100 years ago in Spokane: ‘Civic Righteousness Commitee’ pledges to root out vice

A “Civic Righteousness Committee” was formed by the Spokane Ministerial Association in order to formulate an anti-vice plan for Spokane.

The ministers said that the vice situation in Spokane was “worse than for years.”

“It is estimated that there are as many as 500 women in houses of vice at present. If the existence of such conditions were more widely known by fathers and mothers, and by pastors and their congregations, public sentiment would soon demand that a change be made,” it was asserted.

The Civic Righteousness Committee was charged with formulating plans to combat vice, and with arranging “whatever finances may be needed.”

From the orchestra beat: A capacity crowd filled the 1,400-seat Auditorium Theater for a concert by a fledgling ensemble called “the Spokane Symphony orchestra.”

This was an early precursor to the current Spokane Symphony. Conductor Leonardo Brill led the orchestra in “a work of utmost difficulty,” Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

A reviewer in The Spokesman-Review gave the following verdict: “Considering the magnitude of the opus and its demands, it can be said that the orchestra acquitted itself with distinction.”