USA > Washington > Spokane County > Spokane > History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume II > Part 33
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John Lafayette Wiley, whose name introduces this record, entered the public schools of his native state, passing through consecutive grades to the high school and afterward attended the Western Normal College of Bushnell, Illinois. He then entered the newspaper field, being employed for a brief period on the Times and later on the Tribune, of Minneapolis, his services in that connection covering two years, after which he took up the study of law. His professional work was done in the law department of the University of Minnesota and in Kent Law School in Chicago, where he took the appellate court examination in 1894 and was then ad- mitted to practice. For ten years thereafter he remained a member of the Illinois bar, at the end of which time he came to Spokane, where he has since engaged in
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the practice of law. In January, 1910, he was appointed assistant corporation counsel but resigned that office after his election to the position of prosecuting attor- ney on the 8th of November, 1910, for a term of two years. He is thus the incum- bent in office and in the discharge of his duties he has won high commendation from all concerned. Although this is a strong republican county, Mr. Wiley was elected by a majority of twelve hundred, only three other democrats on the same ticket being elected to office. This fact is proof of his ability and personal popularity. He has always been an advocate of democratic principles and has taken an active interest in the affairs of the party since coming to the state, attending both the county and state conventions, including the convention held in Spokane in 1908. He is now serving as a member of the county central committee.
On the 18th of March, 1909, Mr. Wiley was united in marriage to Miss Mary H. Martin, of Spokane, a daughter of T. H. and Katherine E. Martin, representa- tives of an old Maine family. Her father and mother are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wiley have an interesting little son, John L., who is of the third generation of that name. Mr. Wiley belongs to the Inland Club and during the seven years of his residence in Spokane has gained a wide acquaintance. It is said that in no section of the country is a man rated more entirely by his individual worth and merit than on the Pacific coast, and judged by this standard Mr. Wiley has estab- lished himself in a position that is commendable and enviable, being recognized as a moving force in democratic circles and also as one whose ability before the bar entitles him to the political honors which have been conferred upon him.
FREDERIC PHAIR.
Frederic Phair, interested largely in improved city property while his efforts as a contractor and builder have contributed much to the work of making Spokane the beautiful city that it is today, was born in Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland, November 27, 1863. His parents were the Rev. John Pickering and Elizabeth Phair, the former vicar of the parish of Buttevant and regimental chaplain to the troops of Buttevant Barracks.
Frederic Phair pursued his education in a private school of Dublin, Ireland, and in 1883, when a young man of but twenty years, crossed the Atlantic to New York city. Having some natural inclination toward wood work, he began car- pentering and followed the trade for five years, during which time he attended evening lectures and classes on architectural and building subjects at Cooper In- stitute in New York. In April, 1888, he married and came immediately afterward to Spokane, for he had become convinced that the great and growing western country offered better opportunities to young men. He was employed for a short time as a journeyman and then entered the contracting and building business on his own account. His work today stands as a splendid monument to his ability and has been an important feature in the improvement and adornment of the city. He erected the Paulsen building at a cost of eight hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars; the Exchange Bank, one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars; the Young Men's Christian Association building, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; the Masonic Temple, one hundred thousand dollars; the Spokane Athletic Club build-
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ing, sixty thousand dollars; the Spokane Club, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; the San Marco apartments, sixty-five thousand dollars; the Spokane Dry Goods store, one hundred and forty thousand dollars; and others which are notable features in the attractive architecture of the city. In 1892 he erected the Idaho state building at the Chicago exposition, a large log house costing about twenty- five thousand dollars, and in 1896-7-8 he duplicated this in England for an English gentleman at a cost of forty thousand dollars. He is interested extensively in im- proved city property and his realty holdings return to him a gratifying income. He has kept not only abreast of the times in architecture but has been in the van- guard in the northwest, his operations largely setting a standard for activity in the field in which he labors. Mr. Phair is financially interested in the Spokane & Eastern Trust Company, of which he is a director, and he is also a trustee of Brunot Hall.
