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Accueil
Paysage Social
Red Deer and the Law, 1900-20
par Jonathan Swainger
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Even more problematic for the police was the impression that Red Deer was too
small to make crime pay. The fact of Red Deer's geographic location at the
crossroads of Alberta subjected the community to all types of travellers and
transients, some of whom were criminals and prone to violence. Further, from
1910 to 1912 railway labourers provided a constant threat to communities from
Blackfalds to Rocky Mountain House who, in turn, pressed the NWMP to increase
their staff to handle outbreaks of drinking and fighting.6 Without question, the
clearest demonstration that Red Deer was a difficult community to police can be
seen in the fact that police chief George Rothnie was miraculously spared death
at the hands of an assailant, thanks only to a misfiring pistol. Rothnie
resigned immediately after delivering the failed assassin, John Russell, to
jail. Rothnie’s replacement, George Bell, was not so fortunate and was actually
gunned down on June 1, 1911. Bell managed to survive Arthur Kelly's attack, and
eventually the accused was captured by a band of intrepid boy scouts.7 In light
of these realities of policing, combined with incidents of expected preferential
treatment, the creation and maintenance of order in and around Red Deer was no
easy task.
The next level of the legal system after the police was occupied by justices
of the peace (CJP). The commission to act as a JP stipulated neither legal training
nor any pressing requirements other than Canadian citizenship or naturalization.
Although such a position was often subject to political manipulation, the great
majority of JPs in central Alberta nevertheless endeavoured to fulfil their
offices credibly. Not surprisingly, it was crucial that those appointed to act
as JPs engendered public faith in the system and confidence from the attorney
general's office. In Red Deer, this role was ably filled by Joseph T. Wallace,
who was a permanent fixture during the first two decades of the century.
Although others also held a commission of the peace in and around central
Alberta, it was Wallace who, by his actions and presence, signified the
stability, responsiveness and accessibility of the administration of justice.8
Not surprisingly, while Wallace exemplified the conscientious JP, there were
a number of individuals who badly tarnished both the office and the
administration of justice. Although almost every community of any size in
central Alberta had an incident concerning the behaviour of a JP, Red Deer's
scandal was doubly unfortunate, in that it involved Leonard Crane Fulmer, who
was also Red Deer's secretary-treasurer when he was accused of theft and
fraudulent misappropriation of funds. The preliminary hearing and investigations
encouraged speculation that Fulmer's low bail was in response to community
sympathy with the plight of his family. Further, rumour had it that the
authorities did not wish to prosecute Fulmer and "... would be rather glad to
see him get away with it."9 Fulmer's flight from central Alberta, the reported
reluctance of local officials to aid in the prosecution, and the eventual
failure to gain his extradition from Seattle, Washington, was one of the darker
moments for the administration of justice during those years. Thankfully,
episodes as grave as that were rare, and the example set by Joseph Wallace and
others exerted much greater influence.
The legal profession was the first level of the administration of justice in
which residents were assured of a foundation of legal knowledge. Admittedly, a
foundation did not ensure competency but, on the whole, Red Deer was well served
by the lawyers who chose to practise there. For most of the years between 1900
and 1920, the legal profession in Red Deer was dominated by three men: George
Wellington Greene who arrived in 1891, William Earnest Payne who joined Greene
in 1902, and John Carlyle Moore who arrived in August 1904 to assist with the
land interests of his father, John T. Moore. As a group, these men exemplified
the pioneer lawyer who, through all manner of activity, rises to the stature of
community leader. Further, by their actions, both in and out of court, these men
worked both consciously and unconsciously to maintain economic stability in
central Alberta.10 The second tier of lawyers in Red Deer was occupied by
individuals such as Corbet L. Durie, John Quigg, and Arthur Russell. All three
men worked, at various times, as agent for the attorney general's office, and
thus supervised criminal prosecutions in the district. Although not particularly
inspired lawyers, in their role as crown prosecutor they endeavoured to sustain
the ideals of justice in what could be, on occasion, a fairly rough-and-tumble
community.
IIt is worth noting, however, that the influence enjoyed by Greene, Payne and
Moore was generational. Greene had arrived shortly after the first train on the
Calgary-Edmonton line in 1891. His decision to build a two-storey bank and law
office in the centre of Red Deer gave his practice, and the community in which
it existed, an air of permanence and stability. As Greene's law partner, Payne
was able to build upon the foundation which had been laid and soon assumed a
significant public profile. Moore, whose family connections were both a help and
a hindrance, nevertheless cultivated a fair measure of influence. However, with
the outbreak of WWI, and the symbolic turning point provided by Greene's
departure for a judicial appointment on the District Court Bench in Medicine
Hat, the founding generation came to an end. With Greene in Medicine Hat and
Moore serving in Europe, only Payne continued practising in Red Deer. Economic
recessions and the political movements they engendered increasingly placed the
legal profession in a negative light and, rather than fight the tide, most of
the lawyers in Red Deer and central Alberta retreated from public life.11
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