100 years ago in Spokane: Church feud turns violent, two men arrested

A local congregation called The Church at Spokane was in turmoil—and two men were in jail.

The church janitor and the leader of a feuding church faction “engaged in a lively struggle this morning for possession of the church keys.” Both were arrested for disorderly conduct.

This unseemly tussle was an outgrowth of a larger conflict within the church. Apostle John G. Lake of Portland, the general overseer of the church, arrived in Spokane and announced that three officials of the Spokane church—a bishop and two pastors—were suspended.

They were accused of various “irregularities of a financial nature.”

In one instance, they were accused of taking a $600 note from a mentally ill member of the congregation who was being cared for at the church home.

From the radio beat: The Doerr-Mitchell Electric Co. announced that it was installing a high-powered radio receiver that could “get in touch with Honolulu and all European countries.”

“We expect to hear speakers from all over the United States,” said WH Irish of the company. “The messages from Germany and other points in Europe, however, may only reach us in code.”

The radio would soon be on display at the store.