The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-09
Negroes VINO Filled
Need Of Short Labor
Now Grave Problem

Chicago. Aug. Chicago has It's
race problem. The second largest
city in the United States is unable to
solve it,
The negro Invasion began soon
after the outbreak of the world war,
when industrial plants were calling
for labor. Agents penetrated the
South, spreading reports of Northern
riches. race equality and glowing OPP
uortuniues among the imaginative
colored men. 1t was not hard to in
duce them to leave their fields of
cotton and humble cabins for the
city of promise. They came by the
thousands.
Great packing plants were teeming
with black men and women: descend
ants of former slaves found employ
ment in the city departments, they
worked on railroads and in machine
shops. Many OF them made good.
But when the war was over and
the white men came back to their old
employment, thousands of negroes
found themselves out of work. Many
became criminals and scores of muir
ders and holdups were traced to
negroes not so long before discharged
from Industrial plants. These Incl
rents contributed to the resentment
of the white people.
Under the doctrine of race equality
Chicago could not attempt segrega-
ton in the schools. But white chill
dren refused to occupy seats with
little negro girls and boys Clashes
were frequent and sometimes they
got beyond control Of principals and
teachers. One instance serves to i'll
lustrate:
A school principal who feared his
negro charges would be imposed upon
after leaving school undertook to
escort them home A negro man, the
father OF one OF the children, re-
scented the principals action, and
charged him with attempting segre-
cation. He assaulted the white man.
Other white men and negroes gath
cred. A race riot was In progress
In the shots that were fred one negro
was wounded. The negro responsible
for the trouble was killed leaptng
| from bridge while fleeing the mob,
The incident was used by Southern
ers to illustrate their contention that
the Northern white man was no diff
ferent from the Southern white man
in dealing with the negro as neigh
Dor.
Another cause for frequent clashes
has been a tendency Of negroes to &C.
cupy houses in exclusive neighbor-
hoods peopled by whites. The ex-
pahding negro population forced
Iecores OF colored families to move
into fats where white families lived.
In one section of the city, it was
charged, white householders contrib
uted to general fund that was paid
| to gunner to dynamite homes of ne
groes. A negro child was killed and
several colored persons were injured.
A committee OF negroes brought
their complaint TO the city council.
but found no relief A special com
mittee called on Mayor Thompson,
but the mayor declined to- meet it
Promised police protection brought
no relief from dynamite outrages.
In most cases a second warning to a
negro family to move is not pecces-
sary. for innumerable instances have
taught the negro that the second
a stick of dynamite.
A conference of white men and ne
gro race leaders has been called to
Try to solve the problem. Scores of
negroes have retained South, con-
i4inced that condSttSht there are more
favorable to them than in the North.
They say the Southern white man
| Understands" the negro and pro-
vides q place in civic and industrial
life for him. while the Northern man
proclaims to the world equality of
the races but fails to practice 1t when
his neighbor is a negro.