100 years ago in Cheney: Trainmen found blameless in crash that killed five

From our archives, 100 years ago

A coroner’s jury “specifically absolved from all blame” the trainmen involved in the passenger train collision at South Cheney that killed five.

The jury said the fault was with the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway’s systems and procedures. One train was simply following too closely behind the other train. It was only four minutes behind the first train. When the first train came to stop at the South Cheney station, the second one slammed into its rear.

Neither train was operated by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway, but they were using its tracks.

From the grocery beat: A news story reported that made-in-Spokane crackers were becoming quite popular. As if to underscore the point, an ad on the same page touted the products of the Inland Empire Biscuit Co. of Spokane, makers of three different kinds of soda crackers.

The company’s product line also included graham crackers, ginger snaps, fig bars, oyster crackers, vanilla wafers and cheese wafers.

It also included some more exotic-sounding fare, including “Creole Creams, Saratoga Flakes, Milk Toasts, Marshmallow Dainties and Wunder Cookies.”

The ad said, “10 cents will buy you a triple-sealed package of any of these delicious” products.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

2011: A magnitude-6.1 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, killed 184 people.