Arthur Hornbui Bell (February 14, 1891 – March 1973) was an attorney and the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey.

Early years

He was born on February 14, 1891, in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

to William John Bell of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Arthur was a member of a vaudeville team known as "Bell and Bell", after marrying Leah Hamlin (1895–1951). They went to Europe after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1919 to entertain the troops, "for the boys," as a members of the "Y" and "Overseas Theater League under Y.M.C.A.". Leah Bell rode a

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a bicycle frame, frame with a bicycle saddle, saddle, and has a human-powered vehicle, pedal-driven direct-drive mechanism, direct-drive. A two spee ...

and Art and Leah had ventriloquism dummies shows. Arthur Bell is known to have been a member of the "Over There" theatre organized under

Benjamin Franklin Keith Benjamin Franklin Keith (January 26, 1846 – March 26, 1914) was an American vaudeville theater owner, highly influential in the evolution of variety theater into vaudeville. Biography Early years Keith was born in Hillsboro Bridge, New ...

and visited Belgium, England, France, and the Netherlands.Wild, Michael R., FOI/PA No. 1133485-000 Unclassified 17 September 2009 case #690F-09: Investigation Report of Arthur Bell Army Air Forces Art and Leah are also listed in the official record of the "Over There" theater as vaudeville players.

Klan years

Around 1922, Bell became the Grand Dragon of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

for

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. In 1925 he wrote the introduction to Alma White's pro-Klan book ''

The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy ''The Ku Klux Klan in Prophecy'' is a 144-page book written by Bishop Alma Bridwell White in 1925 and illustrated by Reverend Branford Clarke. In the book she uses scripture to rationalize that the Ku Klux Klan is sanctioned by God "through divi ...

'':

This book brings out vividly the titanic struggle now taking place, not only in the United States, but over the entire world, and while at the present time the battle raging has not reached the point where bullets, swords and poison gas are the reasons used, the time will soon arrive when the Roman Catholic craving for world-power will, if not checked, cause a revival of a religious war that will be far more disastrous than the late World War. Bishop White deserves the highest praise for her work on this truly wonderful book of "light" and it is hoped that it may reach out into the minds of Protestants and Catholics alike and bring them to a sense of realization as to where this great un-American movement to make the world Catholic will ultimately end.

In 1926, he wrote the introduction to '' Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty'' and he also headed a group that converted

Camp Evans Camp Evans Historic District is an area of the Camp Evans Formerly Used Defense Site in Wall Township, New Jersey. The site of the military installation () is noted for a 1914 transatlantic radio receiver and various World War II/Cold War labo ...

into a Klan resort. In the same year, he was paid $1,596.96 by the

King Kleagle A Kleagle is an officer of the Ku Klux Klan whose main role is to recruit new members and must maintain the three guiding principles: recruit, maintain control, and safeguard. King Kleagles are appointed as leaders of a region and have delegation ...

of the Ku Klux Klan in New Jersey, to save the Kleagle's son, Roscoe Carl Ziegler, from charges of embezzlement. In 1928, he called the

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a ...

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a C ...

unfit to lead. In 1940,

James Colescott James Arnold Colescott (January 11, 1897 – January 11, 1950) was an American white supremacist who was Imperial Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Under financial pressure from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for back taxes, he disb ...

had him removed as head of the Klan of

. He was also vice president of the

German American Bund The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (german: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FoN ...

. His first wife Leah spoke at many Klan events. In 1940 he was investigated by the Dies Committee for plans to merge the KKK and the Nazi movement. Bell was interviewed by the Military Intelligence Service and investigated for "disaffection" in 1942. The case was closed, "no further investigation appears warranted," and the report was sent to

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...

. Later in life, Bell recounted his racial views and said: "I think tolerance should be taught in the public schools." He died in March 1973 in New Jersey.

Publications

''Ku Klux Klan Or the Knights of Columbus Klan: America Or Rome''
(1921)
''Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty''
(1926) by Alma White – he wrote the introduction

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Arthur H. 1891 births 1973 deaths American people of English descent Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragons People from Bloomfield, New Jersey People from Long Branch, New Jersey German American Bund members Old Right (United States) Former Ku Klux Klan members Former white supremacists