Jim Kershner’s This day in history
From our archives, 100 years ago
A Mr. H.I. Canyoncent raised the ire of J. Oscar Peterson, the city treasurer, according to The Spokesman-Review.
Canyoncent visited the treasurer’s office and left a check for $760 laying on the counter. The man wasn’t listed in a city directory, so Peterson put it in his desk, “thinking the slight lapse of memory on the part of Mr. Canyoncent would not be permanent,” the reporter wrote.
But Canyoncent didn’t reappear, prompting Peterson to declare that “the check is getting on my nerves.”
There’s no indication what Peterson did with the check, but in a sweeping generalization, the newspaper headlined the story, “Spokane People Easy With Cash.”
Elections also were in the news, with the Washington attorney general’s office suggesting that it would be OK to hold primaries for city elections in “third-class cities” (which weren’t specified) at the same time and in the same polling places as the general election. The headline writer was on a roll, noting “Two Elections Same Day Cause Difficulty,” though the story concluded the plan could be pulled off “without much confusion.”
Also on this date
(From the Associated Press)