216
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Utah Fuel Company. All of the ranking leaders of the Klan were said to be Masons. It was claimed that a few of them were active Mormons, although this was somewhat clouded because some members were inactive Mormons and others considered to be Mormons were not members themselves but were married to active Mormon women. The Klan drew support from those who opposed the 1922 strike, opposed Greeks and other southern European immigrants, and were anti-Catholic.29 Klan activity began in Helper. In 1923 county attorney Henry Ruggeri accused Helper officials of taking bribes from bootleggers, gamblers, and prostitutes. In the aftermath five Helper city officials resigned, including Mayor Albert M. Evans. New elections brought in former city recorder Glenroy Ballinger as mayor; he brought to town as his police chief Mike C. Brennan from Colorado. Brennan was a well-known Ku Klux Klan recruiter, and the two men began to organize the Klan in Helper.30 On the night of 30 August 1924, the KKK burst upon the public scene when four automobiles came roaring into Helper from the north with a lighted torch in the rear car. They sped to a hid east of town and lighted a cross which measured approximately ten by fifteen feet. After it burned, the cars quickly and quietly left in the same direction they came.31 Two months later, on 3 November the Klan held a wed-attended recruitment meeting in Price City Hall with a Dr. Polly speaking on "the big issues vitally affecting America." Some who attended were seriously leaning toward the Klan; others came because of their curiosity; and a few, like Clara and Maud Ruggeri, came to learn about their enemies. The Ruggeris were asked to leave the meeting, but they stayed. Even though the Klansmen were hooded and masked, the Ruggeris were able to identify several of the Klansmen by their physical characteristics.32 Recruitment to the Klan, with the exception of the Polly lecture, was usually a quiet word-of-mouth process. Before long, membership included men from Castle Gate, Helper, Spring Glen, Price, and several other camps. Often potential members were invited to attend a meeting about Americanism. Helper City electrician B. Hofma
