100 Years Ago: From Haircut to Horror: Volunteer Barber Attempts Murder
On Feb. 18, 1925, Raymond Silkwood received an invitation to visit the home of his (supposed) friend William Clark to get a haircut. Silkwood’s hair was getting a little too long and ragged, so he accepted. Silkwood, a junk wagon driver, lived in a shanty boat on the Hartford riverbank, and Clark lived in a tent next door.
Silkwood sat down in a chair in the tent expecting a standard scissor haircut when the “volunteer barber” suddenly reached for a hand axe. He struck Silkwood on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious, and stole 60 cents out of his pockets. Clark’s mother and stepfather were away from home at the time of the haircut but found the injured Silkwood there later. The Wood River police were notified and asked the Alton police to be on the lookout for Clark. The police found Clark in a shanty boat along the willows on the Alton riverfront, arrested him, and took him to the Alton jail. They later transferred him to Wood River police custody.
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Silkwood was taken to the office of Dr. Charles N. Pence for surgical treatment, and there he was revived enough to describe what had happened. According to an article in the Alton Evening Telegraph on the day of the attack, “Police find it hard to give credence to the almost incredible story of murderous assault and robbery by one friend and neighbor on another, but such is the story told by Silkwood, who bears the evidence of the axe wound on the head to support that much of the story. Police officers who made an investigation were of the opinion that the two men had been drinking and that Clark did not realize what he was doing.” Two days later, another article noted that Silkwood was recovered enough “to write to the Telegraph a note saying that he was not drunk, as reported, nor does he drink. He said that the attending surgeon knew he was not intoxicated and that he could establish a reputation for not being a drinking man.”
On Feb. 19, Clark was arraigned in the Wood River police court and held for Grand Jury under a $1000 bond ($18,362 in 2025 money) on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Clark was arraigned in the Madison County Circuit court on March 26, and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder and robbery. The two cases against Clark (one for robbery and one for assault with a deadly weapon) were tried separately. On April 9, he was acquitted in the robbery case. On June 17, he was convicted of assault to commit murder and sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment.
Sources
“Accused of Arson, Pleads Not Guilty.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 26, 1925.
“Alton.” Lawrence County News (Lawrenceville, IL), June 17, 1925.
“Axe Victim is Making Improvement.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), February 20, 1925.
“Shadow Seen Is Not Proof of Axe Blow.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 9, 1925.
“Circuit Court Proceedings.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 10, 1925.
“Clark Held for Grand Jury Under $1000 Bond.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), February 19, 1925.
“Farmer Calmly Hears Verdict Read in Court.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 3, 1925.
“Goes For Free Haircut, Gets Head Slashed.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), February 18, 1925.
“Funeral of Dr. C.N. Pence.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 31, 1928.
Old Alton Views - Riverfront panorama (undated). (Illinois Digital Archives),
https://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/p16614coll61/id/789
“Shadow Seen Is Not Proof of Axe Blow.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 9, 1925.
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