A Legislator, a $20,000 Seduction Suit, and Two Women
A wealthy Pullman Democrat and state representative is accused in Spokane of seducing Helen M. Bierman—a charge tangled with his wife’s divorce case.
SPOKANE, March 10.—[Special.]—Helen M. Bierman today commenced action against Hon. F. H. Letterman, of Pullman, for $20,000 damages for alleged seduction by Letterman in October, 1892. This alleged seduction is the cause of the separation of Letterman and wife and the latter’s suit for divorce. Letterman is one of the wealthiest and most popular citizens of Eastern Washington. He is a Democratic member of the legislature from Whitman county.
“Letterman is one of the wealthiest and most popular citizens of Eastern Washington.”
In 1894, a $20,000 seduction suit could end a political career and put a woman’s reputation on trial alongside the man’s. The case also shows how Eastern Washington’s Democratic establishment intertwined wealth, land and legislative power. Modern readers may recognize the pattern—private misconduct allegations becoming public tests of who gets to hold office.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.