The San Francisco call., 1907-06-21
WIFE's LETTERS TELL
Of HER BURNING LOVE
FOR RENT COLLECTOR
Her Divorce Suit Is Made
Lively by Evidence
Against Her
"WORSHIPS" THE MAN
Pens Missives That Might
Have Been Written by
Hendrix Ibsen
"WORSHIPS" THE MAN


in a Fillmore street cloak and suit store,
was testifying in her suit for divorce
against Joln P. Letter, miners black
smith who came from Chloride, Ariz.,
TO fight a charge of desertion. She ad-
mitted reluctantly that the following
letter written to her husband was in
her hand writing:
San Francisco March 90
Dear When / have finished what / am
going TO write you Will me, but / confess
J must. 1 like you. dear, and you know II.
You won't understand that word. for you love
me and ] know it, Oh. God. that you didn' {.
] have prayed TO Jesus and all the saints that
you would learn TO hate me. But now l must
tell you, dear. ] prayed almost all night for
God 70 help to write this letter.
II was this way. One night about two nights
after you left here / was home keeping house
when some came in and said he was there
TO collect the rent for the upper hat. viii
tell you what he looks like; he looks like my
self ! gave him the rent money; then he
signed his 1t was the name of the
landlord that owns the property. saw no
Of him for several days. He in the mean
time had met the little cashier you know, my
aunt's niece and she invited him TO call. He
came. Somehow j hated myself for ever look
ing at him and often would get up and leave
one night went to church and, dear. as
] came out he asked why / avoided him.
! said he was nothing to me. but dear he went
inside the church and knelt down and prayed
When he came out 1 asked him why he went
rour church He said Yes. it is; / am of
your religion Then he said, Il went into
church 10 pray that God would make you like
me Just a little" I did not laugh, but some
thing seemed 10 tell me that | was doing so
very wrong. and l said, i can't listen to such such
st. Then / told him OF you, how much you
loved me He walked home with me from
church and every day l saw him, but always
One day his mother came-a stranger-to see
home for lunch Then | saw his home and his
mother. Then she said. Why are you work
ing If you have husbandE'' Then 1 told her
liked you. IL seems he and his mother nad
talked it over and she had tried TO help him.
They made promise i would 90 10 church
with them that night. How ] prayed that did
not love him. His mother said if did not love
him, please tell him so. / never knew how
much 1 loved him until his poor old mother
came and told me how much her only son
loved me- Then l told both Of them L could not
bear 10 be alone with him.
happily married than be a miserable wreck. IT
is an in your big hands. shall not see him
until hear from you, until the verdict Is
given. Today | saw his back on the street go
ing down Fillmore. / thought how gladly
would die for him. 1t would be a sin TO live
with you and love some one else, but y God.
/ love him much more than my life. he is so
grand. So good know you will curse me.
Nm will write me a cruel. abusive letter.
iocI IL. dearie. but that will be part of my
punishment. This man is all the world to me;
Love hiin Why. I simply worship him.
thoughI I could give him up but II was use
you. a good man with a heart of gold,
man whom ! shall always respect.
II YOU agree 10 q divorce don't come up here.
! will put in the application here and we will
have no trouble getting ii, and II on the
other hand you won't give it TO me this will
mc aud I shall leave here.
You are big, powerful man; you hold ny
a poor life and my only sin has been that
naFe let you love me too much. Give me
my verdict Write soon.
Best wishes and believe me your friend ever,
MRS. LEFLER.
HUSBAND THREATENS HER
During the presentation of the case
for the plaintiff, d. Edward Marchus
and D. S. O'Brien, attorneys for Mrs.
Letter, put in letter from Letter, evil
IDENTIFY in reply to the foregoing mis-
sive. The husband also wrote with
an Ibsen pen. He objected to di-
vorce. telling his wife that If she did
not change her plan and come TO him
he would drag her name through the
mire.
Several letters from Mrs. Lefier to
her husband were introduced by the
defense. One of them, written a month
before she confessed her love for an
other man. reads as follows:
Like ships that pass at night you are gone.
and still the sting: the bitter sting that In all
PrOSsbihty ! shall never ever, see you oags again; hs
you frowned at me I cried. Once 1 tried to
KIN myself because OF you Yet you were not
living in this cold-blcOded way until 1 die,
which won't be very far on. hope.
God knows I wish 1 could have loved you
as you deserve You are great grand and
good. You are all that any man could be.
and your friendship I should always value.
don't love any one else. / don't think ] am
capable Of loving at all Believe me your
friend always.
Forgive me II hurt you IF.
WEARS MOURNING IN ERROR
According to Mrs. Letter, she was
married in Vancouver. Wash, October
IS, 1888, and her husband deserted her
in February, 1899. A month after lie
went 20 the mines of Arizona, she said,
was printed in newspapers in Spokane
and Portland. At that time she was
living In Portland She wore mourning
for him a year, she alleged, and during
that time trunk containing his clothes
was shipped to her from Los Angeles.
When she told OF hearing that he was
alive and was questioned about writ
ing him letters she became confused.
First she denied receiving money from
him, but after much inquiry by both
attorneys and court she admitted writ
ing letters, In which she acknowledged
the receipt Of $50.
Lefer's attorney put in a certified
copy OF a marriage record showing
that the couple were welded in Van
couver on October %, 1904, not October
IS, 1898. After looking at that exhibit
Judge Hunt called a halt. IF this
woman is lying about the date of her
marriage" he said, 'T shall not believe
anything she has testified to. 1 don't
want to see any more letters until the
records have been investigated fur
ther."
Leo Kaufman, attorney for Mrs.
Letter, promised to make.a thorough in
quiry. If the facts Of the marriage
are not as my client has represented"
he said, Il shall withdraw from the
case"
With this. understanding Judge Hunt
waved aside the passionate letters and
postponed further hearing of the case
until August Is.
WILL TAKE ANOTHER BRIDE
Charles II. Smith, cashier in the
treasurer's department of the Southern