Declaring that he “would not countenance unclean methods in Maryland,” Frank H. Beall resigned Wednesday night as grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Maryland. He announced that he had severe all connection with the organization. It is expected to lead to a split among klansmen in Maryland.
“All I care to say now is that the national officers wanted to propagandize the State along lines that were objectionable to me and I refused to permit it because of my past experiences,” Mr. Beall said.
This propaganda is said to involve the collection of $10 a year from a member, the national officers to get $5 of it. This is believed to be only one feature of the program Mr. Beall found objectionable to him and a large group of his friends in the Order.
“I will not go down the line with anything that is not clean,” Mr. Beall asserted. He added that he expected to make a full statement in a few days.
Mr. Beall joined the Klan in 1918, having been the having been the ninety-ninth man in Maryland to go into the Order. His friends indicated some time ago that he was out of sympathy with the national officers, but his resignation was a surprise to them.
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