The San Francisco call., 1905-01-09
GRAND JURY
WILL PROBE
MARRIAGE
millionaire Dukes
Case Promises
Sensation. !
Relatives Say He Was In
competent When He We'd
ded Alice Webb.
Young Woman Has Record as a Stock
broker and a Promoter Of
Companies.
Special Dispatch to The Cali

NEW YORK, Jan. 8.-Incidents fol-
lowed one another quickly to-day in
the affairs of Brodie l.. Duke, the mill
lionaire tobacco man, who has been
committed to sanitarium. They cul-
minated tonight in a siege of the
house of George III. Mallory, Mrs.
Dukes attorney. by woman who said
to have her admitted and for five min
utes she tried to gain an entrance.
B. l.. Duke has been summoned to
appear before the Grand Jury to-mor-
row-Mrs. Duke will become promi-
nent figure in the investigation by the
Grand Jury and the District Attorney
of the financial affairs of her hus-
band, with which she seems to have
been intimately connected. Previous
to her marriage to Duke, three weeks
ago, Alice Webb had promoted COM
panies being d member of a stock
brokerage house, and had apparently
won the confidence of many bankers in
small towns of the South and Middle
West.
The authorities at Bellevue Hospital
have deposited with the District Attor-
ney the bonds, stocks, notes and
checks to the face value of about
100000 which were found in the
pockets of Duke when he was taken
into custody at the instance of his
relatives on the ground that he was
not compstent to nanase his own al
Mrs. Agnes d d'Esplaines an associate
of Mrs. Duke, also has been sum-
moned to appear before the Grand
Jury.
All persons connected with the af-
fair were reticent to-day as to details,
but the hint was given in many quar-
ters that developments of the great
est interest might be expected.
Concerning the financial career of
Miss Webb in Chicago and this city
many interesting facts developed to-
day. Her connection with Mrs.
d d'Esplaines seems to have had no con-
nection with the various commercial
interests in which she was interested.
Mrs. d Esplaines, who is her senior by
several years, was once proprietress or
a resort on West Thirty-second street.
The two women have been on terms of
intimate friendship for many years
and they were living together when
Miss Webb made the acquaintance of
Duke.
Dispatches from Chicago say that
Mrs. Duke is daughter of w. H.
Webb of that city and that she in
herited her talent for financial man
agement from her father.
Rev w. w. Coe, DR.. ParkhurSt'S
first assistant who performed the we'd
ding ceremony for Duke and Miss
Webb, said tonight that he did so
knowing nothing of Miss Webb's ante
cedents and making no Inquiries about
them. He said also that at the time
Duke manifested no signs of mental
disturbance, although the clergyman
admitted that in the excitement of the
ceremony Duke gave answers In the
wrong place at times.
The statement was smade Tonight
that George H. Mallory, Mrs. Dukes
attorney. had severed his relations with
the woman, and that this was the rea-
son for her attempt to gam admission
to his residence.
Mallory was averse to entering into
any discussion of the transactions.
There are among the papers in the
temporary custody of the District At
torney's Office three promissory notes
for $4,000 each, said to have been made
on December last by Duke to Miss
webb. four DAYS before their marriage,
and due in three, four and five months.
Mallory said he had an idea they were
to be used in connection with the
financing Of the Texas-Cuba Tobacco
Company, OF which MRS. Duke was
president before her marriage.
1t was said tonight that the decision
of tho. Duke family to take steps to
annrI the millionaire's marriage was
reached when 1t was discovered that
Mrs. Duke was once proprietress of the
House of All Nations" notorious
resort.
CHICAGO, Jan. Sin marrying
Brodie L. Duke, who was placed in
a sanitarium on Long Isrand yester-
day. Mrs. Duke, who resided in
Chicago before the wedding, gave up
remarkable business career in this city.
Before the wedding Mrs. Duke. who is
the daughter of William H. Webb, a
well-known Chicago business man, had
aided In the promotion of several large
industrial concerns. and at the time
she became the wife OF Duke, which
has been less than a month ago. she
was president and secretary of the firm
of Taylor, Webb & Co., a prominent in
vestment company in La Sale street.
She was understood to be wealthy.