Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

A prohibition bill passed the Idaho Legislature, which meant that Idaho, like Washington, would become a “dry” state in 1916.

“The wets made their last stand” in a desperate attempt to forestall the bill, but every amendment they offered was voted down.

When the votes were counted, “an outburst of applause broke forth” from the biggest audience of the entire session, and the crowd swarmed onto the floor to congratulate the senators. 

The Idaho governor already had vowed to sign the bill.

From the bawdy house beat: A number of young women were arrested in raids on the Rex lodging house and the Spokoma Hotel. When the women came to trial, they told their stories.

One 19-year-old said she had been abandoned by her husband and forced to fend for herself. A 20-year-old said she had been abandoned by her mother, who left her in Spokane when she moved to Davenport, Washington.

Another woman said she was supporting three children with her earnings at the Spokoma. Detectives said she was the same woman who yelled “Bull!” (slang for policeman) when police arrived in the hallway, causing several other women to hide under their beds.