The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-14

Another We
The recent suicide of Lillian May Cook.
the young Brooklyn typist. who. as the
elimination of long siege of mental
anguish and utter dependency. fired a
bullet through her heart on the top of
West Rock. a lonely mountain near New
Haven. Conn. has served to draw aside
the veil OF secrecy from the most re-
markable example Of double life brought
before the pubic eye in many year.
Virginius J. Mayo. wealthy New Haven
manufacturer. and former employer OF
the young girl is the person whose faint
ed life is segment by segment. being ex-
posed by circumstances arising in con-
ncction with the publicity given the dis
appearance and death of the typist.
Two Claim Him as Husband.
Two women claim Mayo as their law
ful husband Three women declare they
have born children to him. And for
years these Irregularities have been in
existence. while Mayo. the head OF the
Mayo Radiator Company. has been
looked upon as one of the most promi-
nert and respected members Of the COM
munity.
But while the unfolding OF the details
of this matrimonial maze is in progress.
another phase of the case lends per-
vading atmosphere of;mystery to the en-
tire drama why did Lillian May Cook
fire a bullet through her heart? The
coroner answered this query in word
despondency. But dependency does not
satisfy the query: it merely intensiti"S
the mystry. For why was She despon-
dent?
Was il longing for a greater share
of the love of him who seemed to have
A hypnotic influence over womankind'
Perhaps. Unquestionably it was tn"
deepening and harassng fear Of heCom-
ing an unmarried mother. Of entering
upon an unwedded maternity. Physi-
clans say she was To have become a
mother. But. even so. who was rcspon-
Sible for her condition?
Mayo Denie. His Guilt.
:Sh. had no young men friends. :" far
as her closest friends knew. She Was
not Of a frivolous or cad about nature.
She was quiet and unassumInG and Of
a religious Temperament. Who then was
it, Was il Mayo He says no. en-
phatically no, "" maintains his rela-
tions with her were those Of employer
simply that and nothing more.
Lillian was twenty wears old and zhc
lived i'll Brooklyn with her parents. The
family had hard struggle for existence
and the father was sick for long time.
So at the age Of seventeen. Lillian was
, forced {" gn ont in search ~ employ
mont She scanned the low lists nf
ads and eventually sh" came upon
this item:
Help wanted Young girl for nurse
in a., IA references
James DUDLEY. Ero"klvn
Became Nurse for Mistress.
Accompanied 10y her mother. Lillian
! went to the Brooklyn address and sue
ceoded IN getting the position II"r en-
poyer was James Dudley" only In
name. In reality h.. WAS Nirginius i.
Mayo. and the house he was maintaining
was not for his lawful wife. but for his
rristress-Iois Waterbury,. pretty
Young woman Of twenty-three. She
called herself Mrs. Dudley" and she
does 80 even today. Lois had heen a
strnograrher in Mayo's New Haven fac
tory. ana she remained in the employ
mcut Of the firm until short time be-
fore she was to become mother Then
Mayo furnished the Brooklyn house for
, her and supplied her with all the neces-
sarics Of life.
10 Mayo. and il was to care for these
ha hes that the advertisement for nurse
maid was placed in the papers. For two
years Lillian served in the household ad-
mired and loved ny Mr.. and Mrs. Dud-
ley" As the babies grew older. her
services became superfious and she was
dismissed
Loved Him Father.
But the Young girl IonEed to return to
the employ Of the man she had grown
10 love as a father-tn the man who had
been so kind and loving to her and who
had been 81 thnughtfuly attentive to her
own father during his long illness in the
hospital Accompanied by her father.
she went to New Haven. and Mayo was
delighted to give her a position as typist
at SO week.
! She had a room at the Y. ". G. a.
sharing it with Miss Ellen WILSON. girl
employee of the Mayo factory. Lillian
was not a remarkably pretty or attrac-
tive girl md her manners were quiet
and reserved. She did not go out with
Young men and sh" rarely went out with
hcr girl acquaintance. She was a con-
sci"nCious student and attended 4 bust
ness college three nights a week. de-
voting most OF her spare time to study
But despite thes" outstanding CharaC-
the effect that. she occasionally went
automobile rslinC with Mayo. who is
tho owner of fourteen jnv-speedng cars.
And more significant still. il is said uh-
on reliable authority that Nayn's own
privIt" physician personally attended
Lillian about two months before her
tragic end. This is one Of the facts which
indorses tho belief Of the police that tho
Young typist killed herself through fear
Of entering uHon an unmarried mother
hood.
often Talked of Suicide.
Lillian often talked to her roommate
Of suicide.
i will always have something with
me to kill myself with whenever I de-
eide the end must come" she remarked
more than once to Miss Wilson. There's
no Use searching for it. for it's so tiny
you could never find it,
One day she entered the cloak room at
the factory with a revolver in her hand
Girls" she. said. Il think I shall do
Il tonight"
On the day that she disappeared her
girl friends entered the cloak room at
the factory to find her standing before
mirror with the watchmans revolver
pointed directly towards her body.
Heavens. what are you doing?'
shouted one of the girls in fright.
Lillian did not turn nor move. She
calmly and slowly replied:
''oh. I'm Just picking out good spot
over and over she had repeated to her
girl friend: Ellen. I'm going to kill
al 49,