In July 1910, the mayor of
Granville, Ohio, a village in Licking County with a strong pro-
Temperance history, issued a warrant for a raid of three illicit Newark saloons. On July 8, the mayor, Dr. E.J. Barns, swore in between 19 and 23 (reports vary) Anti-Saloon League agents as officers of the law and tasked them with executing the warrants. Upon the agents' arrival in Newark, violence ensued almost immediately, as a patron at the first saloon struck one of the agents with brass knuckles. At the next establishment, one of the agents was held captive by a mob for two hours. At the third saloon, which was owned by Lewis Bolton, the mob met the agents with "an arsenal of weapons," and the confrontation became violent. The Newark police department arrested about half of the agents, and the others fled, fearing for their lives. However, Etherton became separated from his fellow agents, and the mob pursued him for more than two miles. A former police captain and bar owner named William Howard joined the mob, which eventually caught Etherington. When Howard began beating him, Etherington shot him with a revolver and was immediately arrested. The mob, which continued to grow, congregated around the jail where Etherington was being held. Accounts of the event report that the crowd numbered between 2,500 and 8,000 people. According to some reports, Etherington spent his last moments praying and writing to his parents before he tried to commit suicide by wrapping his head in his coat and setting fire to it, but his attempt was unsuccessful. After the crowd received news that Howard had died from his gunshot wound, the mob began trying to enter the jail. At approximately 10:30 p.m., they were able to get inside, seize Etherington, and drag him into the public square. They kicked Etherington and hit him in the head with a hammer before tying a rope around his neck and hanging him from a telegraph pole. Reports mention that Etherington's last words to the crowd were, "Tell my mother that I died trying to do my duty". == Aftermath and impact ==