The Alpine Captivity of Dora Sauvageot
A local musician is allegedly trapped in a remote Swiss cottage under the control of a man she met in Vienna, sparking a violent confrontation in North Tacoma.
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 startling story revealing the fact that Miss Dora Sauvageot, a young Tacoma society girl and a proficient musician, is held in practical bondage in a small village in the Alps, was brought to light this morning when Joshua Klein, a distinguished-appearing German, was arrested and locked in the county jail on a warrant charging assault with intent to commit murder. The warrant was sworn to by Mrs. Dora Culvertson, a friend of Mrs. Sauvageot, the mother of Dora. The alleged attack occurred at the Culvertson home on North 32nd Street last night when Klein refused to aid the mother in her efforts to secure the return of her daughter. Several months ago, Miss Sauvageot and Miss Rose Karasek of Tacoma went to Vienna to study music. Klein became acquainted with Mrs. Sauvageot and later approached the girls in Europe, offering them rent-free housing in his Swiss cottages. It is claimed Klein held the young women under his influence until they attempted to return home, at which point he intercepted Miss Sauvageot in New York and forced her back to Europe. Last night, Klein threatened to kill Mrs. Culvertson and Mrs. Sauvageot when they demanded he assist in her return. Officer A.C. Brown intervened, finding Klein clutching a knife. Klein remains in custody, maintaining that his refusal to remove the young woman from the mountain home is a matter of keeping his word.
“He told them that he owned several houses in a remote village of Switzerland, and offered one of the houses, rent free.”
This bizarre narrative of international manipulation and 'hypnotic' control is a window into early 20th-century anxieties regarding young women traveling abroad. While the language of 'hypnosis' and 'spiritual atmosphere' reflects the period's sensationalism, the underlying struggle of a mother attempting to navigate legal and international barriers to protect her child remains a timelessly harrowing civic drama.
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