100 years ago in Spokane: Boys accused of “forcibly hugging and kissing” telephone operators given lecture by judge

Three boys were on trial in police court for “forcibly hugging and kissing” two young telephone operators.

Hazel Nelson and Lillian McDonald told the judge that they were leaving their office when a crowd of boys accosted them. Miss Nelson said one of the boys made an “improper remark, and tripped her when when she tried to run away from him.” Some of them hugged her, but she could not tell which.

Miss McDonald said three of the boys stopped her, hugged her and kissed her, and “made her take off her hat so they could see who she was.”

Attorneys for the three boys attempted to show that it had all been done “in a playful way,” and that the girls had “called the boys up from the office.” The girls denied this.

They also denied having been familiar with the boys.

The judge gave the boys a “severe lecture.” He told them he would continue the case for 30 days and if the offenses were repeated, serious results would follow. Other boys also were apprehended, but they were turned over to juvenile court.

From the railroad beat: Electrification of the Milwaukee Road rail line was nearly complete between Othello, Washington, and Tacoma.

The Milwaukee Road already was electrified in portions of Montana and Idaho over the Bitterroot Range, but this new section would electrify 209 more miles over the Cascade Range. It would allow the Milwaukee Road to use modern electric locomotives instead of steam locomotives.