100 years ago in Spokane: Unfounded fears lingered over a ‘tong war,’ and Yakima tribal leaders were headed east to protest land allotments

Police were still on the alert for a possible “tong war” in Spokane’s Chinese community, even though the members of the community said they were “confident there will be none.”

Police said that the “outsiders” whose presence sparked fears were with “friendly” tongs, but there was some fear that “gunmen” might be following them to Spokane.

Captain Martin J. Burns issued orders that “all strange Chinese found in the city will be taken to police headquarters for questioning.”

From the tribal beat: The Spokane Daily Chronicle ran a front-page photo of three Yakima tribal leaders, including Chief George Meninock, as they traveled to Washington, D.C., to protest the latest threat to their land.

They said tribal members were being forced to “accept allotments until sufficiently advanced in the ways of the whites to retain possession of the property given them.”

From the dope beat: Spokane’s first mass meeting on the subject of the “narcotic evil” was scheduled for Lewis & Clark High School.

“If Spokane falls into the clutches of the dope habit, there is no one to blame but Spokane,” said one of the organizers.

Also on this day

(From the Associated Press)

1801: the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president. Burr became vice president.