The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-07-19
DEPTHS OF DEPRAWTY.
Revealed i'll the Trial of the Smell
Will Case.

Clinton, Ill. July 19.-The Smell
will case which has been decided in
! favor of the contestants will go down
in American court annals as furnish
ing one of the most amazing in
stances of the depths to which women
have descended to gain money.
The most sensational feature of all
three hearings of the case was the in
PRODUCTION of letters from nearly a
score or women, young and old, all
of whom professed to love the aged
millionaire madly.
To cater to a degenerate tendency
which appeared to be one of Col.
SHELLS Senile Vagaries the women in
terlarded their letters with imprint
able obscenities. The more vulgar
the tone of the letters the better
pleased the old man appeared to be.
and it was found when the letters
were exposed that he had formed the
habit of marking them with his i'm
presSiOnS.
Bully letter. and "the best she
ever wrote me- were two of the notes
in the coloneTs handwriting which at
tested his keen enjoyment of a couple
of the worst examples of his grand
niece, MabeIle McNamara's CORES
pondence.
Scarcely a letter was written to the
doting old man by any of the women
which did not demand gifts and
money.
send me my sealskin coat right
away, your old dear 'I need a lot
of money. Send me as much as you
can spare, and I will love you to death
when 1 see you again. ''I wilt need
at least $1,000, dear old baby. Send
it right away" were some of the re-
quests, and it appeared that Col. Smell
hardened to the requests and sent the
money, for almost every letter de-
handing more cash contained effusive
thanks for past remittances.
One of the most pitiful instances OF
the reSpect-d destroying glamour which
Col. SHELLS wealth seemed to shed over
women who thought they might separ-
ate him from some of it was furnished
by pastor named John A. Hamilton
v no counived with his wife to use their
15-year- old daughter, Eelna Hamilton,
as a bait to lure gold from the aged
Col. Smell had been a friend of the
Hamilton family from Eelna's babyhood,
and she was 4 well grown girl when
Ter parents noticed the change that
had come over the old man and his
insane fondness for the adulat1on of Wo-
men and young girls.
Mrs Hamilton then made open love
to him, apparently with the knowledge
ard approval of her husband. The lat
ter would write friendly letters to the
g ged colonel and on the backs of these
T issives his wife would write burning
messages Of love. urging him to visit
them and promising that she and Eelna
would "shI'W him a good time.
Later Eelna's parents had the girl
write the old man loving, girlish let
ters, which appeared to have been
dictated by an older head than hers.
AS a result of this playing on Col.
SHELLS susceptibilities the Hamiltons
succeeded in getting from him sew
eral thousand dollars, $1,000 of which
was to have been used as the first
payment of a home the minister
wished to buy.
After the exposure of their angling
for part of the Smell millions the
Hamilton's fed from Illinois and
took refuge in Biloxi Miss. where
they were located and persuaded to
admit Eelna'S part in the quest for
gold.
More than a score of Clinton
women are known to have written
similar letters to Col. Smell, but as
these were not considered essential to
the case they never were introduced
into the trials. and it was announced
later that they would be burned. This
announcement lifted a great load
from the minds of many women high
in Clinton social life.