Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-07-07
MR.. STOKES
AS ADVISER
His Vo|uminous Correspond,
enCe With Miss Graham
FOU Nd BY DETECTIVE
Part of Evidence at Trial of
His Former Friend and
Miss Conrad Charged
With Shooting Million
aire Hotel Proprietor.
FOUND BY DETECTIVE

New York. July "a package OF
eighteen letters written in bygone
! years to Miss Lillian Graham was
/ handed up to the judges bench this
afternoon in the trial of Miss Graham
and her chum. Ethel Conrad on a
| charge of attempting To murder W
! +. ID. Stokes, the millionaire hotel
man. The letters had been found. a
detective said. in the young womans
rooms
I Stokes pale and worn, told his own
| story of the shooting. He had been
| summoned to the women's apartments
/ ne said. by Miss Conrad who told
him that Miss Graham had left for
| Europe. He was angry he said when
! he saw he had been deceived, and
declined to sign an alleged statement
setting forth that he had DETAINED
Miss Graham and her relatives. He
! had also declined to pay $500 un-
der threat Of death. he added. and
thereupon Miss Graham began to
shoot
Stokes said he told the girls that
blackmail was a prison offense and
that Miss Graham said: III say I'm
! crazy" while Miss Conrad asserted.
according to Stokes: Wen say he
came to our apartments ard attacked
us and we killed him in self defense.
We have three witnesses listening To
all Of this who never would let him
out alive"
When Stokes disarmed Miss Gra-
ham after sustaining two wounds
Miss Conrad. he said. was i'm the par
lor and as someone began firing then.
he assumed it was she He was hit
again in the calf of the leg There
We're four, more. shots but they all
went wild. Stokes started for the
hall then There, he said. first the
two girls and later three japanese
seized him and throttled him while
a short. stout man aided them. The
police finally rescued him. he said.
and he handed patrolman the re-
volver ne had taken from Miss Gra-
ham.
on cross examination opposing coun-
sci attempted To have Stokes tell Of
his attentions To Miss Graham in the
four years he had known her but he
proved an unwilling witness and the
lawyer met with constant objections
Stokes met Miss Graham at dinner
in Lexington. KY, he said. He had
taken her out automobile riding. had
written her while she was at Mem
phis. Chicago and other points. and
also entertained her at his LeXing
ton farm.
The first cash present he had given
her was $3.50 or 5000. he did not re-
member which. on the occasion of
one of her visits to Lexington. Stokes
concluded his testimony shortly be-
fore adjournment The case will be
continued tomorrow.
I'm the letters from Stokes To Miss
Graham. given out tonight. there We're
many bits of advice for the young
woman One sept early in D2cem-
ber. 1909. warned her that the stage
held but a ''heartless. soulless life,"
and urged her instead to marry
some rich young fellow whose COM
panionship is worth more than all the
admiration of a cheap stage
In another. the writer said: Il am
n cross, grabbed and ugly old cove
and such a nice letter from such a
pretty girl has turned my head. In
the first place YOU know l am a
divorced man. forbidden to marry;
second, any man who has failed to
retain the love of the woman who
was desperately i'm love with him
would count it crime to try matri-
mony on a girl for the second time.
In the third place. l am too old. so
all / can do is to wait for a widow
or divorcee who has had all the
matrimonial experience she wants for
life, and so we will just be good
friends.
we will go travelling and autoing
together and have pleasant talks and
such things. There are several dozen
widows and Divorces here / intend
looking over carefully before | return.
But | will make no selection before /
have talked it over with you.
There is widow right small.
about 40 years old. very pretty and
only slightly damaged. that hear a
lot of good about She is very shapely
and l will get your opinion of her.
She has a nice little nose and black
hair. She says she does not like Chi
cago; the dirty streets. the hogs and
such things remind her of her late
husband. New York is where she
wants to live and she has an ample
fortune. She is a little black and
white dream"
In another letter, Miss Graham was