100 years ago in Spokane: City rejects census count that trims population by 200

Spokane still was unwilling to accept the U.S. Census Bureau’s figures which showed a decrease in population from 1910 to 1920.

In fact, the city’s Chamber of Commerce announced a “determined effort” to find at least 200 residents who could show that they were uncounted in the census numbers, which showed a drop of about 198 from the 1910 population.

This drive was actually done in cooperation with the Census Bureau, which said it would would permit such additions if they could be proven.

In the end, the Chamber’s drive proved successful. The final census number would eventually be revised upward by 233, to 104,437, which put it 37 over the 1910 number.

Meanwhile, multiple speakers at a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting cited statistics, including school enrollment figures and real estate development, which they believed showed clear evidence of substantial growth.

A real estate man said he studied the statistics and came to the conclusion that Spokane had added 12,000 to 15,000 new housing units over the last decade.

From the epidemic beat: Word arrived from Nenana, Alaska, of a terrifying flu scourge. A total of 40 residents had already died. The town’s telegraph office announced the grim news when it finally reopened after a shutdown.

The disease had apparently spread to Fairbanks, as well. That city reported 12 deaths, but only two new cases.