100 years ago in Spokane: Voters of color were taking a stand against politicians endorsed by the KKK

Spokane’s Colored Republican Club was alarmed about the prospect that the Spokane branch of the Ku Klux Klan was endorsing local political candidates.

For that reason, the club invited all candidates in the upcoming election to speak at their next meeting at the Calvary Baptist Church.

“Any candidates who are endorsed by the Klan will not get a vote from the colored citizens of the state,” said T.S. Rogers, the club’s secretary. “Colored people are beginning to take an active interest in politics.”

The club had good reason to suspect that the Klan was cultivating some candidates.

“We have a number of candidates under consideration and have committees investigating them with a view to endorsing,” said the Klan’s local “kleagle,” O.R. Smith. “We will not announce our endorsed ticket. It will be shown only within the ranks of the Klan.”

From the Prohibition beat: Harry L. Cohn, a candidate for Spokane County prosecutor, made a sensational claim that local “Wets” had offered to back his candidacy in exchange for going easy on Prohibition enforcement.

“They wanted me to protect the ‘19th hole’ at the Country Club, and I have played enough golf to know that the ‘19th hole’ is the place where golfers quench their thirst after playing 18 holes of golf,” Cohn said.

They even suggested that if they bankrolled his campaign, they should get to name his chief deputy.

Cohn said he rebuffed their offer, and now “they have gone down the line fighting against me.”

“If that’s the way they want to play politics in this city, I am going to fight them to a finish and expose them, even if I go to jail for it,” Cohn said.