100 years ago: Sensational new fraud trial regarding bond scheme

Spokane was captivated by a new, sensational trial, in which financier Jay Hough was charged with forgery in a monumental fraud scheme.

The case had dominated headlines months earlier when Hough’s business partner, John Milholland, shot himself when officers arrived at his home to arrest him. Hough had turned himself into police and confessed to his role in the scheme, in which an Idaho mining man was defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Hough, however, maintained that he had been bullied by his partner into participating in the scheme and forced to sign dozens of forged bonds, checks and documents.

The first day of the trial provided some fireworks when one attorney said to an opposing lawyer, “Now, don’t you get fresh, Tustin.” A shouting match ensued. This caused the judge to caution the attorneys “not to indulge in personalities” and to address their remarks to the court.

From the wildlife beat: The Idaho state game warden, attending the Sportsmen’s and Tourists’ Fair in Spokane, declared “peace has been signed between the hunter and the game warden.”

“The hunter of today realizes that the warden is a human, after all, and that the government’s interest in the conservation of game is also the hunter’s interest,” said the warden.

A group of wardens created an exhibit which displayed protected birds, including the great blue heron, the loon and the grebe, “or hell-diver.”