The Northern Pacific railroad announced its first service disruptions in Spokane as the result of the ongoing rail strike. Two train routes to Lewiston were canceled.

The Northern Pacific blamed the cancellations on a “coal shortage,” but this did not fool anyone.

The railroads previously insisted that the strike was not hurting service, but the loss of 1,800 workers in Spokane alone was clearly taking its toll.

In other strike news, the American Federation of Labor asked union men in all industries to support the striking rail workers.

From the parks beat: U.S. Representative J. Stanley Webster of Spokane said he was introducing a bill to turn Gardner Cave, which is north of the town of Metaline Falls, into a national park.

This idea was heartily supported by the head of the Spokane Historical Society, who said it was a site with “wonderful possibilities.” Explorers had followed a subterranean stream for nearly a mile, but no one yet knew how extensive the cave was. A new 60-foot-wide chamber had recently been discovered.

The national park plan never came to fruition. Yet today Gardner Cave is the centerpiece of Crawford State Park .

Also on this date

(From onthisday.com)

1545: King Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose sinks at Portsmouth; 73 people die.

1848: The first U.S. women’s rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York, and is organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.