100 years ago in Spokane: Memorial held for President Warren Harding, a month after visit to town

In July, President Warren G. Harding had been basking in the applause of a huge crowd at the Spokane Armory.

Just a month later, Harding was being eulogized at a memorial service at the Spokane Chamber of Commerce auditorium.

“Only a few days ago, he was among us,” said Sen. Clarence C. Dill. “He walked with us, talked with us, laughed with us and hoped with us. He accepted our ovations and our honor modestly and so appreciative and yet with such a serious mien, that we felt he would henceforth understand our problems better and we would love him more. It seems impossible that he would soon be gone beyond the stars.”

From the safecracker beat: Ed Spencer, believed to be the notorious yeggman (safecracker) Eddie Rivers, refused to tell police who his accomplice had been when he tried to rob the A.L. Ritter Drug Store.

“I’ll do a long jolt, anyway,” said Spencer/Rivers, apparently meaning a long prison sentence. “There’s no use squealing.”

Police believed that Spencer and his pal had arrived in Spokane a week earlier and had committed several burglaries. If Spencer was indeed Eddie Rivers, as police believed, he could be charged as a habitual criminal. Eddie Rivers had two felony convictions for safe-blowing on his record, one in Texas and the other in Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Spokane Police Detective Frank Keenan was recovering from a bullet wound in his ankle. Spencer’s accomplice shot Keenan during a shootout at the drugstore. The gunman escaped into the darkness.