Mrs. Armstrong was a widow; her husband had died three years before and left her with three small children. When the doctor bills and funeral expenses were paid there was very little of the thousand dollars of insurance left, and she found herself confronted with the problem of earning a living and caring for the three small children. She went heroically to work taking in washing and succeeded fairly well until one of the children became ill and, after a lingering illness of four months, died. During the time of the illness of the child Mrs. Armstrong's earnings1 were considerably2 decreased, as a great portion of her time and energy must be given to the nursing of the little invalid3.
Doctor bills and funeral expenses and decreased earnings were responsible for the piling up of considerable debts.
Grace was the oldest of the children, and the mother often talked things over with her as she had no older person with whom to counsel.
This question was occasioned by a letter which notified Mrs. Armstrong that unless the house rent were paid by the first of the next month she must move out.
"We might find another house, although vacant houses are scarce, but everybody would want a month's rent in advance. We have only three dollars in the house, and we must keep that to buy bread. You know I had to give up two of the family washings during little Jimmy's sickness, and I have only been able to get one in place of them. I'll go down to the bank and explain to Mr. Stover why I haven't paid the rent."
"Do you think if you explain it to him he will let us stay?"
"Yes, I think so. You peel the potatoes for dinner while I finish this washing, and then after dinner I'll go see him."
That afternoon Mrs. Armstrong called at the Central State Bank and asked for the president. She was informed that he was busy. "Would she wait?"
She sat down on the bench and watched the people coming and going; some to deposit and others to draw out. Some with large sacks bearing many coins, others with only a few dollars to add to their accounts. She had neither money to deposit nor money to withdraw. She noticed the large stacks of money behind barred windows and thought of the inequalities of life, and wondered not a little why it should be so.
After a wait of half an hour she was informed that Mr. Stover could see her. It was with a great deal of trepidation4 that she entered the president's office.
"I am Mrs. Armstrong," she explained. "I have come to talk with you about the rent."
"Yes, let's see, I sent you a notice, didn't I?"
"Yes, you told me to pay by the first or get out. I thought if I explained to you why I was behind with the rent you might let me stay, and I will pay."
He opened his desk and took out a large book and turned to his list of tenants6. He owned ten business houses and fifty residences which he rented. "I find," he said, "that you will be three months behind the first of next month."
"I am very sorry that I am so much behind. My little boy was ill so long that I couldn't earn much and then there were the funeral expenses."
"I am very sorry, Mrs. Armstrong. I would like to let you remain in the house regardless of whether you could pay any rent or not if I consulted my feelings alone," the banker rubbed his hands together and smiled benignly7, "but the fact is, Mrs. Armstrong, that if I get fifteen dollars a month, which is the amount you have been paying, after paying taxes and paying for the upkeep of the property, I am losing money. I would like to give you the free use of this house if I could afford to do so, but I simply can't afford to let you have it any cheaper, as I am now renting it to you at less than cost, if I figure any interest on my investment."
"I am not asking you to rent it any cheaper. All I am asking is that you give me a little more time to catch up. I will pay you every cent I owe you if you will just give me time. It's pretty slow work catching8 up when you have a family to support and no way to make money except by taking in washing."
"I am very sorry, Mrs. Armstrong, but really believe that for your own interest you should get a cheaper house. I really feel that I am advising you for your own benefit when I tell you that if you find that you can't raise the back rent I will have to insist on your vacating. Good afternoon, Mrs. Armstrong. I am always glad to advise you. When you wish to consult me, feel free to call." He bowed her out.
She must try to find another house, as there was no possibility of her earning the amount of money necessary to pay the back rent by the first of the month.
She went to Charles Wilson's office to inquire about a house. The fat real estate man was so jovial9 and at the same time so sympathetic that (though she had intended to tell him only of her inability to pay but a part of the month's rent in advance, in case she could find a house) she told him of her financial difficulties and of the notice from Stover to vacate.
"You say that Stover told you that you must pay up by the first of the month or vacate?"
"Yes, he said that he would like to let me have the free use of the house if he could afford it, but he could not afford it as he was losing money on it at fifteen dollars. To be sure I do not want the free use of his house or any house. All I want is a little time until I can catch up."
"Did he say he was losing money on that house you are living in?"
"Yes, he said he was if he figured any interest on the capital invested."
"Well, you know Stover is used to figuring a pretty high rate of interest on the money he has invested. Let's see, are there three or four rooms in that house?"
"Three."
"It isn't modern, is it?"
"No."
"I didn't think the water had been put in on that street."
"The closest city water is on Sixteenth Street, three blocks away."
"Mrs. Armstrong, I have a little three-room house listed here on Maple10 Street—a much better residence district than where you are living. I can rent you this house for twelve dollars a month and it is modern."
"That will be fine."
"If I were you I wouldn't wait until the first of the month to take this house, as it will not stand vacant long at that price."
"I want it but I can't raise even half of a month's rent before the first of the month."
"If you want the house, that part can be arranged all right."
"Thank you. I certainly want it and I will move right away. I intend to pay Mr. Stover just as soon as I can."
