The Washington times., 1921-04-21
Stokes HERO
TO M|A-|N-[AW
Mrs. Miller, at Divorce Trial,
Admits Calling Hotel Keeper
Fond Father.

TOUU TdlIlCT.
NEW YORK, April 21.-Poetic
and prose eulogies of William Earl
Dodge Stokes from the pen OF
Mrs. Emma Miller, mother Of Mrs.
Stokes, formed the feature Of the
divorce trial yesterday.
THOUGHT 1T DISGRACE.
Through this testimony. 10 which
Mrs. Miller listened grimIy on the
witness stand. was sifted the reveia-
lions of domestic conditions in the
Stokes family before the Gaze came
to court.
Cross-examining Mrs. Miller rigor-
ously. Herbert c. Smyth asked:
"Whats did you think when you
heard your daughter had married Mr..
Stokes?"
Mrs. Miller's reply was instantane-
Gus:
II, thought she had thrown her life
away and brought disgrace on her
self. The first glimmer Of hope for
her happiness came when Baby
Smyth asked II she had ever praised
Mr.. Stokes. but the witness could not
recall IT,, until the lawyer read this
extract from letter signed by her
and addressed to him:
t''You are the grandest father in
the world. and my earnest prayer is
that your life may be spared for
many years to keep the place of their
Cthe babies) hearts that no other
can NIL" go
Mrs. Miller nodded CURLY and said:
.Oh, yes, but / praised him as u
father, not as a husband"
SUNSET IN HER HAIR.
Smyth smiled and ran through
other extracts from letters of Mrs.
Miller to Stokes. all couched in fine
writing There was reference to a
''veiled apparition," and another read:
'sMuriel was born just after SUM-
set and perhaps the last lingering
rays of sunshine are combined in her
hair-so red"
Another passage asserted that eacn
OF the Stokes children sis composite
soul made UP of the atoms of its an
cestors" Then Smyth offered book
let. privately printed by Mrs. Miller,
containing varse entitled welcome
to Helen Muricl Stokes by Emma MIL
ler.v
This was long rhymed greeting -
the newborn babe, S1uriel, which had |
apparently been given to Stokes. A
vague reference to Mrs. Stokes |
"Titian tresses'' was included In ~,
and beside this was written in red |
ink Dyed" -
"THE FONDEsT FATHER
There were other marginal annota-
tions which were indecipherable. One |
part of the verse ran:
Your stalwart, true, manly brother,
Tou5 vii BIND SSss e you
And Jimmy to comfort you too
Smyth inquired: |
And so you thought that of Mr..
Stokes?''
Mrs. Miller retorted:s,s -
''Oh. no, not the superlstives. They |
were poetic license"
Justice Finch joined in the laugh |
that followed. Mrs. Miller denied that |
she had ever written poem to her |
daughter as an angel. and voluntee'-
ed further that she had never dedica- |
ted one to Stokes as an archangel.
FIRST WIFE MENTIONED.
The name of Mrs. Rita Lydig, fret
wife of Stokes, was brought into the
case when Smyth asked IL Mrs. stokes
had ever complained OF her husband
visiting her former wife in the inter-
ests of "Wcddie." their son. Mrs.
Miller responded:
mo, not in Weddy's interest. but
she objected to Mr.. Stokes visiting
Mrs. Lydig." af
From a page Of letter. apparently
written to Stokes by Mrs. Miller, the
lawyer read:
"'Your brother Tom told her that
you never loved but one woman ana
would never love another
Nodding, Mrs. Miller said:
''YeS. and like dead ashes out of the
past. that came as IL for her to choke
herself with. as the poet wrote. The
fear. the thought of 1t consumed her.
MEYER TALKED DIVORCE.
Mrs. Miller at first denied that size
had ever discussed divorce with
Stokes. but asserted that h had writ
ten saying that IL Helen wanted "a d.
vorce from him he would give ii to
her, Then from another letter II Mrs.
Miller to Stokes the lawyer read.
e"All this talk of di zorro and sepo
ration seems Infnitesmal compared
to the great; wc-k before ysp."
AS evidence OF Hrs. Stokes attitule,
Smyth read this extract from ~ letter
which lie said stokes had written Ills
wife's mother
+. "I am tired Of these continual out.
burst on Helen's part and threats and
demands for money and what my will
says. I am not dead yet and am still
a free agent Helen claims that there
Is someone else she could marry with
a large fortune"
call receiving that one. Martin w.
fought to prevent the introduction of
letter press copies of correspondence
sent by Stokes TO Mrs. Miller.