100 years ago in Spokane: Logger lands in jail after admitting he hadn’t bought war bonds

Liberty Loan (war bond) workers approached I. Erickson, 31, a logger from Sweden, in a restaurant on Main Avenue and asked him to purchase a bond.

He refused, and further stated that he had bought none since the war began.

This was a dangerous answer in wartime.

The bond sellers asked for his name, but Erickson refused to give it. Someone notified a Spokane police officer, who marched into the restaurant and demanded to see the Erickson’s draft registration card.

Erickson, perched on a stool eating breakfast, said his card was “in my room.”

“That stuff don’t go with us,” said the officer. “Come along, we’re going to the station.”

Erickson was “booked as a suspected slacker.” Men of draft age were required to carry their cards at all times.

From the movie beat: A representative of the American Film Company in New York arrived in Spokane seeking new “scenarios” (screenplays) for the company’s stars.

“We want sweet, wholesome stories, free from anything morbid, for Miss (Mary Miles) Minter,” he said. “For Miss (Marguerite) Fisher, we wish stories of light comedy drama, bubbling over with laughter.”

He said they would pay between $1,000 and $25,000 for a suitable scenario.