The Detective Who Watched a Stenographer—and the Doctor Who Paid Him
A Seattle lawsuit over unpaid surveillance opens a window onto Dr. J. Eugene Jordan’s relationship with Margaret Deboe, the young woman who killed herself with his revolver.
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.
SEATTLE, Wash., Nov. 25.—A. M. Harmon, a private detective, has sued Dr. J. Eugene Jordan for $1,600, which he alleges is owing him for services as a detective for Dr. Jordan. The suit comes as a sequel to the sensation of a few months ago, when Miss Margaret Deboe, a stenographer, killed herself in a room adjoining the office of Dr. Jordan and with a revolver that had been given to her by Dr. Jordan.
For two weeks the coroner investigated the case, and throughout the investigation Dr. Jordan was the central figure. Long before the girl’s death Dr. Jordan was on close terms with her. This he admitted on the witness stand. In fact, he admitted that he was almost in love with her. It was then that he employed Harmon to watch the woman when she was out of Jordan’s sight. Shortly after the suicide Harmon demanded his pay. Jordan gave him $300. The balance he refused to pay. Hence the suit to recover.
Before locating in Seattle Harmon was an organ agent in Walla Walla and in Dayton.
“In fact, he admitted that he was almost in love with her. It was then that he employed Harmon to watch the woman when she was out of Jordan’s sight.”
The lawsuit is a reminder that surveillance-for-hire and intimate power imbalances are not new; in 1903 a private detective could be paid to shadow a woman and then sue when the bill went unpaid. The death at the center of the case is a tragic footnote to a legal squabble—today, such cases might surface as workplace-harassment allegations or high-profile true-crime stories.
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