Forging Checks for Unrequited Love
A local laborer's desperate attempt to cope with a broken heart leads to a criminal spree.
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.
There is a little love story connected with the recent escapade of William Jordan, who was arrested a few days ago for forging some of the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company’s time checks. Several months ago, Jordan fell from a cliff at Electron and broke his arm. He was taken to one of the city hospitals, and while there, he fell in love with one of the nurses who attended him. She did not encourage him, and when Jordan was discharged from the hospital, she refused to have anything to do with him. Jordan, so the story goes, took to drink to drown the pains of his unrequited love. After a prolonged spree, he found himself without money, and accordingly committed the forgery. While he was in the hospital, Jordan amused himself by writing poetry, which is said to have been of more than ordinary merit.
“He fell in love with one of the nurses who attended him. She did not encourage him.”
This story humanizes the petty criminal through a narrative of workplace injury and romantic rejection, reflecting the era's fascination with 'eccentric' motives for crime. It serves as a stark reminder of the lack of social safety nets for injured workers in early 20th-century Tacoma, where a single accident could lead to unemployment and desperation.
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