In New York city, on the 18th of April, 1888, Mr. Phair was united in mar- riage to Miss Mina Isabel Rogers, a daughter of M. Rogers, of Breagogue House, Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland. Their children are Lascelle R. and Harold G. The parents hold membership in All Saints Protestant Episcopal church and Mr. Phair is warden of All Saints Cathedral. He did active service in behalf of the public-school system in this city as a member of the board of education from 1892 until 1898. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he was a member of the county convention that nominated Miles Poindexter, now United States senator, for prosecuting attorney for Spokane county. In his fraternal rela- tions Mr. Phair is connected with the Masons as a member of the lodge, chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine, and he belongs to the Spokane Club, the Spokane Athletic Association, the Spokane Rod and Gun Club and the Country Club. Per- sonally popular, he has displayed those qualities which in every land and clime win friendship and regard. The steps in his orderly progression in business are easily discernible and his even-paced energy has brought him to a prominent place in the industrial and financial circles of his adopted city. Moreover, his sound judgment causes his opinions to be sought in relation to various private and public interests and in all matters effecting the municipal welfare he has manifested a public-spirited devotion to the general good.
LEWIS P. LARSEN.
History in Washington is in the making. The great broad valleys, fertile plains and mountain sides give splendid opportunity for the development of every branch of agriculture, commerce and mining and into this great district, rich in its natural resources, have come hundreds of enterprising, progressive men from the east, imbued with the purpose of wisely using the time and talents in the attainment of success through the development of the country. To this class belongs Lewis P. Larsen, a capitalist, and the founder and builder of the town of Metaline Falls. He was born in Denmark, March 7, 1876, and is a son of Anders and Petrea Lar- sen, who still reside in that country. He pursued his education in the schools of his native land, taking a technical course and in 1895 he came to America, mak- ing his way to Salt Lake City. In that locality he spent about . year as cowboy
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LEWIS P. LARSEN
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on a ranch but later secured employment in the mines of that region. His arrival in the Spokane country was in 1897, at which time he located at Wallace, Idaho. There he followed mining and was connected with the firm of Larsen & Green- ough, one of the prominent mining firms of the northwest. His early educational training has proven of immense value to him in the conduct of his business affairs in later life. His knowledge and capability soon won him recognition as an expert mining engineer and in 1900 he became connected with the Last Chance mine at Northport, Washington. In 1905 he discovered the deposits of cement rock at the present site of Metaline Falls and interested F. A. Blackwell and others in the un- dertaking, with the result that the Inland Portland Cement Company was organ- ized, erected its building at a cost of one million dollars and is today supplying the needs of the entire Inland Empire in this particular. Theirs is the largest and most complete cement plant in the northwest. Its mills and buildings have a floor space of several acres and the plant is most thoroughly equipped with modern machinery and with all the facilities that promote the manufacture and the inter- ests of the trade. From the time of huis discovery of the cement rock here Mr. Larsen has not only taken an active part in the upbuilding of the town but has been the prime spirit in founding and developing Metaline Falls. He has intro- duced the most progressive ideas, putting forth every effort in his power to make this an ideal western city. Its site is a notably beautiful one on a picturesque peninsula at the confluence of Pend d'Oreille river and Sullivan creek and is the northern terminus of the Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad. The town lies at a level of one hundred feet above the river and has had a phenomenal growth since it sprang into existence during the summer of 1910. Thirty-five business houses are already in operation, two excellent hotels afford first-class accommoda- tions and civic improvements are being promoted at a rapid rate. The general plan of the town was conceived by Mr. Larsen, owner of the town site, and it is laid out on strictly modern lines with a beautiful park system and playgrounds. It is supplied with electric lines, has a never failing supply of the purest water and there is now in process of erection a twenty-five thousand dollar school build- ing. The natural contour of the town site lends itself to ideally arranged residence districts and a perfectly beautiful system of parks. On the entire west and north sides the park slopes to the very water's edge. In laying out the streets the ut- most care has been given to preserving the natural beauty of the place. An electric light system has been installed and aside from being a director of the Inland Port- land Cement Company, Mr. Larsen is now president of the Metaline Falls Water Company, also of the Larsen Realty Company, the Larsen Lead Company and The Lead & Zinc Company, all business enterprises of Metaline Falls. He has studied methods pursued in town-building elsewhere in the northwest, has improved upon plans previously followed by others and has avoided all that is likely to lead to difficulties.
