NEGROES ARM FOR TROUBLE.
Symptoms of Race Trouble Out on
East Eighteenth Street.
Fear of an attack by whites kept several hundred negroes living in the vicinity of Vine and Twenty-third streets awake until an early hour this morning. Rumors that the "Eighteenth street gang" was going to come with firearms, tar and ropes and make a second Springfield of the district, caused the negroes to arm themselves and stay up at night, watching on the doorsteps of their houses for the approach of the white mob.
Sunday night the undertaking rooms of A. T. Moore, a negro undertaker at 1820 East Eighteenth street, were burned down and the report was spread that the building had been fired by white men. On the same night a crowd of negroes gathered at Twenty-fifth and Vine streets and eleven officers from the Flora avenue police station were sent to disperse them. They went away quietly.
Yesterday Dave Epstien, a pawnbroker at 1418 East Eighteenth street, reported to the police that all the firearms he carried in stock had been sold to negroes. Other dealers in firearms also sold many weapons.
"We don't want to have another Springfield," said one of the negroes at late hour last night, "but we do intend to protect ourselves if the police will not protect us."
Meanwhile, in the headquarters of the redoubtable "Eighteenth street gang" all was peace. There were no preparations being made to attack negroes, so far as could be learned. The police attribute the scare to the malicious tale bearing of idle negroes.
