The Scandal that Wrecked Two Homes
A betrayal of friendship and marriage in Tacoma leads to a sudden disappearance and the ruin of two local families.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A few days ago, C. V. Cooper, one of Tacoma's best-known young citizens, suddenly left the city. It has since developed that Cooper’s departure was caused by his intimacy with Mrs. Fred D. Hall, which resulted in the breaking up of his own family and the family of Mr. Hall. Mrs. Cooper is distracted with grief, and with her two little children has gone to her brother’s home at Victoria, B.C. Hall and Cooper were intimate friends. The infidelity of his wife with Cooper has extended over a period of several months, during which time Hall, never questioning his friend’s honor, kept up his intimate acquaintance with Cooper. Mrs. Cooper discovered the affair when her husband, in a delirium of illness, spoke Mrs. Hall’s name, and she subsequently found a letter in his pocket that confirmed their guilt. Cooper, having resigned his position with the Northern Pacific Railroad, left his wife without support, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
“Mrs. Cooper, pale and trembling with agitation, and excited, drew from her pocket the convicting letter and read it aloud.”
This 19th-century account of infidelity and domestic collapse highlights the extreme social stigma and legal vulnerability wives faced when abandoned by their husbands, a stark contrast to modern divorce and support protections.
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