100 years ago in Spokane: Long odds don’t deter enthusiam for local senator’s presidential bid

The Spokesman-Review simply could not abandon the dream of a Republican presidential nominee from Spokane, despite the undeniable fact that Sen. Miles Poindexter was far from the favorite at the Chicago convention.

In fact, the paper’s correspondent in Chicago insisted that his “outsider” status was his biggest asset. All of the favorites were hopelessly deadlocked, and the search was on for a compromise candidate acceptable to all.

The paper’s correspondent acknowledged, however, that an uphill struggle lay ahead.

“Of course, Senator Poindexter, as well as all his leaders, know the bitter struggle that must lie between the votes now drifting in by small bunches and the 494 that are necessary to nominate,” wrote J. Newton Colver, the reporter on the scene. “There is no disposition in his executive camp to commence a big, hysterical hoorah and launch extravagant claims.”

The Washington delegation was planning to caucus the next day and drive up enthusiasm for Poindexter.

From the circus beat: The Al G. Barnes Wild Animal Show arrived in Spokane, complete with masses of elephants, brown bears, polar bears, seals and hyenas, along with one huge hippo.

“The high-diving act was by a little fox terrier and a monkey,” reported the paper.

There were also “more clowns than usual.”

Some of their comic material was about Prohibition, with one “studious” clown reading from a book called “How to Make Your Own,” and a singing trio that included two men and a donkey singing, “How Dry We Are,” with the donkey’s “hee-haw” chiming in on the chorus.