The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-10-28
NEGRO JOHN COOK
HELD IN JAIL AS
SUSPECT |NATTACK
ON MRS. MAULO|N
Police Get Warning of Gath
ering Crowds in South
WOOdlawn and Hurry
to Scene
FEELING TENSE
AND TROUBLE is =
GREATLY FEARED
Grandfather of Victim Suf-
fers Stroke From Shock
and His Life Is Now
Despaired Of

AT the close Of an eventful day, John
Cook, a negro suspected of having as
saulted Mrs. Maud Mauldin, at her home
at 1860 Sixth avenue South woodlawn, at
2:15 o'clock Thursday afternoon, was
placed in the Jefferson county Jail to
await a positive Identification from his
alleged victim this morning.
Mrs Mauldin was in a highly nervous
condition throughout yesterday and when
the negro, John Cook, was brought before
her she would not state positively that
he was her assailant. However she
would not state that he was not the
negro that struck her over the head with
the butt end of a pistol, and the police
carried the prisoner away to await an
other day when Mrs Mauldin would be in
calmer mood and able, to the best of
her judgment, to make positive identi-
fication.
There was much alarm expressed
throughout the eastern end of the city
last night at rumored race friction.
The Mauldins and their friends, it was
stated, were reported as in desperate
mood
The police were informed that the clan
was to gather at F'iftieth street and Sixth
avenue, south, at 9 O'Clock last night
near grocery store. The police, headed
by Chief Martin Eagan and Chief of De-
tectives 7. J. Shirley, arrived about .
o CLOCK, and ran into a gathering of
about so men, who explained that they
We're out seeing the sights
SLOWLY DISPENSING
An automobile full of newspaper men
arrived on the scene shortly afterwards,
and it was noticed that the crowd was
slowly dispensing. The police, in the
meanwhile, stood about chatting pleasant
ly, some with the citizens of South Wood
lawn and some with the reporters. The
general trend of the conversation was
that Woodrow Wilson would be reelected
President of the United States.
Aout the locality of 'Mauldinville," and
generally throughout Woodlawn and
Avondale, all the houses were lighted up
and the faces of women peered out OF
windows at passing automobiles. The
night was extremely cold and still, and
the groups of citizens walking in twos
and threes In various parts of Woodlawn
indicated that there was something I'M
usual abroad. The police sensed that
there was something doing" and the
motorcycle scouts were kept patrolling
diligently throughout that part of the
city, but all their reports only heightened
the alarm as it indicated that men were
gathering In every part of Woodlawn and
even some were reported in East Lake
on the move.
One of the mosts significant features
yesterday afternoon when the negro, John
Cook, was brought into the Mauldin home
to be identified was the dramatic search
of the police for pistols upon all male
members of the household. When the
vNAlta 4.
table was Uttered with all kinds of re-
volvers, including Derringers and auto
MATES. The members of the Mauldn
family were frankly DESTROYS of killing
the negro the moment he was positively
identified
GRANDFATHER HAS STROKE
A tragic incident yesterday that fur
Their aggravated the temper of the Mauldin
clan was the fact that v. Mauldn, the
grandfather of the family, and one of the
pioneer citizens of. Birmingham, suffered
such a violent nervous shock from the
assault on his daughter-in-law that he is
now seriously ill and last night his, life
was despaired Of
While the police were standing about
Ffftieth street and Sixth avenue last
night they expressed the nope that no
negroes would alight from the Tidewater
cars at that particular point. 1t was
pointed out that all the crowd wanted
was an incentive to start the war
path" and the sight of a negro would
have furnished the spark for the turmoil
to begin. However, negroes in the Wood
lawn district remained cautiously at home
last night and did not aggravate the citi-
zens of that locality with their presence.
While the police have the negro, John
Cook, in the county Jail they are still
maintaining a rigid search for other sus-
poets.
AT an early hour this morning most of
the police had been withdrawn from the
Woodlawn district and only the motor
cycle scouts and Chief Martin Eagan re-
manned at police headquarters to await
any possible developments.