"Klansmen, you have all read of the alleged11 Klansmen who threatened the life of the negro, Rastus Jones. We know that they were not Klansmen." (Judge Rider, the Exalted12 Cyclops, spoke13 with earnestness.) "True Klansmen do not take the law into their own hands. The man who does, not only violates his oath as a Klansman but acts contrary to the purpose and spirit of our organization. If it is proven that any member of this organization takes part in an affair such as was narrated14 in the Journal (you can't believe half that's in the Journal, someone interposed) he can expect to leave this Klan as Tom Glynn left it. I would like to see how many of you endorse15 this sentiment."
He paused while they voted their approval. The vote was unanimous. "I feel confident that no one who has taken the sacred and binding16 obligation of a Klansman took part in that affair, yet it is going to hurt the organization. Let me remind each of you that the mask is only to be worn in regular Klan ceremonies, when in peaceful parades and when doing charitable deeds. It may be that occasionally some misinformed, or misguided Klansman may think it his duty to check some unlawful act by the commission of some other unlawful act. We cannot expect three million men all to keep implicitly17 the rules of the organization. Breaches18 of the peace are sometimes committed by soldiers in the army, by members of fraternal orders and churches. Even Peter denied his Master thrice, and there was a Judas among the twelve. But you who are strong must help to strengthen the weak, and when you see a brother acting19 in a manner unworthy of a Klansman remind him of his obligation.
"Fortunately, selected as our members are from the best citizens of the community, we have a right to expect only a small amount of misconduct."
When Judge Rider had finished his talk, he asked if there were anything to bring before the Klan.
"I have a matter to present," said Charles Wilson. "There is a widow in this town whose family is in need." He then told them how Mrs. Armstrong had been left a widow without means, how she had labored20 to support her children; of the death of her little boy; and that she had gotten behind and could not pay her rent and unless it was paid up in full, Stover had ordered her out of the house.
"What do you wish to do in this matter?" the Exalted Cyclops asked.
A Klansman moved that a special collection be taken for the relief of Mrs. Armstrong and her children.
When the collection was taken Judge Rider remarked: "Klansmen, we can do no better work than this. I believe it was the Apostle James who said: 'Pure religion and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.'"
Mrs. Armstrong had risen early to get an early start at the washing. The children were asleep. She liked to let them sleep as long as possible of a morning. She hoped to get an extra washing during the week as she would have the added expense of moving.
There was a knock at the door. Who could her early caller be, she wondered. She slipped a clean apron22 on over her dress and hurried to the door, but not until the impatient visitor had knocked the second time.
When she reached the door she found a stranger there waiting. Another man whom she did not know was waiting in a car in the street.
"Is this Mrs. Armstrong?" the man at the door asked.
"Yes, I am Mrs. Armstrong."
"Here is an envelope that I was requested to hand you." He gave her a large envelope and without another word hurried to the car. Mrs. Armstrong, wondering at his brevity and haste, watched them drive out of sight around the corner before she opened the envelope which he had handed her. Imagine her surprise when she found that it contained bills. She looked at it carefully—yes it was real money. There was some mistake. They must have been mistaken in the address where they were to take the envelope. She counted the money. There was two hundred dollars. "If this money were really mine," she thought, "how much it would help me. Sixty or seventy dollars would pay all my debts, and I could go right to town and buy some school clothes for the children, which they are needing so badly." She happened to look into the envelope and saw a piece of paper on which was written in a large bold hand:
"The Wilford Springs Ku Klux Klan commends you for keeping your children in the public schools and Sunday School and for all your efforts to raise them to become good citizens. In appreciation23 of your services to your family and community we send you a little gift which we trust will be accepted in the same spirit in which it is sent.
"Wilford Springs Ku Klux Klan."
"Thank the Lord for the Klan!" exclaimed Mrs. Armstrong and then hurried to call the children that they might share the joy with her.
When the morning meal was over and the washing on the line she went down to the Central State Bank and asked for Mr. Stover. The bank president was surprised when she told him that she had come to settle the back rent. When he saw her he supposed of course that she had come to beg for more time. When she said, "I have come to settle with you," he could scarcely believe his ears.
"Are you ready to pay all?" he asked.
"Yes. I will settle with you and move out tomorrow."
"If you settle, Mrs. Armstrong," he said, smiling, "you don't need to move out."
"I want to move out. I have found a modern three-roomed house for twelve dollars a month."
"There must be something wrong if you get a modern, three-roomed house for twelve dollars. You had better be careful. It must be in an undesirable24 locality, and you know, Mrs. Armstrong, you can't afford to take your children into an undesirable neighborhood."
"This house is on Maple Street."
"There must be something wrong."
"I am going to move out of your house tomorrow. I owe you for two and a half months."
"You owe for three months. When you remain in a house you owe for the entire month."
"Very well, Mr. Stover. Here is your money. I was visited this morning by a stranger who gave me an envelope containing two hundred dollars—a gift from the Wilford Springs Ku Klux Klan."
Stover's countenance25 fell when he received this information.
"That's a very bad organization," he said gravely. "Didn't you read in the paper how they mistreated my janitor26?"
