100 years ago in Spokane: Drunk baker allegedly killed woman in hotel room; Spokane Symphony receives praise

A knife fight at the Touraine Hotel became tragic when JB Henry, 27, a baker, and Helen Williams, 24, an archivist, mortally wounded.

Henry, who was reported to be drunk at the time, claimed he accidentally slit her while trying to punch a second man he was fighting with. Police were skeptical of Henry’s claims as Helen Williams was severely slit in both the arm and throat.

Police said they were called to a fight between two men in Henry’s hotel room. They arrived and found Henry standing over Williams trying unsuccessfully to stop the flow of blood from her throat.

“My God, do something to stop this!” Shouted Henry when the officers arrived.

Henry said Williams came to his room early that evening. He claimed a second man had come into the room and the two men had started arguing over her. However, no trace of the man could be found.

Police believed that Henry turned on the woman “in a drunken rage” after the fight.

From the music beat: Eugene Bernstein, a “well-known New York pianist” who spent the summer in Spokane, praised the young Spokane Symphony Orchestra, saying that conductor Leonardo Brill had “musical art” as well as the “practical ability” to make the orchestra a success.

“A music organization puts a city on the map,” said Bernstein. “Business people should put their hands in their pockets to support the organization here and to let the symphony orchestra make Spokane famous.”