Life, 1921-12-22 · page 10 of 34
Life — December 22, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story mocks the Ku Klux Klan by presenting a domestic scene where a KKK member ("Papa" Kelley) explains to his young daughter "Little Knute" that the "knight before Klistmas" involves lodge meetings rather than traditional Christmas celebrations. The humor derives from the ironic contrast between wholesome family Christmas traditions and the Klan's actual violent activities. The accompanying cartoons labeled "Physical Culture," "The Ladies Home Journal," and "The Breeder & Sportsman" parody magazine mastheads, suggesting the Klan presents itself through respectable domestic imagery while concealing its true nature. The satire exposes how ordinary-seeming American families and institutions could harbor extremist ideology, critiquing both the Klan's deceptions and contemporary society's willingness to normalize them.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Klistmas in the Klan Neal R. O'Hara T was the knight before Klistmas. Little Knute Kelley, aged 3.1416, was kneeling before the fireplace. Per House Rule No. 91,470, as indicated in the Kloran, nothing but kindling was thrown on the fire. Little Knute’s mama was knitting. Her maiden name was Nelson and that made Little Knute a half-Nelson. His papa was attending a meeting of the Klan on a well-known _ knoll just outside of Atlanta. Finally Mama Kelley fell asleep. The kindling burned up and the house grew cold. Little Knute sneezed er- choo !”—and that woke Mama up. She put on her kimono, Just then Papa came in. “Kr-r-r,” said Papa Kelley. “It is cold in here. I must warm myself up.” So Mr. Kelley poured himself out a Kentucky knight-kap. “Well, Little Knute,” said Papa as he began to feel well, “do you know what knight this is?” “It is lodge knight at the Ku-Klux Klan,” said Little Knute. “Knix, it is more than that,” said Papa. “It is the knight before Klistmas. It is the knight when good Klis Klingle visits all good little children.” “Oh, confide about good Klis Klingle,” entreated Little Knute. “Well, to begin with,” said Papa, “Klis Klingle comes from the Frozen North. I don’t mean places like Phila- \ delphia, New York and Boston, although those towns are very cold. I got that straight from the Kleagles’ reports to-night. Good Klis Klingle comes from farther north than that—even farther north than Kennebunk, Me.” fe “Go no farther,” said Little Knute. “Well, anyway,” continued Papa, “Klis hitches up his th sleigh to his reindeer and loads up with lots of toys. Then he kisses Mrs. Klingle and starts off on his trip around the lo world and also the invisible empire.” “He must go faster than the Empire Limited,” chirped as Little Knute, for the rascal was very fond of time-taliles. “Ah, he does,” replied Papa. “He goes so fast he sounds fo a klaxon without slowing up at latitude and longitude in- tersections. And to make the reindeer go all the faster, he me whales them with a knout.” in “They must be Ukraine-deer,” said Little Knute, for he also read the New Republic. “The Breeder 2 Sportsman”? The Gentle J R A Conscientious Old Subscriber Shows the Ef comicbooks.com