Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

The nasty four-month struggle called the Free Speech Fight finally ended when the city of Spokane sat down and made peace with the Wobblies (the International Workers of the World).

The city agreed to release from jail most of the 500 Wobblies arrested for trying to speak on street corners. It also agreed to let the Industrial Worker newspaper keep publishing. The mayor also promised to recommend a change in the anti-street-speaking ordinance, which had sparked the fight.

The Wobblies had earlier called for thousands of people to converge on Spokane and flood the jails with people attempting to make street speeches. It was one of the nation’s earliest examples of mass civil disobedience.

An alarming clock proposal – In other news, a local businessmen’s organization proposed a “sensational” new idea: setting clocks back one hour in summer.

They hoped it would appeal to people who wanted to attend evening “church entertainments,” as well as to the “baseball and tennis crowd.”

Also on this date

1861: Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States. … 2005: Martha Stewart, imprisoned for five months for her role in a stock scandal, left federal prison to start five months of home confinement.