50 years ago in Expo history: Australian official questioned promotion effort of Spokane fair

A member of Expo ’74’s Australian contingent was in town, and he had a few tough words for the fair’s publicity team.

When a reporter asked if Australians were excited about Expo, he said, “No, and you can quote me as saying so. Australians don’t know much about Expo. I’m a bit disappointed there hasn’t been better national and international publicity for Expo, and I intend to say so while I’m here.”

In other Expo news, the Spokane River had crested and receded, causing only slight damage to the Expo ’74 site. One footbridge near Stevens and Trent was inundated briefly, but the bridge “remained in place.”

Meanwhile, Expo’s public safety manager ran the numbers from previous World’s Fairs and came up with some sobering statistics about what the first-aid team at Expo ’74 might face. He estimated Spokane’s fair would see up to 100 cases of heat exposure, 200 heart-related emergencies, 3,100 lacerations, 1,600 fractures and sprains and 8,500 miscellaneous minor problems.

This put to rest any notion that first aid employees would “have nothing more to do than play pinochle.”

From 100 years ago: Spokane Police Commissioner Maurice Smith got into a fistfight in an alley with attorney Ralph Weeks.

The fracas began in the police station, when Smith told Weeks he didn’t like a remark Weeks had made in Superior Court. Smith told Weeks that “a man who will lie in one place will lie in another.” Weeks invited Smith to make the same remarks outside.

Once in the alley, Weeks “applied a short, ugly word to the commissioner.” Fists flew and two or three blows were landed, but neither man was seriously hurt and no arrests were made.