100 years ago in Spokane: Milwaukee Road strike ends; GOP prosecutor candidate wins primary with KKK backing

The Milwaukee Road reached a settlement with striking rail shopmen, ending the long and disruptive strike.

In Spokane, however, this did not mean the strike was over. The Milwaukee Road was only one of four railroads with big rail yards in Spokane, and the others had not yet settled.

“Consternation prevails among the ranks of strikers on the Northern Pacific, Great Northern and Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation here today,” reported the Spokane Daily Chronicle.

The unions were concerned that the Milwaukee settlement would “disrupt the morale of those remaining out and may result in the defeat of the strikers’ cause.”

There was optimism, however, that a settlement with all of the railroads was on the horizon.

From the Klan beat: Frank H. Kinsell was declared the winner of the Republican primary for Spokane County prosecutor.

Kinsell was a controversial candidate who had expressed sympathy with the Ku Klux Klan.

“The majority of the Republican voters went to the polls Tuesday believing he was the Klan candidate,” said the Spokane Daily Chronicle. He would still have to face a strong Democratic candidate, Charles Leavy, in the general election in November.

From the Prohibition beat: Ferry County Sheriff Thomas Barker was under indictment for conspiracy to evade prohibition laws. However, he was close to winning the Democratic nomination for another term. He was only eight votes behind his primary opponent, with one-third of the ballots yet to be counted.