The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-07-09
POLICE SEEK STOKES NOTES
NJ TTON. M TTON. " no PASSED
THE M TTON OFT or SIGHT"
Counsel for the " omen who shot stokes
says the Missing Letters Couldn't
Possibly Have Dccn FOund First Two
Days After Event case Adjourned.

To find out how James Cummings, the
Ansonia House detective. was ablc to re-
move from the rooms of Lillian Graham
and Ethel Conrad bundle Of letters
written to Miss Graham by W T.. ID. Stokes
Deputy Police Commissioner Dillon was
sct work by Police Commissioner Waldo
yesterday and was considerably surprised
10 learn yesterday that II trayfulof letters
received from admirers and friends by
Miss Graham in she last four years had
been kept at the West Sixty-eighth street
81 n, ion since June !. he night Stokes was
shot The heads of the Police Depart
ment hadn't been told about these letters
Dillon sent IA man up to the station
house and ordered him 10 bring back every
scrap that had been taken from the Va
runa apCri ments. The man happened TO
he Detective Mccormick. who was in the
apartm the night Cummings walked
Off with his boss's billcts doux. He
brought back a collection of letters. tcle-
grams, photographs and memorandum
books and paved through them hoping
to find the nine letters from 81 okes 10 Miss
Graham that have disappeared, but the
nearest he got to Stokes was when he
raked out several unreceip,ed bills for
Miss Graham's board and lodging at the
1 Hotel Ansonia. One of the bills was for
$3.50
| Not 4 scratch of Stokes's handwriting
appeared and there wG- nothing in the
/ correspondence that referred to the pro-
prietor Of the Ansonia so far "a Dillon
could see. There were perhaps forty
! letters in all and few kilograms One
yellow telegram was signed "Enrico
Caruso." who regretted that he could not
meet some lady that evening. There
were penclled notes from men who de-
sired to meet Miss Graham "afier the
show" and many notes from men who
seemed o think we'll of the young woman.
| But not a sign OF the letters that even
Stokes himself says ough, to be some
! where
| Commissioner Waldo was pretty much,
exercised when he heard that Detectives
Sullivan. McCormok and Walsh had been
| looking out of the window for some: hing
while Cummings was making discoveries
in the woman's fiat He told Dillon that
il it was found that the detectives were
careless or worse the iron bali would roll
over somebody Dillon started in by
questioning ". F. d. Stokes Mr. Stokes
said that he hadn't seen any of the letters
save those he identified in court on
| Thursday last and which were admitted
| in evidence. He had been told that Mr..
| Gleason and Cummings had found n bun
die OF his letters in Miss Graham's rooms
and that the letters had been turned over
to W. NJ. X. Olco;t and Terence J.
MrNfnpue his rnunS.l no n . ba,
to the District Attorney
Then Dillon questioned the house do
| tectivc Cummings said that he went
with Mr. Gleason to look around and assist
in getting evidence He didn't havo
search warrant but the detectives who
were in charge of the apartment let him
and Mr. Gleason enter without protest.
| He rImmaged around he said. until he
| came 10 trunk that was in a closet in he
sitting room He looked behind the
trunk. saw bundle Of letters tied with n
pink ribbon picked them up and handel
them TO Mr. Gleason He didn't unite
the string or look at tho letters himself
The detectives agreed with part of
Cummings story. but not with the part
he told about how the letters were found
They said the trunk wasn't IN the closet
that il had been hauled out into the room
and that il was hardly likely bundle
Of letters anywhere near il could have
been overlooked. They agreed with
each other that they didn't see Gum.
mings find the letters or give them &c
Gleason They didn't know he had tax er
any evidence out Of the apartment. They
said too this interested Dillon consid
alN k.x, hnl a., al
search OF the apartment on the nigh,
of the shooting. but that before they go,
there. An hour and a half after the youns
women had been taken away. some
body had poked about in drawers anC
closets and trunks, That was evden,
because some Of the contents of these
receptacles had been Uttered on the
floor They were positive that all tn.
papers in the room had been gathered
ip by themselves the night of the shoot
ing and taken TO the West Sixty eight /
= rect station. later to be shown to In
spec,Or Russell. then head of the Detect iv,
bureau Russell said that the pauer.
had no connection with tn. Stokes case
80 they returned them 10 the station
house where the lot remained until Dillor
heard about their existence tsterday
and sent for them. Dillon questioned
, Detectives Mccormick, Walsh. Devery
and Flynn. Mccormick. Walsh and Sui
livan were in the room when Gleason
and Cummings looked around Flynn
and pevery had been around the night
Stokes was shot Dillon didn't have q
chance to examine Sullivan or Mr. Gleason
yesterday.
Mr.. Gleason told a reporter that he
, didn't know Just where Cummings pick ed
up the bundle of Stokes letters. He
!, said Cummings was poliing around anc
suddenly rose up with handful of let
ters. Gleason took them. glanced az the
, addresses and said to Cummings This
is the boss handwriting Guess we d
better take these along" lie went ou'
with Cummings without saying ANYTHING
! to the detectives. Mr.. Gleason saws h,
! did not show the letters to Stokes bu
turned them over to Terence J McNlanus
: That was three days later.
; The upshol of the DAYS invcs: igat ior
came TO nothing So far ps getting q clu,
2 to the Stokes letters that appear To hav,
straved Dillon will keep on with tn,
invest stgatipn, although he said that ther,
was NJ evidence hat his Detectives kne,
. Cummings was walking off with evidence
, He will make some kind of report I,
Commissioner W,..,.o to-Inorrow
Robert NJ Moore. who with Clarke I.
= Jordan is counsel iS' Lillian Graham anc
, ~ hcl Conrad saws that Cumming