Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-07-07
EXPECT
An ACQUITTAL
Lillian Graham and EthsI
Conrad RIss Anticipate Pre-
fitabls Vaudeville.
STOKES LETTERS REAB
Girls Laugh at the Story Hs
Told of tie Recent
Shooting.


New York. July Not only do
they expect to be acquitted Of the at
tempt of murder of w Z. D. Stokes,
the millionaire hotel owner, but they
anticipate a profitable vaudeville en-
gagement as the result Of their ex-
perience, was the statement made by
Lillian Graham and Ethel Conrad,
as they left Magistrate Freschi's
court, following the noon recess to-
day.
Stokes was the principal witness
at today's examination. He denied
ever assailing the character of Miss
Graham or her mother or sister He
also emphatically denied improper
relations with the Graham girl and
insisted that while he had given her
money at various times and secured
her theatrical engagements, it was
because he considered her
friend"
Ethel and I are going into vaude-
vile after we are discharged here,
said Miss Graham. 81 am writing a
sketch. part of it will include a court
room scene and We will work in some
of Stokes theatricisms. ] guess l
will have to call the sketch, One
man in a boat, and make it some
thing OF 9 farce. It ought to be a
scream"
A few kilograms and dozen let
ters written by w. E. D. Stokes in
1907 to Lillian Graham, which he
had expected to get back wheHA4e/
was shot by her and Ethel Conrad in
their apartments, were admitted as
evidence.
They were made part of the court
record at the close of an eight hour
session In the Tombs police court. with
Mr.. Stokes 10 the witness chair most
1 of that time.
He told with considerable dramatic
/ effect his own story of the things that
! happened to him when he called on the
/ LIS on the night of June :. Occasion
ally he jumped TO his feet and emily
ened his narrative with energetic ges-
/ lures and poses And all the while the
two girls giggIed and Uttered aud sim
pered.
: When Mr.. Stokes told the court that
: f0~Conrad threatened him with
death If he refrsed TO sign check for
$4,000 and added NJ fhSH+-he be replied, If
it's a choice between a c6a9l6Sr one
cent and death give me death" he
( young women gurgled with laughter
4 Stokes looked grinly over their heads
and went straight on with his tale
The introduction Of the letters and
/ kilograms was unexpected Ii hap
/ pened that Robert Moore, one of the
lawyers for the girls. heard that AS
sistant District Attorney Sullivan had
secured them from A. H Gleason of
the Ansonia. who had them from
( James Cummings. the Ansonia house
detective. Cummings found the batch
two days after the shooting In a closet
Of the sitting room the girls had at the
Faruna.
So Moore. leading up TO them in his
cross examination of Stokes, came to
their admissibility, and the magistrate
ruled they should go into the minutes.
Stokes wrote breezily to Miss Ora
ham on a variety of topics. He
touched upon many things. from the
undesirability of the stage TO young
and shapely widows, slightly damaged
He warned against drink as bad for
the complexion and mused upon the
Z possibility of finding a widow or di-
voreee who had had her ill Of matri-
monial experiences and with whom he
could be just good friends.
Once he wrote dryly that he didn't
blame Lillian Graham for not taking
his advice about the futility of the
atrical work. since he had told Maude
Adams when she was little girl that
she was sure 10 fail if she went on the
| stage.
None of the lettey7, ~wever. seemed
10 be OF a compr~-ing nature.
III of r,,nl-o "a hn1ir-.t +ha m nst