The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-22
A Negro Church and Four Homes Burned Yesterday
 at East Birmingham
WHITE MAN WAS SEEN
 AT NEGRO CHURCH
One Negro Received Note Last Week Warning Him to Leave or He Would Soon Have No
 Home

The fire bugs in East Birmingham apparently again got in their work when the A. NJ E. Zion church at Fifty-ffth street and Ninth avenue was set afire at o'clock yesterday morn ing, From the church the fire spread up the block to three dwelling houses, all occupied by negroes. and then jumped the street and caught one house on the other side. All of the houses were occupied by negroes. The loss amounted to s290o.
 About o'clock yesterday morning a negro woman. who lives directly back of tho Zion church, says that she saw white man or one who looked like | a white man set fire to the back door of the church. She called her husband and they ran over to the church. The whole door had been saturated with oil and though they attempted to eX- tlngush the blaze 1t gained headway rapidly.
 The neighbors were awakened and together they attempted to fight the l fire, but tho wind was strong and 1t spread rapidly. About 20 minutes after the discovery of tho fire the call was turned in to the Woodlawn fire sta | tion. The wagons made a quick run. Despite the condition of the roads in | East Birmingham and the fact that the l station Is about two miles distant from the scene of the fire the firemen were playing water on the fire in exactly eight minutes. When they arrived the rife had spread to three houses in the block and the church was almost de- stroyed.
 Avondale Called on for Aid
 About 3;30 o'clock the wagons at No. 3, Avondale, were called out to aid the Woodlawn boys, as 1t was prac- tca1ly impossible for seven men, the number of firemen at Woodlawn, to handle the fire, with the wind blowing at 20 miles an hour. They had the blaze under control in less than an hour and half and prevented it's spreading further
 The following buildings were dam aged by the blaze: The A. M. E. Zion church, corner of Fifty-ffth street and Ninth avenue, estimated loss, $500; An drew West, next door to church on Fifty-hfth street. estimated loss, $550 | w. hs husNiilt htAN ooOit hNNe'i'S NN stroyed, loss 5000; J. ". Wilson. next door, partially destroyed, loss $400; J. T. clay. across street from Mustin's, partially destroyed, loss $500.
 Just as the firemen gained control of this fire three negro men came run ming up and said that fire had been started in the grocery store of ". M. Muslin, two blocks away, and that they rl,At ilrl lt ma I g to a pile of shavings soaked with oil under the front of the building They arrived in time to put the fire out with only a small loss of about S5o'
 Think Incendiaries Are White
 It is the opinion among the fremen, both of the Woodlawn and the city stations that the fire bug or fire bugs are white men, who are taking this way to fight the negroes out of this section of East Birmingham. oSme months ago an ef- fort was made by some of the citizens of this section to oust the negroes from their homes, claiming that they had been an- noyed frequently by bolsterous parties in the negro houses, and that they were constant victims of thieves. The city au- thorties refused to take any step to- ward moving the negroes. The negroes in the section say that they have been repeatedly threatened by white men, who told them that they must move or they would be sorry.
 One of the negroes whose home was burned yesterday morning had received a letter from an unknown person some days ago The letter read;
 'Nigger: If you don't move away from this place you won't have any home. Get out right away or you'll wish you had.
 There was no signature to the note.
 Within the past month five other negro families have been burned out of their homes, the estimated loss being si555. It is evident to both the police department and the firemen that a determined effort is being made to run the negroes out of their homes in East Birmingham.
 Chief Bennett of the fire department Is working on the matter, and 1t was stated yesterday at the fire station that he had secured the assistance of the police. In all probability the matter will be brought before the commissioners.