The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1913-07-12

One night, just after the baby's
third birthday, the little family
was sitting in the parlor of the
bungalow, Mrs. Hooper was play
ing the piano, when she screamed
and toppled backward off the
stool.
OF course her husband was ter
ribly alarmed and mystified. He
didn't know that through the win
dow she had seen the face of a pal
of the forgotten days, older and
more vicious than when she had
last seen him, but easily recogniz-
able nevertheless.
Maybe the old companion meant
no harm. He was a wanderer, and
by accident probably peered in the
window. But the shock to the
woman was so terrible that she
was SICK long time and in her
delirium told her husband the
whole story. He was young and
hot-headed. His pride was wound
ed. He thought he had been de-
ceived and tricked.
So he got divorce and was
AWARDED the c1llQ.
Mrs. Hooper paid the price.
She's now living the old life
again.
Blacxm8il is an ever-present
source of danger. l have heard of
many eases where blaClSmail ruin
ed homes. One little woman was
bled for two years by old compan-
ions. She saved and scrimped and
took her housekeeping money to
pay them, and got so sick and wan
that her husband didn't know
what to make of it.
Finally, in desperation, she told
him all. He forgave everything
and she thought she had paid the
price.
The husband went to meet the
blackmailers the next time they
called, armed with heavy cane.
He never came back. They had
killed him.
So that woman paid-heavily.
The leeches extracted nearly
$1,000 from her in the two years
and then took her husband.
There was another case of a
woman who married one of the
friends of her hayward days. Both
thought they had reformed.
The man rose to high position
in a big company but as he grew
older the latent beast developed
in him and the wife grew to hate
him. She endured his beastiali-
ties for months, but shot him fin
ally at the breakfast table when
he tainted her in the presence of
the servant.
She was tried, pleaded insanity
and went to the asylum. She's
paying the price.
I remember hearing of the ex-
perience of a country girl who
went to the city to get employ
ment as a servant. The white
slave recruiters met her at the
station with a closed carriage and
drove her to supposedly respec-
table clearinghouse in a quiet
street.
She stayed there more than a
year and was allowed to commune
cate with her home folks because
she was considered safe. Regu-
larly she sent them money. Final
ly she returned home for a visit,
dressed .magnificently and with
much money.
She carried tales of lucrative
employment and her old parents
beamed on her. She was no prod
igal daughteri
But while visiting there she
again met her old lover. Her
love for him had been lying dor
mant. 1t blossomed suddenly and
proved irresistible, so she resolved
to remain at home.
Her engagement to the old
lover was announced. One night
she went to bed among friends.
She awoke in the morning among
enemies. A city newspaper had
carried police story about how
she was wanted on an attempted
Matchmaking charge preferred by
supposedly reputable citizen
really probably an accomplice of
the slavers.
The country town papers re-
printed it. The sweetheart turned
his back on her. Her parents
scoraed her. She went away and
a week later they found her body.
She also paid the price.
When you see girls speeding
and screaming with sports in rae
ing machines, dancing all night at
shady resorts and consorting with
old sports" of unsavory speech
and past, they seem sometimes to