This day in history: Foley hoped to see Carter’s presidential challenger win, and an immigration hearing was unexpectedly humorous on several fronts

From 1976: Rep. Tom Foley of Spokane said he was “saddened and disappointed” that Washington’s Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson had dropped out of the presidential campaign.

Foley was a “close political ally and strong supporter” of Jackson. Yet Foley admitted that rival Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter’s “momentum cannot be denied.”

“As the field of active candidates narrows and as Carter’s campaign funds grow, one has to wonder whether he will be stopped,” Foley said.

Foley did not directly criticize Carter, but he did add that the party might want to “look again at how we select presidential candidates.”

In other news, The Spokesman-Review announced the winners of Dorothy Dean’s 1976 Recipe Contest. The top prize went to Emma P. Kuest for her Kuest Krumb Kake, laden with pineapple, dates, raisins and nuts – “an ideal treat for brunches and kaffee klatches.”

From 1926: An immigration/naturalization hearing in federal court provided plenty of “humor and pathos,” The Spokesman-Review said.

When Antone Scarpelli was asked about the U.S. Constitution, he answered, “No one can tell.” When the judge asked him what a republican form of government was, Scarpelli said “government by the Republican Party.” The crowd laughed and the judge said, “No, our government doesn’t change when the Democrats get in office, almost though.”

This brought another round of laughter.

In Angelo Costa’s hearing, he admitted that he had been arrested four times.

The judge responded, “That’s enough.”

But when Costa’s attorney, Joseph Albi, provided information that all of the arrests stemmed from “a frame up in an Italian row,” the judge admitted Costa for naturalization.