The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-07-08
LETTERS CAUSE
POLICE SCANDAL
Stokes Epistles to Girl, Who
Shot Him, Strangely
Disappear
HIS AGENTS ADMITS
ABSTRACTlNG THEM
Officers, on Duty at Time,
Instructed to Preserve all
Evidence for District
Attorney

police scandal, which oyershadowed
Hf other deveIopmenfs OF the day,
was revealed to-day in the preliminary
trial OF Miss Lillian Graham and Miss
Ethel Conrad. charged with the at
tempted murder OF Millionaire w. e.
ID. Stokes.
While probing into the disappear
ance OF nine important letters, writ
ten by Millionaire Stokes to Miss Ora
ham. the attorneys for the fair de-
fendants learned from the lips of
stokes own private detective, james
Cummings. that he and a Stokes pri-
waite attorney were permitted to enter
and ransack the apartments of the
two girls in the Varuna family hotel,
while three city detectives were there
rs custodians OF the evidence for
the public prosecutor.
And the testimony continued that
these two men found and carried
away-they say without the knowi-
edge of the city detectives pack
age containing all the letters found
in the apartment Cummings said
they recognized the letters to be those
written by Stokes to Miss Graham
by the handwriting upon the en-
veiopes
II was further testified that the
private employees OF Stokes committed
this act on June 8. two days after
the date Of the shooting without
search warrant or any other appar-
ent legal right to enter or ransack
these premises Whether the failure
of the trio OF police detectiyts to
discover this documentary evidence
and carry It TO tho office OF the dis
trict attorney during the forty-eight
hours that they had been In posses
sion OF the three room apartment was
due TO Incompetence. negligence or
Tor q reason not yet made clear, IL
TO he quickly determined
When asked tonight for an express
tfon of his Intentions IN the matter.
poiice Commissioner Waldo, through
his secretary. said he could not dis
cass tho matter until he1reccived the
testimony ia an official channel from
the court. It Is expected that the
testimony will be laid before him
Tomorrow.
The accused girls openly accused
the witness who told of seizing the
letters of committing n theft, de-
nounced the heartless manner in
which the police aided in the up
building OF the case against them and
I'm the possible disappearance of their
only means of defense In spite OF
the fact IL was known within an
hour OF the shooting that Stokes had
gone to the apartments where he was
shot 10 obtain these letters, In spite
of tho accusation by Stokes that an
attempt was made to biaekmail him
by the threatened use of letters. and
IN spite OF the fact that the girls de-
mandsd that their effects be kept
intact fer thA inspection by their
counsel the city detectives for forty
eight hours failed 10 find Tire ~ iissxsH 4.
and allowed two outsiders to enter
and escape with the documents.
This was done with the possibility
Of a murder charge against these two
girls Their bail was held at very
high figure during these forty-eight
hours on the ground that the life OF
Stokes was in danger And yet the
letters which beth the girls and Mr.
Stokes had admitted to be the cause
of the visit and Its consequences were
not found by the agents OF the pub
lie prosecutor. And although these
letters were eaken away from the
apartment OF the girls on June 8. they
did not reach the offices OF the Stokes
lawyers in the present trial until three
days later. or June IL. and did not
4" cufnc into the offfce Of this public
prosecutor until four days later. Or
June 10. Despite the fact that Miss
s,rhtean letters written bv Stokes.
that Nis. Conrad saws she saw Miss
r.raham count eighteen letters as
~ ,isa Tram into the BAGGAGE. and
4, .rita ~ tha aami.sion Nv Nv
sfokas that ne wrote many more let
Tar. than cana into eourt, onlv nine
ist,ar. writtsn hv Stokes 10 Mia
Graham have been introduced info
evidence. y. -,
rha amax,rp tas,tropy ahout fhA
tha,t ~ tha Letters Was given ar,ar
stora. ~ tha witness stand haa told
now Miss Graham onca took noisnn
Tht. story was tola az ha safa Miss
ronr.d r.,atad n n him when sha
called mon him at The Ansonio
Thcucht WEN ~ uer
After ha Ma f,n,ahed At+nrr.v
Moore nrad this onas,ion ~ rim.
"Mr. stokes. there was a trina. was
there not. when You thought pretty