But the protests of aldermen and ministers hardly impeded the growth of the KKK's Chicago chapters. In 1922, the Klan initiated 4,650 new members in another ceremony in a field at 91st Street and Harlem Avenue. More than 25,000 supporters welcomed the initiates. For the first time, according to the Tribune, a Chicago reporter was allowed to witness the ritual: "Searching eyes inspected them (the candidates) to make certain at the last minute that none should enter 'not fit' for the ritual of the Klan. When the circular march was completed a torch was applied to the cotton covering of the cross, and as it burned the grand representative intoned the oath binding the new members to the Klan."