Evening journal., 1911-07-06
STOKES TELLS
OF SHOOTING
Under Oath He Repeats Story
Of Alleged BIaCkmaiI by
Girls Who Shot
SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE
GIVEN ON FIRST DAY
By The United Press.


NEW YORK, July 6-That de-
mand that he retract statement affect
a ing the honor of Lillian Grahams
81 mother and her two sisters, was add
q ed to blackmailing demand for $685.
81 600 and that. when he refused to be
''bled." the Graham girl and Ethel
q Conrad deliberately tried to murder
= him, was the sworn statement made
4 in police court today by W. E. D.
Stokes, millionaire hotel proprietor
and sportsman.
When the two chorus girls faced
their accuser in Magistrate Freschi's
court, there was plenty of sensational
evidence from the start. Despite the
extreme heat, the police reserves had
s. TO be called to control the crowd that
wanted to hear the story Of the mil
a lionsire and his two charmers.
Both girls daintily garbed, in white,
sat directly in front Of Stokes and
listened scornfully as he pictured the
Il events that happened in the apart
4 ments on the night Of July T.
Il ION that afternoon, / received a
phone message from Ethel Conrad,
said Stokes "She told me that Lii
4 liam Graham had sailed for Europe on
the Baltic and had left a package OF
letters / had written her to be turned
over to me. She asked me If / would
come up for the letters or If would
send for them told her l would
come at 6 o'clock.
Il got TO the apartment on the hour
and the elevator boy told me TO walk
right in. Inside the door Miss Con-
rad was standing and told me to sit
down until she could get the letters.
heard her talking with some one in
the other room A few minutes later
| was surprised to see Lillian era
ham coming down the hall. She had
a revolver in her hand. AS she jump
ed through the door she yelled;
. have you where / want you now you
You have told it all
over New York that my mother ran
house in Seattle; that my sister was
of bad chartcter in Cincinnati, ana
that / was Of bad character in this
city. over there is a desk and pen and
ink You get there you -- -- --
and sign a retraction and If you move
l will certainly kill you
Il looked at her in amazement as
had never said anything like that
to anyone. Then the Conrad female
broke in and said; Now you do as
we tell you and you will be all right.
Otherwise you will be killed.
Il told them that l was not afraid
of them or Of their pistols and Con-
rad said: Well, we will make you
afraid You won't be the first man
that has been killed in a New York
fat We can kill you and get away
with your body and no one will be
any the wiser
AS he accused the girls, the voice
Of the millionaire was raised almost
to a shout and he gazed straight at
them. Neither fiinched.
"The girls wrangled over what
was to write" continued Stokes, 'and
finally interrupted them to tell them
emphatfcally that they could shoot os
soon as they pleased, that / had nc
intention Of writing anything. tried
to talk them out Of their mood and
reminded the Graham woman that
had given her thirty dollars once
two hundred another time, and ffteer
only a few days before and that she
had promised to return to me eighteer
letters ! had written her. I alsc
warned her that did not like ths
way she was trying to double cross
me I will sign nothing, as ! have
made no such absurd statement
told them and then the Conrad woman
broke in:
Yes you will, and now you viii
sit down there and draw us a checl
for $4,000. Get a gait on you
Il told her I preferred to be kill
ed to giving up money in that way
and I warned them that I would hav
them arrested If they persisted. o
no you won't, yelled Conrad, You SCI
we have 1t all fixed up. If you won
give us this money we will just XII
you Then / will swear you tried t
assault me and I killed you, and
guess there won't be any twelve me
found who will blame me for wha
.n did
I won't give you cent. I'd soor
er be killed. l told them, and tn
Graham girl stepped back and bega
swapping the trigger of the revolve
The first two times nothing happene
n and then ] saw fash and felt
stinging pain in my leg.
"As she shot again l jumped an
grabbed her We fought across til
room to the door she yelling: 'Ethe
get your gun, you said if didn't XII
Al him you would / saw Conrad ope
the door of a cabinet and get a gu
out She fired and hit me in th
ankle. Then / pulled the other woma
around in front Of me. AS ] did S
Conrad ran to the front windo'
yelling: Police, murder, helpl
told her she couldn't get the polio
there, soon enough to suit me and sh
stopped yelling and came back q
me just I managed to reopen the doc
into the hall. We rolled through th
door, both Of them fighting me an
- then the door snapped
fYTI.- dorif 1rr,, choof fha
yelled Graham as pulled myself FIRE
from them. How can / when th
door is shut and locked was the al
swer and then / saw / was safe
bunch of Japanese ran out Of an az
" joining apartment and began to bei
me, but just then the police arriv7
and all hands we're arrested"
This concluded Stokes direct test
InnnN and q racaas Wa lalLan