The Unlucky Return of Alexander Fachant
A Frenchman who forfeited a $2,000 bond believing he was free finds that federal law has a longer reach than he expected.
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.
Alexander Fachant, the Frenchman who was arrested in Walla Walla several weeks ago on a charge of importing foreign women into the country for immoral purposes and who forfeited a $2,000 bond for his appearance in the United States court at Seattle, was arrested by a secret service man Tuesday evening and taken to Seattle to stand trial. Fachant was under the impression that the forfeiture of his $2,000 would end the case and was very much surprised when the detective placed him under arrest again. Two other charges will be placed against Fachant: seduction and bringing a pauper into the country.
“Fachant was under the impression that the forfeiture of his $2,000 would end the case and was very much surprised when the detective placed him under arrest again.”
The language used here reflects the early 20th-century preoccupation with the regulation of morality and borders. It documents a moment where the federal government began to more aggressively prosecute human trafficking and immigration-related charges in the Pacific Northwest.
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