100 years ago in Spokane: Hutton Settlement’s namesake assured the public that the Christian Science dustup at the institution was nearly settled

L.W. Hutton, founder of the Hutton Settlement orphanage, said a solution was near to resolve a medical staffing standoff.

A day earlier, nine physicians – the entire medical staff – resigned en masse because some attendants were employing Christian Science methods to treat cases there. Some followers of the denomination focus on healing through prayer instead of traditional medicine.

The doctors said they could not be responsible for the health of the children if they were treated by methods “with which the staff is not in sympathy.”

Hutton said they were referring mostly to one nurse in the settlement hospital who was a Christian Scientist.

He said “as far as I know, she was a capable nurse and carried out the doctors’ orders in all respects.”

However, he said, she was departing from the settlement.

“I didn’t ask her to go and cannot say I will discharge any employee because of religious beliefs, if their work is satisfactory,” Hutton said. “But the nurse has been offered a better position elsewhere, and I will fill the vacancy with a registered nurse. I am sorry the doctors became peeved and I shall go to them and attempt to induce them to return.”

From the traffic beat: The Spokesman-Review ran a feature on Justice S.A. Mann, who, as a state legislator, helped pass Washington’s “rules of the road” law.

Now Justice Mann was in the position of enforcing that law in the county justice court. He recently had made news when he designated an entire floor of the county jail for speeders and other reckless drivers.

“Each Wednesday and Friday, the speeders, the right-of-way ignoramuses, the blue-card boys and the I’m-so-cute-I can-get-away-with-anything girls drop in to tell the judge what a horrible miscarriage of justice would ensue should they be sent to the county jail for a few day, or assessed a fine,” the SR wrote.

Justice Mann said he has been surprised to discover that many offenders would rather go to jail for a few days than have their white license card (driver’s license) revoked.

“A large percentage will make almost any sacrifice to maintain and operate an automobile,” Mann said.

In one recent case, an offender begged Mann to send him to jail rather than revoke his license, because without a license he would lose his job.

Mann said he knew that some people thought he was “unduly severe,” but he was only trying to protect bad drivers “against themselves,” and to protect everyone else on the road.Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1776: Continental Congress creates committee to draft a Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston as members.

1963: U.S. President John F. Kennedy says segregation is morally wrong and that it is “time to act.”