100 years ago in Spokane: Masto acquitted by reason of temporary insanity

Joe Masto was acquitted of murder by a Spokane jury, but that didn’t mean he was turned loose. He was probably headed for the “ward for the criminally insane” at Walla Walla.

The jury found him not guilty by reason of temporary insanity in the shooting of Vincent Chiedo, with whom he had been feuding for years. The jury also declared him to be a “dangerous man” who might at some point re-offend.

From the Wobbly beat: A copy of the Industrial Worker newspaper, published in Seattle, provided new evidence that the Wobblies were planning a reprise of the Free Speech fight in Spokane, more than a decade later.

An editorial on the front page requested that every “footloose rebel” in the country descend on Spokane in the summer for “some old time action.” It said 5,000 workers would be necessary.

“Many will go to jail and many will have busted heads,” said the editorial. “But we are going to put the I.W.W. on the map in Spokane.”

Spokane’s police commissioner, Maurice Smith, essentially dared the Wobblies to try it.

“The rock pile will be open soon, and it will be no soft snap,” he said. “It will be work or bread and water for the wobs.”