100 years ago in Spokane: Deputies search for midwife who ‘performed illegal operation’ that resulted in death of teen

Dr. Mary Swartz, a Spokane “pioneer midwife,” was facing criminal charges for performing “an illegal operation” which resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl.

However, Dr. Swartz was nowhere to be found.

“Deputy sheriffs and the police have been searching for Dr. Swartz for several days and have been unable to find any trace of her,” said the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “So far as the officers can learn, she has not shown up at her office nor been seen around her home.”

From the political beat: Spokane was responsible, in a way, for the birth of a new political party, the National Party.

John Spargo, former socialist leader, said in New York that the idea for his National Party stemmed from “the intolerance and bigotry of Spokane socialists.”

During Spargo’s stormy visit to Spokane in the spring, local socialists refused to sponsor his meetings here and denied him use of the Socialist Hall. They were upset at Spargo’s stand on the European war because he did not conform to the party’s official position. Spargo was in favor of U.S. involvement in the war against Germany.

The ensuing controversy sparked his decision to leave the socialists and form a new party, which was described as “the melting pot of socialists, progressives and prohibitionists.”