The Retraction of Mrs. Hoff
A minister's wife recants sensational allegations of abuse and battery, leaving a community wondering what truth lies behind a public marriage scandal.
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.
In Davenport, Washington, Mrs. Clara Hoff has dropped her divorce suit against her husband, Rev. George Hoff, and the couple is living together again. Last September, Mrs. Hoff had her husband arrested for assault and battery, and he was restrained from returning home. Recently, she signed an affidavit claiming the allegations of abuse—including claims that her husband had struck and kicked her—were false and untrue. She stated she only signed the original complaint because her attorney asked her to do so. Attorney H. N. Martin, who handled the case, refused to comment other than to note that Mrs. Hoff had read the complaint before swearing to it, suggesting the couple is simply attempting to rehabilitate their public image.
“Affiant now states that these allegations are false and untrue and that at the time affiant signed said complaint in said action she did not know what was contained in said complaint.”
This story highlights the historical invisibility of domestic violence cases, which were often treated by the press as mere 'scandals' or leverage for social reputation. The tension between the legal system's attempt to intervene in 'private' family matters and the subsequent social pressure to retract such claims remains a persistent issue in domestic relations.
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