100 years ago in Spokane: Oklahoma senator says Sen. Miles Poindexter, of Spokane, a strong contender for president

Sen. Thomas Gore of Oklahoma stopped into Spokane for a round of speechmaking and raised the strong possibility that the next president would be from Spokane.

“Behind Sen. Miles Poindexter (of Spokane) there are forces and factors that make him a very formidable candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency,” said Gore, a Democrat. “I have had an opportunity to learn that he has the support of forces that have in the past asserted themselves very strongly in our national politics. He not only appears favorable to the Western states, but has a substantial backing in the East.”

However, Sen. Gore admitted that the presidential race was still a puzzle. For one thing, there was uncertainty over whether Democratic President Woodrow Wilson would seek another term. On the Republican side, there were several strong candidates — Warren G. Harding and Gen. Leonard Wood, among others.

In the end, Poindexter would make a poor showing in the primaries, and Harding would win both the nomination and the presidency.

Gore also expressed concern about the proposed League of Nations, and whether it would work.

“Will it keep us out of war or will it make more war for us?” he asked. “We have been involved in two of the 52 wars of Europe in the last 100 years. Now we are pledged to get into every war in Europe. But will the number of wars be decreased?”