100 years ago in Eastern Washington: ‘Huge armies’ of crickets worry farmers

From our archives, 100 years ago

The war against crickets was renewed for a second straight year in Ephrata and Wilson Creek. “Huge armies” of crickets were heading toward wheat fields and destroying everything in their path.

“There is not a spear of grass or any vegetation left in their wake,” said a correspondent.

All available men and boys were digging trenches and igniting them with gasoline in an attempt to stem the black tide. The pestilence was so severe that some farms were being abandoned.

From the court beat: A jury found city cashier H.F. Tabb not liable for a shortage of $3,232 in city funds.

It took only one vote to make the decision. The jury foreman issued a statement that said that there was at least one other cashier working for the city at the time, and the city failed to show which cashier was on duty during the times that the money went missing.

Another juror said that “so many had access to the (cashier’s) cage that the responsibility was not centered on Mr. Tabb alone.” One juror said he did not believe that Tabb had ever pocketed any money.

Tabb called it a “vindication” and that he “never had any doubt about the outcome.”

From the booze beat: Seattle police found 12,000 quarts of beer hidden in a scow anchored in Elliott Bay.

A large crowd gathered to watch authorities dump the beer into the middle of the harbor. The story failed, unfortunately, to describe the crowd’s reaction.