100 years ago in Spokane: Soldiers challenge dance hall ban

From our archives, 100 years ago

More than 75 soldiers at Fort George Wright, including the commanding officer, signed a petition charging discrimination at Spokane’s public dance halls.

They claimed that they were banned from the dance halls for one reason only: They were wearing the U.S. Army uniform.

Spokane’s mayor said a U.S. Navy sailor on furlough made a similar complaint. The mayor threatened to take away the licenses of the dance halls if they refused admission to servicemen.

W.F. Keller, proprietor of the Fine Arts dance hall, admitted that he had refused entrance to the soldiers, but for a good reason. Women at the dance halls had complained that the men in uniform were “too affectionate.”

The soldiers “indignantly” denied that charge.

Keller, after meeting with the mayor, agreed to grant admittance to soldiers and sailors. The mayor renewed his license.

From the business beat: The Spokesman-Review devoted a page to analyzing the city’s progress over the past year, and most of the news was good.

Mining stock dividends, lumber production, construction activity, apple shipments, rail traffic and bank clearings were all up. The Davenport Hotel showed a 24 percent occupancy increase. Even the schools were doing well: Enrollment was up in the city’s public schools and at Gonzaga University.

The only numbers showing a downward trend, according to the paper, were those of children in juvenile detention and in federal convictions for bootlegging.