In 1906 Mr. Larsen was united in marriage at Port Carbon, Pennsylvania, to Miss Bertha Brown, a daughter of George and Mary Brown, of that city. They now occupy a very beautiful home at Metaline Falls, which Mr. Larsen erected in 1910. He belongs to the Spokane Club and the Inland Club, also of Spokane. Hc has never held or desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his busi- ness affairs, which are of rapidly growing importance. The town which he has founded and which stands as a monument to his enterprise and progressiveness is Vol. II-16
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not only most beautifully situated but lies in the midst of a district of splendid natural resources and of agricultural possibilities. He displayed notable sagacity and foresight in choosing the location, and the business methods which he is pur- suing insure the continual growth and prosperity of this new and enterprising city of the northwest.
SAMUEL RIKA STERN.
Samuel Rika Stern, a prominent corporation lawyer of Spokane, who has con- tinued in active practice in this city since June, 1891, was born in Syracuse, New- York, July 7, 1855. His father, Abraham Stern, a native of Germany, settled in Syracuse on coming to America and was there engaged in the jewelry business. He married Rebecca Rika Strauss, also a native of Germany. Her death occurred in 1871, while Mr. Stern passed away in 1887. In the family were two daugh- ters and one son: Belle, the wife of Joseph Michaels, of Rochester, New York, who is at the head of Michaels, Stern & Company, one of the largest clothing firms in that section; Ray, the wife of J. M. Wile, a banker of Rochester, New York.
The other member of the household was Samuel R. Stern, who acquired his education in the schools of Syracuse, passing through consecutive grades until he became a high-school student. After putting aside his text-books he turned his attention to professional interests and became managing clerk for Ruger, Wallace & Jenney of Syracuse. When Judge Wallace was appointed United States judge, Mr. Stern continued with him, acting as clerk in his office until admitted to the bar in his native city. His leisure hours had been devoted to the study of law and under the wise direction of Judge Wallace he mastered the principles of juris- prudence that qualified him for the active work of the courts. He first engaged in general law practice in Syracuse and there remained until June, 1891, when he came to Spokane. Here he immediately entered upon the practice of law, in which he has since continued. To him has been accorded a large and distinctively representative clientage. His legal work as counselor and advocate has been of an important character. He is the representative of the Harriman railroad lines in Spokane, and has been for about twelve years representing the Great Northern, and he has also been connected in his professional capacity with various other corporate interests. His standing among his professional brethren is indicated in the fact that he was honored with election to the presidency of the State Bar Asso- ciation in 1898.
The only political office that Mr. Stern has ever held was that of assistant prosecuting attorney of Onondaga county, New York, but after one year he re- signed, having no liking for public office. He is a republican free lance and has always taken an active part in the politics of the state of Washington.
In Rochester, New York, in 1883, Mr. Stern was united in marriage to Miss Libbie W. Wile, a daughter of Joseph Wile, the first wholesale clothier of that city, and they have one son, Harold Gross, who is a graduate of Cornell Univer- sity and a mechanical engineer, who spends his time in Spokane and Seattle, being a member of the firm known as the Moran Engineering Company, doing business in Spokane, Seattle and North Yakima.
