helpless group. The search for homes carried them into the most undesirable sections. Here the scraggy edges of society met. The traditional attitude of unionists toward negroes began to assert itself. Fear that such large numbers would weaken present and subsequent demands aroused considerable opposition to their presence. Meetings were held, exciting speeches were made and street fights became common. The East St. Louis Journal is said to have printed a series of articles under the caption, "Make East St. Louis a Lily White Town." It was a simple matter of touching off the smoldering tinder. In the riot that followed over a hundred negroes were killed. These, for the most part lived away from the places of the most violent disturbances, and were returning home, unconscious of the fate that awaited them. The riot has recently been subject to a congressional investigation, but few convictions resulted and those whites convicted escaped serious punishment.

Chicago, the metropolis of the West, remembered in the South since the World's Fair as a far-away city of hope from which come all great things; unceasingly advertised through its tremendous mail order and clothing houses, schools and industries until it became a synonym for the "North," was the mouth of the stream of negroes from the South. It attracted all types of men, brought them in, encouraged them and cared for them because it needed them. It is estimated that within the period of eighteen months beginning January, 1916, more than fifty thousand negroes entered the city. This estimate was based on averages taken from actual count of daily arrivals.There were at work in this city a number of agencies which served to
stimulate the movement. The stock yards were sorely in need of men. It
was reported that they had emissaries in the South. Whether it is true
or not, it is a fact that it was most widely advertised throughout the
States of Mississippi and Louisiana that employment could easily be
secured in the Chicago stock yards district. The report was circulated
that fifty thousand men were needed, and the packers were providing
houses for migrants and caring for them until they had established
themselves. The Illinois Central Railroad brought hundreds on free
transportation with the understanding that the men would enter the
employ of the company. The radical negro newspapers published
here urged negroes to leave the South and promised employment and
protection. It is indeed little wonder that Chicago received so great
a number.

The most favorable aspect of their condition in their new home is

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