A Saloon Death in Winlock, and a Prosecutor Who Isn’t Sure
A minister swore out a murder complaint against two saloon proprietors after F. M. Frost died from injuries received in their bar, but the county attorney doubted the evidence would hold.
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.
CHEHALIS, July 18.—[Special.]—Complaint was made before Justice Painter this morning by Rev. W. H. Wilton, charging Henry Dahminer and Joel Fellows with killing F. M. Frost at Winlock. Fellows and Dahminer are the proprietors of the saloon in which Frost received the injuries which led to his death. County Attorney Rice, when asked about the matter, said it was doubtful if evidence enough could be produced at the preliminary hearing to hold the men. Frost repeatedly stated before his death that he himself was to blame for the trouble, but on the other hand he made contradictory statements to other parties. Frost was a very quarrelsome man, and always in trouble when drinking. Both Fellows and Dahminer have borne a reputation as peaceful men. Fellows is in town today, but the arrests have not yet been made.
“Frost repeatedly stated before his death that he himself was to blame for the trouble, but on the other hand he made contradictory statements to other parties.”
The case shows how a small-town saloon death could become a public moral drama: a minister swore the complaint, the county attorney doubted it, and the dead man’s own words cut both ways. It is a reminder that early Washington justice often depended on informal reputations—'peaceful men,' a 'quarrelsome' drinker—as much as on evidence.
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