The Washington herald., 1911-12-12
BATCH OF NOTES -.
To DEAR STOKES
UPSETS WITNESS
Expecting Consignment of
Forty Chicago Widows.
DAY is INTERESTING

New York, Dec. 11.-Four letters from
Lillian Graham to w. E. D. Stokes and
one letter from the millionaire hotel
owner to the show girl who is on trial
for shooting him-the latter missive stat
Ing that the plaintiff was expecting a con-
Tignment of forty widows from Chicago
comprised the complete surprise sprung
to-day by Assistant District Attorney
Buckner while Miss Graham was on the
witness stand in the Supreme Court The
young woman was so badly confused and
30 much wrought up over the unexpected
turn of the examination that she was on
the verge Of hysteria when adjournment
was taken until tomorrow.
Miss Graham's four letters, she admit
ted, were penned before she visited the
hotel man at his Lexington stock farm.
Their substance seemed to be in the
same tenor as her alleged confession" +"
and the district attorney showed plainly
that he believed them to be trial drafts of
the confession that were not accepted
by Mr.. Stokes. The defendant sought
TO refute this imputation by declaring
the letters referred to money matters,
not morals.
Forty Chicago widows.
The new Stokes letter was written
while Miss Graham was at Memphis with
r theatrical troupe. 1t was dated May
Il, and ran:
My dear Miss Graham: I am sorry to
hear that at last you have gone on the
stage contrary to my advice. Dillingham;
and Bloss came here as usual to see you,
and when they found you had gone they
dropped dead. We gave them a decent
but cheap burial. For months 1 have
been on the verge of nervous prostration.
am expecting next week a consignment
no suggestion or advice to give I will
say no more about them"
1nclosed in one of Miss Grahams let
tiers was a note reading:
Il cannot write that note-the one you
told me to. I tried several times, but
failed. see you will have to tell me how
to write il all over again"
Miss Graham hastily explained that this
referred to the mOney-S1,7 ,700-she had
given to Mr.. Stokes to invest and he had
lost.
In another letter Miss Graham said:
Dear Willie Stokes: I do want you,
and If you will be devoted to me alone
won't make any trouble for you"
Not Going to Cause Trouble.
In another she gave the hotel man a
Wigging for hanging up the receiver in
her ear" Again. she promised to sign
a paper saying there is no danger of
couldn't afford to do such a thing any
more than you could. dearie and YOU
have been so mean to me lately. The
family is going to be out and I shall
De in all afternoon
Asked what she meant by saying she
was willing to sign paper. Miss Graham
SAID she referred to her 81 700
What did you mean when you wrote
TO him that you wanted him to take you
with him everywhere you went and if
he would you wouldn't tell Mrs. Single
tom
Il meant I wouldn't tell her that he
had lost my s1.7OO."
Didn't you have a good time at Lex
nEton?' asked Mr.. BuCkner.
No, sir"
Were YOU CRYING all the time"
She Got No Money.
DO you remember how much money
Mr.. Stokes gave you when you left?"
He didn't give me any money"
Didn't he give you SSOO-S1OO for each
5ays?"
No, sir; I wasn't there. three days,
and l didn't get any money"
Mr.. Buckner delved into more CORE
sPondence in which abOunded ''dearies'
and some things very important to tell
you"
Didn't you write to a friend that after
a ball at the Ansonia you sat up with a
Mr.. West and another man and drank
twelve quarts of champs gne, and had an
lwful headache the next morning."
No, sir; l didn't"
What did you mean by writing this?'
asked Mr.. Buckner:
" I am now with a man who loves me
very much, but I cannot live on love
alone"
There was no eXplana tion of the note
by the witness.
She admitted that she came to the An
sonia about the time of the death of AL
Adams, the policy king.
She denied that her sister. Mrs. Sin
gleton, knew that she was friendly with
Stokes. and that Mrs Singleton even in
vited him to her apartment.
Didn't you know that he supported va
rious women" asked the district attor-
ney.
No SIR
Weren't you desirous of getting on
his pay rool?"
No, sir
AfTcctiOnatc Letters Read.
Mr.. Buckner then read a letter in which
Miss Graham told Stokes of her disap-
pOintment at not having seen him the
evening before and supposed that he had
dropped in to see somebody else He
read a number of affectionate letters
written closely following the date on
which she said she had given Stokes the
Sl,7OO
IF you were a pure young girl OF
eighteen or nineteen why did you write
Mr.. Stokes so many letters?'' asked
Mr.. BuCkner.
Because he wrote me a great many
and 1 saw him often
When he said he was looking for a
nice young widow or a divorcee, what
lid he mean?"
Il don't know"
Why did you go on calling him
Dearie'?"
Il knew him better later"
We're You a prisoner at lexington"
Yes"
At this point the girls weakening nerves
broke under the strain, and she burst into
mood of tears The jury was given a
Hve-minute recess, and the witness, un-
suenoed, retired to chair behind the
Jury box and gave vent to her feelings.
She returned four minutes later, and.
"iping her eyes, looked defiantly at the
assistant district attorney.
Written Under Threafs,
Miss Graham reaffirmed her statement
made on direct examination that she
wrote the confession because Stokes
threatened to wire her brother-In-Iayy.
Mr.. Singleton, that she had gone To Ley
ingtop and forced herself on the hotel
owner. She said she didn't tell Ms