The Price of a Broken Promise
A young woman in Rosedale takes legal action after her suitor repeatedly puts off their wedding.
Arthur Davis was arrested last night on a warrant charging him with being intimate with a girl under the age of consent. The warrant was sworn to by Miss Bertha Schindler, against whom the alleged offense was committed. Miss Schindler's home is in Rosedale, but during the past few months she has been staying in Tacoma with her brother, who is the manager of one of the local laundries. The girl declares that Davis has made repeated promises to marry her, but that he constantly postponed the date from time to time, until she decided to take the present course. It is believed that the affair will be settled by Davis consenting to an immediate marriage. Davis is a young man and is at present employed as a teamster.
“The wronged girl declares that Davis has made repeated promises to marry her, but that he constantly postponed the date.”
This case highlights the period's reliance on criminalizing relationships as a tool for enforcing marriage, a stark contrast to modern legal approaches to domestic life. The story reflects a time when 'age of consent' laws were frequently invoked by families to compel young men to marry, rather than purely for prosecution.
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