New-York tribune., 1911-11-30
MISS GRAHAM CRIES AT .
READING OF HER LETTERS
Defence Buried Under Avalanche
of EpistIes of Love and
Pleading to Stokes.
ASKS FOR $500 IN ONE
Owner of Ansonia, After Two
Days on the Stand, Welcomes
Turn in Trial of Shoot
ing Show Girls"


prosecution yesterday at the trial of the
! two show girls, Lillian Graham and
/ Ethel Conrad charged with shooting w.
! f.. ID. Stokes, owner Of the Ansona, in
| their apartment at the Varuna in June
Assistant District Attorney Buckner
occupied nearly three hours at the close
of the cros5-examination Of Mr.. Stokes
in reading in evidence over seventy notes
and letters. covering "A period from De-
cember. 1906 10 November, 1910. which
were written by Miss Graham to Stokes.
Beginning in the earlier period of their
acquaintance with the formal Dear Mr.
Stokes" the correspondence rapidly
ripened. until Dear Billy" and Dear
Dearie" were among the more affection
ate terms Of address.
Many Of the letters We're written in the
most affectionate terms Of endearment
and a plantivc tone OF disappointment
that their recipient was neglectful and
did not come To see her often enough
while she lived in the Ansonia appeared
i'm the lines repeatedly. incidentally. a
modest request for material assistance
crept into most Of the epistles, and IT al
most seemed that the more ardently the
writer xpressed herself the more she
was in need.
II was the turning Of the tables on the
defence in their effort to show that
Stokes was the pursuer and the show
girl the pursued.
Demands Miss Grsham's Letters.
Counsel for the defendants had made A
strong effort to shoR that such was the
| case by Introducing several letters from
Stokes 20 Miss Graham on the cross
examination I'm which he had displayed
"a friendly" and "fathcrly" interest and
given her bonbons and taken her out in
his car Ry demanding the production
Of certain of Miss Graham's letters
which stokes testified were In the pos
session of the District Attorney the de-
fence opened tho door for the admission
of the large assortment Of personal doc
uments which the prosecutor had kept in
store. II was evident that the lawyers
dl q the 'fI'lItll'~ M'lf 'f'h' " ~ SUI
prise AZ the result
Miss Graham broke down and wept
several times during the reading of the
letters. nud Miss Conrad tried in vain TO
comfort her. In the mean time Mrs.
Andrews. who ,-me from San Francisco
10 testify in behalf Of her sister, Miss
Graham, gave way under the strain and
wept silently. while Mrs. Singleton, an
other sister. who sat beside hor i'm the
front row Of spectators seats. did her
best in an effort TO console her. Stokes
had been under the fire of cross exam
iHatiou for two days and he appeared to
welcome the respite afforded in merely
sitting still and Identifying one letter
after another for three hours.
H. letter dated February is, 1907.
written Al the Ansonia, where Miss Gra-
ham WAS living, she wrote.
Dear Mr.. Stokes
/ know you viii be surprised to receiYe
this. IL YOU do. Tor ] am only taking
chance on your going to tn" Annex Hotel
You did not care enough to even come
and see me for minute before you LETT,
but | do not care. You never keep your
word with me and YOU tell me you care
me. when know YOU do not. so perhaps
lust as well. for I have made up my
mind never To see you again. no matter
what happens Perhaps a long time from
now but some day surely, YOU may think
OF ne and realize how much ] cared for
YOU. This declaration Of my feeling viii
not surprise YOU at all. for you streddy
know all have said and more. but anyway
YOU shall never see mo again, only from
"A distance. perhaps. Ever since ! iirst met
YOU / have neglected ms chosen profession
.f.I tVf.I Ia af a
/ shall again take IL up with renewed am
bition, secure a position al once and come
10 the front more quickly than great
many people think. II VIII be very easy
matter now that ] am really determined.
You know dearie. ! am writing all this
bocausc | could never tell IL to YOU. Just
as soon as possible ! shall leave the An
sonia and live some place else because
could never bear 20 live iu the same house
Indcr such circumstances with all my
love "a the only man loved. ! am, as ever,
LILLIAN.
Evidently Miss Graham did not go
away. for several letters followed in
March and April. in which she continued
To scold Mr.. Stokes for not coming to
sec her at the Ansonia and accusing him
Of being attentive To a widow Under
the date Of March II. 1891 she wrote:
he TOO busy to read this note. and II YOU
are not would YOU kindly telephone ne?
do not think you like me any more, be-
cause Won never come 10 see me only
when ] ask you to. and even then some
times you do not come. so ] am not go
ing to ask you any more. have been
out all day and Just returned.
II is such "A beautiful day you should
have gone out. IL would have made you
feel better and help you TO forget the
widow
telephone. as / think / am going TO the
theatre and may not see you
LILLIAN.
-Four days afterward she wrote that Mr..
Stokes had not been TO see her for two
w..ole days, and while to you that may
not seem long, 10 me it is like two
years" she said. II hope / will see you
this evening, but if you cannot come
down. will you at least telephone me?"
He Stays Away, She Complains.
She wrote on April 20 that she was
quite sure he did not love her any more
because he stayed away so long, but 1
am such "A forgivins person" she said.
and then: "P. Sam going downstairs
TO get manicure now. but will be back
in a few minutes"
In an early october letter, after Miss
Graham had visited Mr.. Stokes at his
stock farm in Lexington, and returned
to the Ansonia, she said:
Dearie: You have broken my heart. /
did not think you could be so cruel, the
way YOU left me, to-day. In an angry way
/ think dear, you owe me an apology
dearie. IL you still love me.
You have not treated me quite fair, dear
I thilk, but anyway / love YOU as much
as ever Dearie. little healing for my
wounded heart could ] not go for ride
with YOU Tonight!