The Swindler of Spokane Falls
After the great fire, a relief distributor made off with the city's food and funds, establishing a private grocery store on the backs of the desperate.
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.
It was learned that Robert Ingalls of Spokane Falls has been arrested at Chehalis in the vicinity of a dispatch from Sheriff Joseph Warren of Spokane, who has been in Portland two days looking out for Ingalls. The latter came down from Spokane Falls five days ago on his way to San Francisco and to dodge the officers. He is charged with swindling about $1,000 at the time of the great fire at Spokane. Ingalls was appointed lieutenant to Mr. Harry C. Hayward, who acted as general distributor of all kinds of supplies, provisions, etc., for the needy. It is claimed that Ingalls had goods intended to be given to the needy and instead directed them to his own personal advantage. He started a grocery store and restaurant and ran them from what was contributed. In this way he realized quite a sum and then jumped the town just before the discovery was made. Sheriff Warren is now on his way from Chicago to Spokane for trial. There is great indignation among the people of Spokane Falls over Ingalls' knavery.
“There is great indignation among the people of Spokane Falls over Ingalls' knavery.”
Post-disaster exploitation remains a persistent civic trauma; just as Ingalls preyed on the ruins of the 1889 Great Spokane Fire to line his own pockets, modern cities still struggle to prevent the commodification of humanitarian aid during crises.
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