeking
to do business from another State, especially where money is taken from
the public. If the passage of "Blue-Sky" laws has had the effect of
protecting the public from being victimized by all kinds of stock-selling
schemes, surely legislation could easily be enacted to carefully
scrutinize all alleged fraternal orders.
As to permitting foreign membership corporations to do business in a
State, it should be enacted that before being permitted to engage in the
business of soliciting members from whom initiation fees or "donations"
are to be secured, the corporation should be required to file with the
Secretary of State a sworn statement of all its national officers, its
plans for doing business, a copy of its charter of incorporation, its
constitution and laws, and, where agents are employed to canvas for
members it should be specified what compensation they are to be paid.
These agents should be licensed by the State as the "Blue Laws" require
the licensing of stock salesmen. The organization should, furthermore, be
required to file a bond with the Secretary of State insuring the good
behavior of the organization while engaged in business in the State, and
it should be specified that the bond be forfeited should any local branch
be guilty of committing a lawless act, in which case, also, the right of
the corporation to do business in the State should automatically be
terminated. No foreign corporation which permits its members to go about,
in other States, disguised should be permitted to enter. After having
complied with the foregoing provisions, the act should further provide
that at stated intervals the secretary of each local branch be required to
make two copies of the roster of membership of his branch, filing one copy
with the county clerk of his county, and mailing one copy to the Secretary
of State. These two copies should be open for public inspection at all
times. In the event that the local branch fails or refuses to file its
roster, the right of the national organization to do business in the State
should automatically terminate.
As a matter of safeguard to the community, every State in the United
States should have a statute enacted along the lines of the Tennessee Ku
Klux act (Sections 6668, Shannons Code _et seq._) which reads:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account