"I don't know anything about what they did to your janitor, but I do know they helped me and that I am thankful," she said, smiling.
That afternoon Stover rented his residence which Mrs. Armstrong was to vacate the next day and secured a month's rent in advance. He did not deduct27 to the new tenant5 the half month's rent the widow had paid, neither did he give it back to her. He was at a loss to know why within a week from this time two hundred thousand dollars were withdrawn28 by depositors.
Mrs. Armstrong went directly from the bank to the home of the Reverend Earl Benton.
"Reverend Benton," she said, "I have heard that you are a member of the Ku Klux Klan."
"I am," he replied. "I do not hesitate to let the public know that I am a member of this great organization, as my work for the organization is in the lecture field, but if the membership as a whole would permit their identity to become known it would destroy in a large measure the efficiency of the organization. Nothing would please law violators better than to know the identity of these men who are assisting officers as special detectives."
"What I wanted, Reverend Benton, is to ask you to thank the Wilford Springs Klan for the wonderful present they sent me. Tell them I certainly appreciate it. It came at a time when I was in dire29 need."
The day following the gift of the two hundred dollars to Mrs. Armstrong, Willard Jackson, who owned a large clothing store and was considered one of the most conservative men in town, met Springer, the editor of the Journal.
"Say, Jackson," said Springer, "wasn't that incident that happened the other night a disgrace to our city?"
"To what affair do you refer?"
"The mobbing of that negro by members of the Ku Klux Klan."
"If the facts were as stated in your paper it was an incident to be regretted, and if the Klan is responsible for it, it is to be condemned30."
"There's no question about the facts as reported in the Journal, and no question but what it was done by the Kluxers."
"Did they say they were Kluxers?" Mr. Jackson asked.
"No; they didn't say so, but the one who threatened the negro with the gun wore the Ku Klux robe and mask."
"Springer, I do not consider that any proof at all. Anyone could have put on a white robe and mask."
"Well, when the Klan insists on wearing those masks they should be willing to take the blame for all damage done by masked parties. If they are not directly responsible for all the depredations31 committed by masked ruffians they should take the blame for wearing the masks."
"Did you ever stop to think that there were more whippings and applications of tar21 and feathers by masked men before the Klan came into existence than there has been since? Reverend Benton stated in his lecture that it is the purpose of the Klan to prevent lynchings."
"That's not true," said Springer, getting excited. "The Klan practices lynching and encourages mob violence."
"I noticed in the Eagle that the Klan gave the union Avenue Colored Church a two hundred fifty dollar donation to apply on the church debt and the pastor32 a donation of fifty dollars, but I never saw any mention of it in your paper."
"I heard something about it, but it was not officially reported to me. It is the policy of the Journal not to print rumors33. We only print news from reliable sources."
"I heard today that the Klan gave the Widow Armstrong a donation of two hundred dollars. Now if that is true, it sounds mighty34 good to me. I don't belong to the Klan or know much about it, but I am in favor of giving everybody a square deal."
"The Klan never gave anybody anything. If the Widow Armstrong got a donation it is safe to say it wasn't from the Klan. The gifts to charity that are reputed to be from the Klan are not from the Klan at all."
"Who gives them, then?"
"The organizer does it for advertising35 purposes."
"I shouldn't think that he could afford to make so many gifts."
"This Klan business is a great money-making scheme. You see the organizer makes ten dollars on every member he secures."
"How much does it cost to get into this organization?" Jackson asked.
"Twenty-five dollars," the newspaper man replied.
"That's news to me."
"I can tell you something else that perhaps you do not know. The Klan oath is in direct violation36 of the Constitution of the United States. The Klan members are obligated to support the Klan regardless of how the interests of the Klan may clash with the government of the United States."
"How do you know, Springer, did you ever take this oath?"
"No."
"Did you ever see it?"
"No."
"How do you know, then?"
"I am in the newspaper business, and I have ways of getting information that the ordinary person does not have," declared Springer with an air and tone of great importance.
Two Klansmen, standing37 near, heard this conversation. Each one had contributed to the funds for the colored Baptist Church and the Widow Armstrong donations; they had each paid only ten dollars initiation38 fee and knew that the organizer received only a small part of that; they had each taken the solemn obligation of a Klansman binding himself to support to the full extent of his ability the Constitution of the United States. As they moved away one remarked, "Springer is certainly a malicious39 liar40 or an ignoramus."
"'Verily, he hath his reward,'" the other remarked.
"Pray tell me what it is."
"I have heard that Aesop once said that there is a compensation for everything. A friend said, 'You are wrong! What compensation hath the fool?'
"Aesop replied, 'The fool has the joy of being wise in his own conceit41.' If Aesop is correct, Springer should experience a great deal of joy."
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1
earnings
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| n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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7
benignly
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| adv.仁慈地，亲切地 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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jovial
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| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
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maple
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| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
endorse
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| vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意 | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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breaches
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| 破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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janitor
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| n.看门人，管门人 | |
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deduct
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| vt.扣除，减去 | |
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withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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32
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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liar
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| n.说谎的人 | |
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conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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