The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-01-28
Ak ASSAULTS ARE
UNSOLvED CRIMES,
RECORDS DECLARE
Prove Police Protection Here
Inadequate or System of
Running Down Crimi-
nails Is Wrong

Proof that Birmingham has en-
tirely inadequate police protection or
that something is wrong with the
system of running down criminals
is shown by the appalling list of ak
murders within the past two year.
The record shows there have been
81 of these murderous assaults with
in the past "a months resulting in
II dead and IT wounded and not in
single case has the guilty one been
caught. Public attention has been
focused on the subject during the
past week by the-attack apea a -groz
csryman ana his wife Tuesday night,
the wife dying and the husband not
expected to recover and a further
attack upon a restaurant proprietor
Thursday night.
The murders of recent months
have been divided into two main
groups. In the first case grocerymen
and cafe proprietors have been the
victims. In the other group are in
cludcd the cases in which intermin-
Cling of the race was involved
Theories regarding the crimes have
covered wide range. While the
attacks in some cases have apparent
ly had robbery as a motive, in 9TH
ers the idea has been advanced that
they were the result of quarrels be-
tween negroes who had stolen prop
erty and men who were acting as
fences" in disposing of the property.
Police have also held to the theory
that number OF the cases bear evil
denees of having been committed by
drug addicts IN periods of delirium
in order to get money to buy more
ha
evidence, however. to bear out any
of these theories.
To the public 1t has seemed that
the attacks upon the grocers and
cafe men and their wives must have
been committed by the same person
or persons because of the similarity
of the cases.
Began in 1919.
This long line of unsolved murders
and assaults began on the night of
November %, 1919. when G. T. AIRY.
sol Thirteenth street, south, was
struck down. He died the following
day without regaining consciousness.
Robbery was assigned as the motive
in this case. and a suspect was ar
rested but later released because of
lack of evidence. This murder was
followed by a similar one Christmas
Eve, 1919, when John H. Belser, Sy-
rian merchant, was almost instantly
killed when attacked in his store
at 1901 Fifth avenue, south. Belser
was left bound and gagged in a pool
of blood. He died without regaining
consciousness and the case was
never solved.
During 1920 the type of murders
begun late in 1919 ceased, only to
break out again in 1921 with the as
sault Sunday night. March 8, of C. C.
Pipkins, proprietor of store at 500
Walker street, West End. Pipkins
recovered and described his assail-
ants as two negroes but the case
was never solved.
From March to September of this
year there was an assault each
month in which the victims were at
tackled with a steel instrument of
some kind. All of the victims were
shopkeepers-and while all recov-
cred, no one was ever arrested in
connection with the crimes.
II was during the summer of 1927
that the crimes began to grow more
atrocious. The assailants no longer
respected sex. On the morning of
July 10, Charles Baldone. storekeep-
err 1t 1910 Tenth avenue. north Mary
Baldone, his wife, and their daugh-
ter, Virginia, IA years old, were VIC
tins of an assault, All three recov-
cred following a lingering Illness.
The daughter described the asail-
ants but no arrests were made.
Most GruesOme Case.
The most gruesome and most re-
voting of the whole line of murders
occurred during December, 1921. and
January. 1922. On the night of De-
cember 81. friends invaded the store
and residence of Joseph Mantione,
Thirty avenue and Church
street. where they assaulted Man
tione and his Wife Susie Martfone.
Mrs. Mantione was killed instantly
and Mantione died the following day
without regaining consciousness.
Fire was set to the store following
the assault. Twenty days later Mrs.
c. S. Crawford was killed outright
and her husband. Glenn s. Crawford.
fatally injured by unidentified per
sons who entered the bed room of
their home at 1901 Fourth avenue.
south, After knocking both his vic
TINS unconscious, the assallant cut
Mrs. Crawford's throat from ear to
ear. No motive ever was found for
the crime and no arrests made. StiIl
another storekeeper and his wife
we're assaulted during the month of
January Wien Tony Lorino, Italian
merchant, ana Mrs. Rosa Lorino were
attacked in their store at S37 Twelfth
street, south, January %. Both re-
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