Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-08-15
NEGROES IN CHICAGO
Conditions Out OF Which Race Eric.
tIOn Has Grown.
POLITICS HELPED MAKE TROUBLE

POLITICS HELPED MAKE TROUBLE
Some prifted to Great Metropolis
Others Were Brought There-More
Vicious Glasses Allowed Full Play
Better Glass of Whites Do Not
Welcome Them as Neighbors.
F. Frank Gardiner in New York Times.
Exploitation Of the negro in Chicago,
by politicians is regarded by many as
the chief underlying cause of the race
riots in that city. The bestowal or
political preferment, and the license
under which everything went" in the
Black Belt Of the second largest Ameri-
can city was the inflammable part OF
the tinder which finally set the city
ablaze.
The influx of thousands of negroes
from the south in the last three years
was a contributing factor. Their arrival
in an already congested district made
expansion necessary. Steadily the
Black Belt, which stretches for five
miles through the heart Of the densely
populated south side Of Chicago, bulg-
ed out into what few years ago was
a choice residential district. This
continuous encroachment aroused pro-
tests and bitter feeling.
The advance guard Of the colored
race which moved into white neighbor-
hoods was the better class OF negro
families, who sought to escape the
steady encroachment Of the undesira-
BILE element Of their own race. They
had no desire to antagonize their white
neighbors. Their relations had always
been friendly. But they were between
two fires. Pressing always behind
them was the influx Of a lawless ele-
ment of their own race. Few Of the
newcomers brought negro women with
them, and some Chicago observers
hold the absence of home life among
them partly accountable for the pre-
sent trouble.
Political Power.
The second ward in Chicago Is the
heart Of the Black Belt. Eighty per
cent. of the voters in this ward are
black. White men represented this
ward in the city council until 1915. but
now both aldermen are negroes.
Two men control most Of the negro
vote In Chicago. They are Congress
man Martin B. Madden of the First
Illinois District and George F. Hard
ing, former alderman, later state sena-
tor, and now city controller.
It was the balance of power held by
the negroes and swung by Harding
that gave William Hale Thompson
more widely known as pro-German
than for his kindnesses to negroes, the
nomination for mayor Of Chicago In the
spring of 1915. Harding had repre-
sented the second ward in Chicago for
several years. He retired and per-
mitted Oscar De Priest, a negro, to be
elected. In return for this favor the
negroes swept the mayoralty nomina-
ton into Thompsons' lap. Thompson
won the nomination by margin OF a
few hundred votes.
De Priest became one Of the chief
floor leaders in the city council for the
Thompson administration. His public
career was cut short by his indictment
In connection with the alleged collec-
ton Of tribute In the Black Belt, but
he was later acquitted. Another negro
succeeded him. Then the second
ward negroes grew bolder. demanded
both seats in the city council, and got
them.
In his campaign for the nomination
and election in 1915 Thompson catered
to the negro voters. After his election
he rewarded many of their leaders
with jobs.
So openly did the Thompson crowd
treat with the negroes that somebody
dubbed the city hall Uncle Toms
Cabin" One man caused handbills to
be printed, setting forth complete
cast of characters. which included
Mayor Thompson and other city hall
jobholders, white and black. 1t got a
big laugh, which is Chicago's usual
good -natured way Of disposing Of her
problems.
Lid of Tho Black Belt.
Thompson had been mayor only q
ent that there was no lid so far as the
Black Belt was concerned. From other
sections of the city white men and
women Of the old underworld. who had
experienced some long. lean years.
focked to the neighborhood. White
men bought saloons and cabarets, and
pushe ed negroes to the front as their
ostensible owners. Soon the Black
Belt became known as the district
where everything went"
All-night cabarets were jammed
with whites and blacks until the morn
ing sun streaked the sky over Lake
Michigan. In other parts of the city
saloons and cabarets closed at ] a. m,
but automobiles lined the curbs for
blocks all night In the Black Belt, and
late comers stood in line for hours out
side some of the more notorious black
and tan" cabarets waiting for a chance
to get inside. Jazz bands filled the air
with syncopated sound, while in the
cabarets white and blacks intermingled
in carousaL 1t was here that the
"shimmy' dance is said to have origi-
mated.
The rattle of dice and the click of
poker chips were seldom stilled in the
heart Of this district. Gambling was
conducted on a business basis. A
syndicate" was formed, and no inde-
pendent could operate successfully in
that district without its approval
These gambling houses were run under
the name of clubs, but fat bankroll
gained easy admission to them.
"Bill" Lewis. noted for years as a
gambler, conducted a game IN Thirty
fifth street near State street. So braz-
en- was the conduct Of this gambling
house that for long time Lewis did
not bother to pull the curtains down,
n