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Mr. Stern is prominent in lodge circles. In Masonry he has attained the thirty- second degree of the Scottish Rite, holding membership in Spokane Consistory and also with the Mystic Shrine. He is connected with the Knights of Pythias of Spokane and is the oldest Elk in the northwest, having joined that order in Syra- cuse, New York, when it was strictly an order for actors. He was admitted very soon after it was founded about 1880 and in his professional capacity there was entrusted to him nearly all of the theatrical litigation of central New York, repre- senting in different contests such famous people as Fanny Davenport, William Gil- lette, Primrose & West and others. He handled the litigation between the Mal- lory brothers and the Frohmans and was the legal representative of the owners of many opera houses. Mr. Stern wrote sketches for them which are recorded suc- cesses. He possesses marked literary ability and is the author of stories and arti- cles which have appeared in the magazines and newspapers. He has been a fre- quent contributor to the press when traveling, and when on a trip around the world wrote a series of letters which attracted much attention, and elicited favor- able comment from the critics. His social nature finds expression in his member- ship in the Spokane Athletic Club, the Spokane Tennis Club, the Spokane Trans- portation Club, and the Spokane Progress Club. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and in connection with its work went to China as a mem- ber of its commission, and had the distinction in San Francisco of giving the shortest biography of any member of the commission, amounting to only about four lines. He is modest, never sounding his own praises, but his work and its success in various relations is widely recognized and he is honored by the profession and the general public.
HON. D. C. COATES.
Hon. D. C. Coates, who is serving as one of the five city commissioners of Spo- kane, has resided here only since 1906 but in this brief period has become a promi- nent figure in political and labor circles and has made for himself a host of friends. Natural ability has fitted him for leadership and organization and the public posi- tions which have come to him have been a merited reward for unselfish effort on behalf of the people whose interests he holds dearer than his own personal ad- vancement. While serving as lieutenant governor of the state of Colorado, his life record was published in volume entitled Biography of Colorado, which we here- with produce in full:
"David C. Coates, of Pueblo; lieutenant governor of Colorado, was born in Brandon, Durham county, England, August 9, 1868. He was one of eleven chil- dren born to George and Mary (Hodgeson) Coates, who immigrated with their family to the United States in 1881. His father, who was a skilled mechanic, first located at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The following year he obtained employment in the steel works of Pueblo, Colorado, and moved his family to that city, where he has since resided. Limited means deprived our subject of a liberal education but he made good use of the few years he had in the common schools and availed him- self of every opportunity to indulge his love for broad general reading. As is natural with a logical mind, his reflections became formulated into theories and
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those theories in turn eventuated in fixed principles of which his later deeds are the sincere expression. His first experience in the great world of toil was by his father's side in the Pueblo Steel Works, where he learned the initial lesson in the injustice to which labor is subjected and began to feel in an indefinite way that the producers of wealth should be the owners of that wealth.
"At the age of fifteen years he left the mills and entered the office of the Pueblo Evening Star, learning the trade of a compositor and acquiring a full knowledge of the printing business. A few years later, in partnership with his brother, he established the Pueblo Press, which he sold out in 1887. He then went to Denver and for three years was employed on the Rocky Mountain News. After this he had the distinction of being associated in the publication of the first socialistic paper issued in this country, the Coming Nation, first published at Greensburg, Indiana. In 1896 he formed a partnership with Otto F. Thum and began the pub- lication of the Pueblo Courier, the official organ of the labor organizations for the state of Colorado.
"Mr. Coates is known as a facile and forceful writer on general topics, but his most earnest and effective effort has been in the direction indicated. He was the leader of the organization of the Colorado State Federation of Labor in 1896, was elected secretary of this organization in 1897, reelected in 1898, elected its presi- dent in 1899 and reelected in 1900. In every case he received the unanimous vote of the organization. He has natural genius for organization. There is not a camp or mine in the whole state that he has not visited, and that there are now more than fifty thousand laboring men in Colorado, operating under the regime of unions and mutual support, is very largely owing to his unremitting endeavors.
