A Scandalous Midnight Marriage
A Tacoma telegrapher, intoxicated and infatuated, defied social norms to marry a woman from a local brothel in the middle of the night.
W. E. Smith, an operator at the Western Union telegraph office in Tacoma, was married this morning to Miss Jessie Ella Scott, formerly known as Jessie Callahan, who has for some time been an inmate of a house of prostitution. Smith, known as 'Smithy' among his friends, had been infatuated with Miss Scott, and last night both drank freely. At 4 a.m. today, they proposed marriage. After being turned away by one justice who demanded a license, they woke up a deputy auditor to issue one and returned to the Tacoma Hotel to be wed. Young Smith said today that many foolish things are done by people under the influence of liquor, but he shows no disposition to repudiate the marriage contract.
“Young Smith said today many foolish things are done by people when they are under the influence of liquor.”
The lurid, judgmental tone used to report on Miss Scott's profession reflects the era's severe moral policing of women, particularly those living in the margins of society. While the paper frames the event as a tragic 'scandal' caused by alcohol, it captures a rare, albeit hostile, glimpse into the private lives of people whom the press routinely chose to vilify.
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