This day in history: Fall smog or polluted runoff? Buring grass seed was the center of an agricultural debate

From 1976: The burning of grass-seed fields was already controversial, but a Washington State University researcher told a Farmers’ Day meeting that people who object to the smoke and haze were “mistaken.”

“If you ban burning, a necessary part of the grass-seed growing cycle, you would force farmers to plant something else and this would result in heavy soil erosion,” said Robert Papendick. “Would you want to swap a temporary annoyance – smog on a few days of each fall – for pollution of mud and fertilizers in the runoff water, which destroys a non-renewable resource, our rich farm land?”

He said the “grass crops hold the soil like no other farming enterprise.”

From 1926: Charles Hedger, Spokane’s public safety commissioner, announced a new campaign against hotels and “soft drink” establishments that violate Prohibition laws.

“Every place that has ever been involved in a liquor case is now being closely watched by police and the city license inspector,” he told the city council.

He vowed to revoke the licenses of violators.

Hedger was facing a recall petition for allegedly being soft on Prohibition. Finding liquor in Spokane had proven to be as simple as walking into a “soft drink” parlor and asking for it. But now Hedger vowed to get tough, and to shut down every place with a proven violation.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1960: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council stating that she and her family will be known as the House of Windsor and that her descendants will take the name “Mountbatten-Windsor.”