"In 1896 Mr. Coates was nominated for the state legislature. His election was defeated but on so close a ballot that the case was litigated. The verdict gave him a majority of the votes but his opponent retained his seat secure in the possession of the electoral certificate. Mr. Coates was a conspicuous figure during the great smelter strike in 1899, and its amicable adjustment was largely due to the influ- ence of his wise and conservative action. In September, 1900, Mr. Coates received the nomination of the democratic and fusion forces for lieutenant governor of Colo- rado, to which office he was elected by a plurality of over twenty-five thousand. This indorsement and honor came to him unsought and was a most substantial tribute to a most worthy character. Those who have known Mr. Coates since his boyhood speak of his loyalty and sincere purpose and the remarkable courage and ability with which he follows out and urges his convictions. Mr. Coates was mar- ried in Denver, October 14, 1890, to Miss Sarah B. Pearce. They have one child, a daughter, Hazel Marie, born at La Porte, Indiana, February 1, 1893."
Before Mr. Coates left Colorado the democrats offered him a renomination for lieutenant governor, or the congressional nomination as he might choose, but he was entirely out of sympathy with political methods which were then dominant, as it seemed that personal interest and not public welfare was the constitution of the majority of political leaders in that state. The corruption that was so evident, disgusted him so thoroughly that he resolved to have nothing more to do with politi- cal management or office there. In 1901 he removed from Pueblo and made his home in Denver until 1903, during which period he was for some time acting gov- ernor of the state during the absence of Governor James B. Orman. The west, however, attracted him and he resolved to become a factor in the upbuilding of the
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great empire which was springing up beyond the Rockies. He therefore sought a favorable business, purchasing the Tribune, a newspaper of Wallace, Idaho, of which he took charge in January, 1904. In July, 1906, he was visited by repre- sentatives of the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, to whom he sold out, as they de- sired to establish a daily paper in Wallace.
The same year Mr. Coates removed to Spokane and organized the printing firm of Coates, Hughes & Coates, in connection with his brother William and H. L. Hughes. During the period of his residence in this city he has taken an active in- terest in labor and political affairs and is widely recognized as the champion of the interest of the many as opposed to the interests of the favored few. In the fall of 1909 Mayor Pratt appointed him one of the seventeen members of the pre- liminary charter commission to investigate old and new forms and to report in re- gard to adopting the new. After three months' investigation the commissioners sent in their report in favor of the adoption of the commission form of govern- ment and Mr. Coates took an active part in the campaign for the purpose of call- ing for an election of fifteen freeholders. When it had been decided upon to hold the election he was nominated and elected as a member of the commission that formulated the present charter of the city. He has reason to be proud of the fact that he is the father of the preferential system of voting. He took an active part in the campaign for the adoption of the charter which carried on December 28, 1910. On the 7th of March, following, he was elected a commissioner on the non- partisan ticket, being one of five elected out of ninety-three candidates, receiving the third highest when the vote was first taken. He was assigned to the position of commissioner of public works and all the city improvements are in his depart- ment, including bridges, streets, sewers and asphalt plants. A vast amount of work is being done at the present writing, his department representing the spirit of progress which is rife in Spokane and is making this one of the most enterprising and attractive cities in the Pacific coast country. He believes in "doing the right thing and doing it today as well as looking forward to tomorrow."
Mr. Coates has attended numerous county and state conventions as delegate for the populist party and after its absorption in 1892 by the democratic party he joined the socialists, with whom he has since been identified. With him principle is ever above partisanship and his political activity and service have ever been the expression of his deep interest in the general welfare. He has one possession which he prizes highly-a gold watch, which bears the inscription "Presented to D. C. Coates by the Members, Senate of Colorado, Thirteenth General Assembly, 1891," each one of the thirty-five members of the senate contributing to the gift.
On the 14th of October, 1890, at Denver, Colorado, Mr. Coates was united in marriage to Miss Sarah B. Pearce, a daughter of Samuel Adams Pearce, who was a volunteer from Pennsylvania and fought in the Civil war on the Union side, taking part in the battle of Gettysburg and other important engagements. He was a representative of an old Pennsylvania family.
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