J O L Spracklin
Encyclopedia
The Reverend J O L Spracklin, a Methodist minister from Windsor
, Ontario
, noted for his involvement with Prohibition
issues. Spracklin shot and killed a man who was engaged in the illicit liquor trade and was later acquitted of manslaughter.
. He was noted for the eloquence of his rhetorical style.
Spracklin's ministry occurred during a period when Prohibition
- especially promoted by the United Farmers of Ontario
' Provincial Government - was regarded as a pressing issue by Spracklin and many of his parishioners and supporters.
Attorney-General William Raney
's Prohibition
enforcement team.
The proximity of the United States
' border to the Sandwich suburb of Windsor, Ontario
, where Spracklin fulfilled his ministry, and the huge cross-border trade - legal and illicit - gave heightened focus to the concerns and activities of Spracklin and his zealous followers.
after the speedboat Panther II, with the Reverend J O L Spracklin and his associate W H Hallam on board, fired on the cruiser; nine men were arrested and accused of attempting to smuggle whiskey into the US.
It was reported also on August 27, 1920 that Spracklin had accused the mayor of Amherstburg, Dr. W. Fred Park, of harbouring large quantities of alcohol; Park was subsequently fined $1000.00.
lawyer alleged that the Reverend J O L Spracklin's men would arbitrarily fill in blank search warrants at will, and it was also claimed that Spracklin's excessive zeal extended to his own parishioners, whose attention he would engage while preaching in the interior of Sandwich Methodist Church, while his associates, outside the building, would surreptitiously search his parishioners' cars at random.
Attorney-General Raney's Prohibition
enforcement team, shot and killed Beverly Trumble, proprietor of the Chappell House hotel, who was engaged in illicit trade in liquor, and in whose hand Spracklin later claimed to have seen a gun.
At his subsequent trial, Spracklin was acquitted of manslaughter.
Other descriptions stress that the evidence should be interpreted as indicating that Spracklin acted in self-defence.
He later emigrated to the United States
, and there he continued with his personal mission of campaigning for the anti-liquor cause.
. He travelled as a visiting speaker to local churches on the League's behalf.
era in Ontario
, when the ideas and aims of the soon to be eclipsed United Farmers of Ontario
were prominent.
The Reverend J O L Spracklin's ministry at least superficially resembles that of the Reverend J. Frank Norris
, of Fort Worth, Tx: Norris also widely employed his rhetorical gifts in anti-liquor campaigning in opposition to local civic leaders and was himself acquitted of murdering an associate of the local mayor in 1926 on grounds of self-defence, which were later widely challenged. Norris, whose vigorous political views exercised a deep influence upon his seminary student John Birch
and others, later undertook a wide, public ministry; however, the reputation of the Reverend J O L Spracklin never eclipsed the events of 1920.
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, noted for his involvement with Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
issues. Spracklin shot and killed a man who was engaged in the illicit liquor trade and was later acquitted of manslaughter.
Background
In 1918 Spracklin took up the pastoral charge of Sandwich Methodist Church, WindsorWindsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
. He was noted for the eloquence of his rhetorical style.
Spracklin's ministry occurred during a period when Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
- especially promoted by the United Farmers of Ontario
United Farmers of Ontario
The United Farmers of Ontario was a political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.- Foundation and rise :...
' Provincial Government - was regarded as a pressing issue by Spracklin and many of his parishioners and supporters.
Dubious supporters
These supporters included the brothers W H Hallam and S M Hallam, who were known locally less for their religious observance than for their muscular activities in support of questionable causes, and who joined Spracklin in OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Attorney-General William Raney
William Raney
William Edgar Raney, K.C. was a lawyer, politician and judge in Ontario, Canada, in the early twentieth century.-Background and early career:...
's Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
enforcement team.
The proximity of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' border to the Sandwich suburb of Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, where Spracklin fulfilled his ministry, and the huge cross-border trade - legal and illicit - gave heightened focus to the concerns and activities of Spracklin and his zealous followers.
Prohibition controversies and events of 1920
On August 26, 1920, the cruiser Eugenia, was stopped in the Detroit RiverDetroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
after the speedboat Panther II, with the Reverend J O L Spracklin and his associate W H Hallam on board, fired on the cruiser; nine men were arrested and accused of attempting to smuggle whiskey into the US.
It was reported also on August 27, 1920 that Spracklin had accused the mayor of Amherstburg, Dr. W. Fred Park, of harbouring large quantities of alcohol; Park was subsequently fined $1000.00.
Ministerial benevolence doubted
It was claimed that the pastor was not distinguishing between his spiritual and alcohol inspection duties. Complaints abounded; a Windsor, OntarioWindsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
lawyer alleged that the Reverend J O L Spracklin's men would arbitrarily fill in blank search warrants at will, and it was also claimed that Spracklin's excessive zeal extended to his own parishioners, whose attention he would engage while preaching in the interior of Sandwich Methodist Church, while his associates, outside the building, would surreptitiously search his parishioners' cars at random.
Pastor's wife escapes spray of bullets
On Halloween night, 1920, Mrs. Spracklin narrowly escaped death when the Spracklins' manse was sprayed with bullets, presumably on the behalf of persons in the illicit liquor trade disadvantaged by Spracklin and his men.Manslaughter trial
On November 6, 1920, Spracklin, as part of OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Attorney-General Raney's Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
enforcement team, shot and killed Beverly Trumble, proprietor of the Chappell House hotel, who was engaged in illicit trade in liquor, and in whose hand Spracklin later claimed to have seen a gun.
At his subsequent trial, Spracklin was acquitted of manslaughter.
Varied interpretations of trial
Historical records of the Reverend J O L Spracklin's actions on November 6, 1920, differ in emphasis. The tenor of one historical account is suggestive that Spracklin should have been charged with murder rather than of the manslaughter of which he was eventually acquitted.Other descriptions stress that the evidence should be interpreted as indicating that Spracklin acted in self-defence.
Later life
In 1921 Spracklin relinquished his pastoral charge at Sandwich Methodist Church.He later emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and there he continued with his personal mission of campaigning for the anti-liquor cause.
Promotion of Anti-Saloon League in the US
In the US, Spracklin promoted the Anti-Saloon LeagueAnti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest in the South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their...
. He travelled as a visiting speaker to local churches on the League's behalf.
Legacy
By general consent, the conjunction of events around the Canadian period of Spracklin's ministry related to the particularly excessive zeal of the ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
era in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, when the ideas and aims of the soon to be eclipsed United Farmers of Ontario
United Farmers of Ontario
The United Farmers of Ontario was a political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.- Foundation and rise :...
were prominent.
The Reverend J O L Spracklin's ministry at least superficially resembles that of the Reverend J. Frank Norris
J. Frank Norris
John Franklyn Norris was a flamboyant Baptist preacher, one of the most controversial figures in the history of fundamentalism.-Biography:...
, of Fort Worth, Tx: Norris also widely employed his rhetorical gifts in anti-liquor campaigning in opposition to local civic leaders and was himself acquitted of murdering an associate of the local mayor in 1926 on grounds of self-defence, which were later widely challenged. Norris, whose vigorous political views exercised a deep influence upon his seminary student John Birch
John Birch
John Birch may refer to:* John Birch , soldier in the English Civil War and MP for Leominster* John Birch , nephew of Col...
and others, later undertook a wide, public ministry; however, the reputation of the Reverend J O L Spracklin never eclipsed the events of 1920.
See also
- Ernest Charles Drury#Identified with Temperance enforcement
- Neighbourhoods of Windsor, Ontario#Sandwich
- William Raney#Ontario Attorney General