100 years ago in North Idaho: The sheriff turned out to be an unreliable witness in the Sandpoint shooting

C.L. Moore was released from police custody in Great Falls, following another case of mistaken identity in the Sandpoint and Hope shootings.

Sheriff W.F. Kirkpatrick of Sandpoint went to Great Falls to arrest Moore on charges of being the man who shot him in the back during a May holdup attempt. The sheriff had identified Moore, who was described as “colored,” as the man who shot at him. Kirkpatrick also believed that Moore might have been involved in the murder of a pool hall proprietor in Hope, Idaho.

However, when Kirkpatrick arrived in Great Falls, he learned that Moore had an ironclad alibi. Moore said he had not been released from the Washington State Penitentiary until weeks after the May shooting. The prison warden confirmed that fact.

Kirkpatrick then admitted that he must have been mistaken in his identification, and returned to Sandpoint without a prisoner.

Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick was facing charges himself, for conspiring to assist bootleggers.

From the bathing beauty beat: The Spokane Daily Chronicle was holding its second annual Mermaid Beauty Contest, which was a thinly veiled excuse for running front-page pictures of young women in bathing suits. A total of 50 local “mermaids” were finalists for the contest.

The rules for the contest included the following: “It is not necessary for a girl to be able to swim or dive.”

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1945: U.S., USSR, Britain and France sign the Treaty of London, which sets down procedures for the Nuremberg war trials of Nazi leaders.