se, was a problem which accompanied the influx of
negroes. The incoming population, consisting largely of lodgers, was
a misfit in the small cottages designed for families, and they were
generally neglected by the tenant and by the local authorities.
The segregated vice district was located in the negro locality. The
crowding which followed the influx forced some few negroes into the
white localities. Against this invasion there was strong opposition
which culminated in trouble.[108]

The roots of the fateful horror that made East St. Louis notorious,
however, are to be found largely in a no less notorious civic
structure. Politics of a shady nature was the handmaiden of the local
administration. The human fabric of the town was made up of sad types
of rough, questionable characters, drawn to the town by its industries
and the money that flowed from them. There was a large criminal
element. These lived in a little corner of the town, where was
located also the segregated vice district. Negroes were interested in
politics. In fact, they were a considerable factor and succeeded in
placing in office several black men of their choice.

Trouble started at the Aluminum Ore Works which employed a large
number of whites and blacks. In February of 1917 the men struck while
working on government contracts. Immediately, it is claimed, negroes
were sought for in other States to take their places. An adjustment
was made, but it lasted only a short while. Then followed a second
strike at which the employers balked. In this they felt reasonably
secure for negroes were then pouring into the city from the South
during the spring exodus. There followed numerous evidences of
brooding conflict such as insults on the street cars, comments and
excitement over the daily arrival of large numbers from the South.
On one day three hundred are said to have arrived. Standing on
the streets, waiting for cars, lost in wandering about the streets
searching for homes, the negroes presented a 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 serie