An Umbrella, A Locked Door, and a Young Girl's Ordeal
A teenager finds herself an unwilling prisoner in a Pacific Avenue hotel room after a chance meeting on a streetcar leads to an alleged theft and coercion.
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.
Forrest Young was yesterday found guilty in the police court of stealing an umbrella from Miss Anna Baumgartner on the night of April 13 last, and was sentenced to pay a fine of $50, or in lieu thereof, to serve a term of 17 days in the county jail. Young was unable to pay the fine, and will serve out his time. Miss Baumgartner, who lives with her parents at Middleton, is an attractive appearing girl 17 years old. She testified that she first met Young on a car. A few days later, she says, he stopped her on a street corner. Although only a chance acquaintance, she allowed Young to take three rings from her fingers, which he promised to return the next time they met. Instead of returning the rings, however, Young told the girl that the rings were in his room and said she would have to go with him to the room if she ever got them again. After some persuading, Miss Baumgartner accompanied Young to his room, located in a Pacific Avenue hotel, on the night of April 28. Once inside, the girl found the door locked, and she declares Young refused to let her leave. On the stand, she swore that Young took her umbrella and left the place, locking the door behind him. He later returned without the umbrella but still refused to let her leave. Fearing scandal, she remained a quiet but unwilling prisoner all night before escaping the next morning. Young claimed he left the room to work at a gambling house, but the stolen umbrella was later discovered in a pawnshop.
“Instead of returning the rings, however, Young told the girl... that the rings were in his room, and said she would have to go with him to the room if she ever got them again.”
This case highlights the precariousness of young women's autonomy in the early 20th century, where the threat of 'compromise' and social shaming was used as a tool for coercion. While hotel living was common in downtown Tacoma, the vulnerability experienced by the victim remains a chilling reminder of how safety was often conditional for women navigating public spaces alone.
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