In the early ‘70s developers moved on the 14th street and strip areas. Most rental property left became too expensive. The cheap places were filled with folks full of most anything but peace and Love. A rash of firebombings discouraged attempts to build a more solid community presence. No city officials seemed to look too hard to solve destruction so helpful to the big boys plans for urban renewal projects. Anyone with kids or wanting a peaceful, easy feeling had to look elsewhere.

Many People view the killing of Tree on 14th as being just after the high water mark.

decline – The Great Speckled Bird Jan. 1971 Vol. 4 #1 pg. 3

14th St. Shooting

“Tree” died in the doorway of 238 14th Street early Tuesday morning. He was shot twice with a shotgun, residents of the house said, after he refused to leave and advanced toward one person with his hands in his coat pockets. According to police reports a loaded pistol was found on his body.

238 14th Street, once the elegant residence of the French Consul, is the last of-the 14th Street “crash pads” that helped create the original Atlanta Hip Colony of Peachtree and 14th fame.

In the past few months 238, known as “the Columns,” had become armed for self-defense. As a friend of one of the residents put it, “Every time one of these tough dudes needs money he goes up there and rips them off.” About two weeks ago two guys were shot when they tried to rip off the place. The cops came and according to one source, said, “If they come up here to rob you—shoot ’em.” A few days later two more guys tried a rip off again. They were shot at too.

“Tree should have known that he couldn’t go up there late at night like that, I wouldn’t do it,” said someone who knew him. “He wasn’t a bad guy, a lot of people didn’t like him, but I did.” Another said that Tree “hassled me and hassled a lot of people, if you had any money on you it was his.”

The cops descended on 14th Street after the shooting, arresting everyone they found in the house, charging them with murder. It’s hard to imagine the police arresting seventeen residents of a rooming house in nearby Ansley Park and charging them with murder when one man was shot by one person. Then the police vandalized the house in what was’ described as a “search,” One UPI reporter who saw several rooms said, “they destroyed the place.” Later reporters for the Bird and the straight press were refused admittance.

Then someone discovered that one of those arrested is Robert TSouvas, a defendant in the My Lai massacre. Suddenly what is sensational  local news, “Hippie Area Shotgun Slaying Linked to Feud With Bikers,” becomes very hot national news.

T’Souvas has been stationed at Ft. McPherson here in Atlanta. In July he was arrested on charges of possession of grass. His attorney charged that the CIA was conducting a campaign against the My Lai defendants. The charges were dropped. T’Souvas says that he and his wife and child were asleep in their room in the back of the Columns when they were awakened by the police and arrested.

As the Bird goes to press it seems that the police are preparing to drop murder charges against the seventeen, presumably accepting the seemingly obvious explanation of the seventeen that the guy who shot split before the cops arrived. But word is that drug charges and charges of occupying a dive will be left against at least some.

What about the feud between Hippies and Bikers? Well, in the first place, Tree was not a member of a bike club. There is a lot of destructive violence in Atlanta’s freak community, but it’s not be- cause of “feuds.” It’s there for many of the same reasons that there’s violence in Buttermilk Bottom— because it’s hard to survive when Amerika constantly tries to wipe you out. Why do the police and the straight press push the notion of a “feud?” Because if we don’t watch it, it will keep us divided at a time when we must get together to survive.

—gene guerrero