100 years ago in Spokane: Democratic Party women heckles Women’s Party at Davenport Hotel

From our archives, 100 years ago

Democratic Party women “carried out a carefully planned coup” at a Spokane meeting of another fledgling party called the Women’s Party.

The Women’s Party, which opposed the current Democratic president, Woodrow Wilson, was holding its national organizing conference at the Davenport Hotel. After lunch, they planned to hold a meeting in the hotel’s Hall of Doges. However, they “fell into what was evidently a Democratic trap.” A group of Spokane Democratic women activists had already reserved the Hall of Doges at the same time.

When the Women’s Party group arrived, they found they already were outnumbered by the Democratic women.

When the Women’s Party tried to open its meeting, “a constant round of heckling” ensued, with “three or four women generally attempting to secure the floor at once.” The Women’s Party people were forced to retreat, leaving the Hall of Doges “in full charge of the Democratic women,” who proceeded to form what they called the Women’s Wilson League.

The Women’s Party, or what was left of it, retired to a smaller room “to perfect their own organization.”

From the Wobbly beat: Several dozen jailed members of the Industrial Workers of the World spent a quiet day in jail in North Yakima. They even sent a proposal to a judge, offering to make no further disturbances if they were released and allowed to organize in a “quiet and orderly manner.” The city was in no mood to cut the Wobblies a break, and the judge rejected the offer.

Meanwhile, police said somebody had strewn the highway between North Yakima and Selah with tacks, causing flat tires and injuring a horse’s hoof. Police apparently believed this was the also work of Wobblies.