100 years ago in Spokane: Union secretary claims liquor made him embezzle funds

P.C. Paulsen pleaded guilty to stealing from his employers, the Spokane Valley Growers Union, but he had an excuse.

Liquor made him do it.

Paulsen, the secretary of the union, claimed that he committed the crime while under the influence. And he added that his alcohol problems began while he was in an Army hospital.

“I first started drinking whisky when I was in the Army, sick with influenza,” he told the court. “In the hospital, they gave me doses of whisky as part of my treatment. I learned to like the stuff and I have been drinking ever since. On that day (of the crime), I realized I was taking the checks, but I did not realize I was stealing the money. This is the first time I have been in trouble.”

His attorney asked for a lenient sentence due to the circumstances, but Paulsen was sentenced to three-to-15 years.

From the Hillyard beat: The political warfare in Hillyard continued as Mayor Pat Brown sued the city attorney.

The lawsuit asked for the recovery of $110 paid to city attorney C.E. Collier for services at a controversial “special session” of the City Council. The session was an attempt to thwart Brown, who was out of town at the time.

Brown’s lawsuit also asked for an injunction to prevent the council from holding any further special sessions.

From the aviator beat: The condition of Daisy Smith, Spokane’s sole woman aviator, remained unchanged.

She was conscious at times, and occasionally “rational.”

She suffered a fractured skull and numerous other injuries when her plane spiraled into the ground while approaching Parkwater Field in Spokane.

Her hospital attendants said she “had a fighting chance to pull through.”