The Scandalous 'B. F. D.' and the Rights of Women
A political agitator’s checkered past is dragged into the light, raising questions about who has the moral standing to advise the territory's women voters.
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 communication from 'B.F.D.' to the women voters of Washington Territory is currently floating around. It ends by telling women to teach political opponents that their moral sensibilities are not dead and that they have the courage to resent insults to themselves and their homes. This 'B.F.D.' was once a man of prominence in this territory. He had a virtuous wife, but she was compelled to leave him on account of his lechery. He kept mistresses in Port Townsend, Seattle, Olympia, Portland, Vancouver, Walla Walla, and elsewhere. His disregard for public opinion and common decency was open and flagrant. It is an insult to responsible women for this man to address them on any subject, especially to give them advice in regard to their conduct. This man is credited with having belonged to an organization formed during the Civil War to force the Pacific States and Territories to secede. He is a traitor to his country.
“It is an insult to responsible women for this man to address them on any subject.”
This piece illustrates the Victorian-era strategy of attacking an opponent's character—specifically their sexual morality—to invalidate their political influence. It reflects the intense, often vicious atmosphere of 1880s territorial politics where personal life was fair game for public destruction.
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