The Scandal of the Relief Committee
When Spokane city officials were caught raiding the relief pantry, the resulting arrests shocked the community and exposed a deep-seated culture of graft.
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.
Spokane, Sept. 17.—There was a great sensation when it was learned this morning that Councilman Peter Dunbar, Councilman Sydney Waters, and Policeman William Gillespie had been arrested last night. The three city officials were arraigned before Justice L. Isensee charged with stealing supplies from the relief committee. The prosecution was represented by District Attorney Jones, Colonel P. H. Winston, Norman Buck, and others. There was not standing room even in the hallway leading to the justice’s office. Over twenty-five witnesses were called, largely expressmen who delivered the goods to the residences of the defendants; it is shocking to hear them state the amount of property they hauled to the cellars of the accused. The officials of the relief committee and citizens are more than ever disposed to push the matter, and do not propose to stop until they show to the outside world that this city will not tolerate such disgraceful acts within its limits, and that boodlers will be routed. Peter Dunbar is a member of the relief committee from the city council. Sydney Waters is also a councilman and served in the commissary department, and it is charged he took advantage of his official tenure to fatten his purse.
“It is shocking to hear them state the amount of property they hauled to the cellars of the accused.”
Public outrage over the corruption of those entrusted with the welfare of the vulnerable is a constant in Washington history. Just as in 1890, the tension between civic greed and the demand for accountability remains a central friction point in the city's political life.
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