100 years ago in Spokane: Platinum fever? Don’t fall for the mining hype, feds and an S-R editorial warned

The Spokesman-Review editorial page advised caution when it came to “platinum fever.”

Some mine owners had made “extravagant claims” about the occurrence of platinum in the Coeur d’Alene mining district. These boosters had reported platinum “in unusual amounts,” and in some cases, “prodigious amounts.”

Yet a new report threw cold water on these claims. It concluded that “platinum is not present in any of the samples collected.”

“The conclusion is clearly inescapable that the owners have been mistaken with regard to the existence … of platinum.”

The U.S. Department of the Interior warned that any claim of platinum strikes should be met with skepticism.

From the parking beat: Spokane was still trying to grapple with one of the problems created by the proliferation of automobiles: parking.

“Double-parking is getting to be a fright,” said police court Justice Witt. “I was stopped five times yesterday because of it, and most of the people were merely gossiping.”

One of the alleged double-parkers vigorously denied the charge.

“The only thing I can say is he lies,” said Anna Pillar, referring to the police officer who ticketed her. “I stopped for a second to let off a passenger and was going again, at a rate of 15 miles per hour, when he jumped on the platform and scared me. If I had had something, I certainly would have flipped him. He asked what I had and went through the car. I guess he thought I had booze in it.”

She was fined $1.