100 years ago in Spokane: A man was suspected of killing a taxi driver, and possibly a restaurateur months earlier

Spokane police arrested William “Fat Patterson” Houser in connection with the murder of Spokane taxi driver Lee Slater.

Slater’s body was found, bound and gagged, in the Spokane River after he responded to a call for a touring car.

Houser had not been charged with the murder, but police were convinced that he had “some knowledge of the crime.”

In fact, police believed that “Fat Patterson” had some knowledge of another Spokane murder. Andy Anderson, the proprietor of the Inland Cafe, disappeared under mysterious circumstances several months earlier.

From the demographics beat: Spokane’s 1921 population was estimated at 111,705, according to calculations made by the secretary of the Spokane School Board.

This estimate was based on the increase in the school census over the year. The official U.S. Census count for Spokane in 1920 had been 104,437.

From the transportation beat: Spokane was about to get a new way to get Seattle.

The Hawley Bus Lines Co. announced that it would run large “stages” (buses) between Seattle and Spokane.

“We will not attempt a speed trip to the Coast, but will operate the lines for persons desiring a pleasure trip with stopovers at principal points of interest,” the bus line operator said.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1862: President Abraham Lincoln presented to his Cabinet a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.