Insidious activities here of the Silver Shrits, which almost brought them success in “putting it over” on Gov. Miriam A. Ferguson, have successfully been scotched.
Literature sent to The Ferguson Forum, the weekly newspaper voice of the Governor and her husband, Former Gov. James E. Ferguson, by the Silver Shirts was unsuspected and made its way into the Forum columns.
Prompt protests by watchful friends of the Governor here, especially of Robert Stern, who is a close friend of the Administration and a member of the Governor’s staff, caused other Silver Shirt publicity matter which had been marked for publication in the Forum to be thrown out.
INCREASE WORK IN DALLAS
The Silvert Shirts are apparently increasing their activities in Texas and particularly in Dallas. They will find no support from the Ferguson Administration, since both the Governor and her husband have always been violently opposed to organizations of this kind. They were among the most vigorous opponents of the Ku Klux Klan during its heydey here.
The fight on the Silver Shirts that is being made here, although quietly, is built on the appeal to patriotism, A resolution has been submitted to the Governor for her consideration either as a proclamation of her own or as a joint resolution of the Legislature which citizens here think might well be copied in other States.
The resolution declares opposition to the organization of any order, secret, fraternal or otherwise, that would in any way tend to prejudice the rights or belief of any Protestant, Catholic or Jew or incite enmity, hatred or civil strife among our people.”
WARNS AGAINST HAMPERING
It denounced “as unpatriotic and against public policy any act or acts by any individual or set of individuals who should attempt to perfect or organize any such order or sponsor its propaganda.
It declares further that the President will be hampered in his efforts to make the national recovery act succeed by any appeal of any group to religious or racial hatred.
In this connection, fears of Jewish citizens here that the secret United American Actives recently formed here was such an organization as the resolution denounces have been put to rest.
The organization, despite its leadership by men who were formerly high in the ranks of the Ku Klux Klan here, seems to be merely a secret enforcement agency for the NRA. Many citizens do not look on it with favor, but some Jews have become members of it and they say that “it is all right.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
