A Fisticuff Over Politics at the Hotel Spokane
Tensions over the presidency lead to a public brawl in a Spokane hotel lobby between two political figures.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Col. Frank J. Parker, editor of the Walla Walla Statesman, and L. C. Gilliam, a prominent Republican of this city, had a short but rattling fight in the lobby of the Hotel Spokane tonight. Parker and Gilliam have always been the best of friends. They were engaged in conversation, when Gilliam referred to the inauguration of the 'Stuffed Prophet.' 'What's that?' demanded Parker. Gilliam repeated the statement, when Parker exclaimed, 'Grover Cleveland is now president of the United States, and you can't insult him in my presence,' and grabbed a newspaper which Gilliam was reading and tore it up. Gilliam seized Parker and hurled him half way across the room. Parker was back in an instant, and landed a vicious right-hand blow on Gilliam's eye. At this point bystanders parted the combatants. The affair has been suppressed by the local papers.
“Grover Cleveland is now president of the United States, and you can't insult him in my presence.”
Even in 1893, political polarization led to volatile personal confrontations in public spaces. The term 'Stuffed Prophet' was a derogatory jab at Cleveland, showing that vitriolic political nicknames are as old as the republic itself.
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