100 years ago in Spokane: Police blamed the city’s parents for a rash of sledding accidents

Parents and police were asked to increase their vigilance about sledding on city streets following a fatal accident the day before.

The commissioner of public safety said the responsibility belonged mainly to parents. He said if “parents are unable to control two or three youngsters, I cannot see how we can be expected to watch 15,000.”

He noted officers had taken many youngsters to juvenile court for the exceedingly dangerous practice of hooky-bobbing – sledders hooking on to the backs of autos for a tow.

He also noted that the city had several designated sledding hills where autos were banned, one of which was only two blocks from where the accident occurred.

From the parks beat: A group called the Citizens’ Athletic Committee proposed raising $20,000 by popular subscription to improve the ball field and stadium at Glover Field in Peaceful Valley.

This would make it suitable for “big football games and other athletic contests.”

Park superintendent John Duncan heartily endorsed the plan, saying it “would be one of the finest things that could be done for the city.”

From the bunco beat: A Los Angeles man was taken for $20 by a pair of con men at Spokane’s Union Station.

It was the classic “suitcase game.” Two men approached him and said they needed $20 to pay off a load of horses and mules.

“Watch our suitcases here and hold them as security until we get the mules and bring back the money to you,” they told him. “We’ll pay you for your trouble.”

The man watched the suitcases for 10 minutes, at which point two women came and claimed their suitcases. The “mule dealers” were nowhere to be found.