Stephenson Heads Defiant Klansmen

From The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, May 13, 1924:  Ku Klux Klan representatives from ninety-one Indiana county Klan councils, meeting last night at the Cadle Tabernacle, defied the “despotism and imperialistic power” of the national organization and unanimously adopted resolutions of self-determination for the Indiana Klan, electing D. C. Stephenson, “the old man,” grand dragon for the realm of Indiana.  Speaking after the meeting, Stephenson said, “It does not mean secession.  As the strongest and most effective unit in the nation the Klansmen of Indiana take leadership of their own destiny.  They have thrown off an outside control which was out of harmony with their purposes.  By their influence for constructive citizenship, they will bring out what is best in city, state, and nation.  Indiana has 92 per cent of the native-born citizens with the best blood and traditions of America.”  

Advertisement:

“Stephenson Heads Defiant Klansmen,” The Indianapolis Star, 13 May 1924, p. 1:4