100 years ago in Spokane: Flu death rate spikes

The Spanish flu death rate spiked to 69, including 18 deaths in four days.

Nearly 350 new flu cases were reported in a day and a half, bringing the total close to 3,000.

The “seriousness of the epidemic is still growing,” said the Spokane Daily Chronicle, and there was no sign of its abatement.

At Fort George Wright’s military hospital, another soldier died, bringing the toll to nine. Another soldier Raymond S. Hines, died at Fort Lawton’s hospital, after he had been released from Fort George Wright’s hospital in the mistaken belief that he had recovered.

From the war beat: The news from the European front was better every day. Allied forces were pushing back the German and Austrian lines on many fronts. There was even a report that the German kaiser had been removed from power.

The city health officer, however, ordered that all “war maps” be taken down from public places, because they were attracting crowds.

From the vermin beat: The Chronicle had an eye-catching headline: “Keep Cooties Out Of B.V.D.’s”

It was a story about a new kind of trench underwear, which was treated with a chemical to prevent vermin.