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required creativity. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK), dormant since the late 1800s, was revived in part to counteract the economic gains made by African Americans during World War I. The Eureau of Investigation used the Mann Act to bring Louisiana’s Philandering KKK "Imperial Kleagle" to justice. - Through these investigations and through more traditional investigations of nuetrality violations and antitrust Violations, -the Bureau of Investigation gained stature. Although the Harding Administration suffered from unqualified and sometimes corrupt officials, the Progressive Era reform tradition continued among the professional Department of Justice Special Agents. The new Bureau of Investigation Director, William J. Burns, who had previously run his own detective agency, appointed 26-year-old J. Edgar Hoover és Assistant Director. Hoover, a graduate of George Washington University Law School, had worked for the Department of Justice since 1917, where he headed the enemy alien operations during World War I and assisted in the General Intelligence Division under Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, investigating suspected anarchists and communists. After Harding died in 1923, his successor, Calvin Coolidge, appointed replacements for Harding’s crenies in the Cabinet. For the new Attorney General, Coolidge appointed attorney Harlan Fiske Stone. Stone then, on May 10, 1924, selected Hoover to head the Bureau of Investigation. By inclination ane training, Hoover embodied the Progressive tradition. Eis appointment ensured that the Bureau of Investigation would keexs that tradition alive. When Hoover took over, the Bureau of Investication had approximately 650 employees, including 441 Special Agents. Ee immediately fired those Agents he considered unqualified and proceeded to professionalize the organization. For example, Hoover abolished the seniority rule of promotion and introduced uniform performance appraisals. Regular inspections of Headquarters end field office operations were scheduled. New Agents -had to be between 25 and 35 years old. Then, in January 192€, Hoover established a formal training course for new Agents. Ke alse returned to the earlier preference for Special Agents with law cr accounting experience. ; , The new Director was &lso keenly aware that the Buresu ct Investication could not fight crime without public support. In remarks prepared for the Attorney General in 1925, he wrote, "The Agents of the Buresu of Investigation have been impressed with the fact that the real problem of law enforcement is in trying to obtain the cooperation and Sympathy of the public and that they cannot hope to get such cooperation until they themselves merit the respect of the public." as Also in the early days of Hoover’s directorship, a long 4