Jim Kershner’s This day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

In 1911, Spokane was debating a question that would still be a hot topic nearly a century later: Should smoking in public places be banned?

“I see no excuse for the custom of smoking in public,” said one Spokane minister. “An individual who does not smoke certainly is justified in resenting being smoked out at any public function.”

The issues in those days were slightly different from those of today. Cigars were far more common than cigarettes and men were far more likely to smoke than women.

In fact, the entire question was considered a gender issue.

“It is purely a violation of personal rights for men to smoke in the presence of ladies,” fumed another Spokane minister.

The Spokesman-Review noted that “Spokane women practically all agree that smoking and tobacco-chewing should be tabooed in public.”

The Nonsmokers Protective League made it their goal to ban smoking in public within 15 years.

Fifty years later the league might have considered its battle lost; 100 years later, largely won.

Also on this date

1821: Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

1955: Disneyland had its opening day in Anaheim, Calif.