100 years ago in Spokane: Teachers consider joining union; tailors go on strike

Spokane teachers were starting to consider if they should create a union and join the American Federation of Teachers.

The Spokane Daily Chronicle reported that the question of whether to unionize was occurring “quietly” and that most Spokane teachers likely had not taken a position.

Meanwhile, 100 Spokane tailors went out on strike, saying, “All we ask is a regular wage, decent hours and sanitary conditions.”

The tailors wanted to stop doing “piece work,” which often meant night work. They wanted a 41-hour work week, like the tailors in Portland.

A manager at Spokane’s Hart Schaffner & Marx clothing store said the local union agent was “exceeding his authority” in calling a strike.

From the coyote file: Dr. J.T. Wilson, a Spokane dentist, captured a coyote while out for a drive – but it came at a cost.

Wilson said he was driving along in Spokane when a coyote darted out across the street. For some reason – the story did not explain why – Wilson decided to capture the coyote.

He sped up, pulled even, jumped out and threw his coat over the animal. Then he took it home and chained it up in his yard.

Only then did he realize that his wallet, which had been in his coat, was missing. It contained checks totaling $350.

Wilson went to police to report the loss.

From the high school beat: Girls at North Central High School were preparing to start classes with a stricter dress code aimed at promoting “simplicity, modesty, good taste and inexpensive clothing.”

The Girl’s League of North Central High School approved the new dress code in May in a 654-to-74 vote.

Banned were “French heeled shoes,” clothing with “thin material and too scant camisoles,” most silk items, and “expensive or extravagant clothing in general.”

The goal was “simplicity, modesty, good taste and inexpensive clothing.” Girls violating the dress code would be “called on the carpet.”