The Washington times., 1921-03-17
SCANDALS TRA|LED
CAREER OF Stokes
Millionaire Hotel Keeper Now
Suing Wife Had Many So.
Called Affairs.

NEW YORK, March 17.-"All this
is very. very sad"
This was the comment Of William
Earl Dodge Stokes. plaintiff and de-
fendant in the double divorce suit
now pending in the supreme court.
He made the remark. with an appear
ance of grieved surprise, as though
the testimony attacking the name OF
his young wife, Helen Elwood Stokes,
was unexpected to him.
Yet almost every witness had testi-
fed that he or she had made steady
stream of statements and affidavits
arranged for them to meet his lawyers
and in some instances literally
rounded up other witnesses for him.
IN OTHER AFFAIRS.
w. z. d. Stokes is sixty-three years
old and his countenance is stamped
with evidence Of spectacular years.
Many women Of many degrees have
crossed his career, but noon found
happiness there-none remained. Be
tween the statuesque Spanish beauty,
Rita D'Acosta, whom he married when
she was nineteen and he thirty-seven to
the Titan haired Helen Elwood, who was
also nineteen when he at ffty-three
married her, lie many years of other
women.
Mrs. D'Acosta Stokes divorced w.
e. d. Stokes and won the custody of
their child, w. E. D., jr., the "Weddy'
named as correspondent by his father
in the present suit. The nrst wife
named two women and four occa-
sions when her husband had been un-
faithful and declared that life with
him had been impossible. Later she
married Capt Philip Lydig, Of the
United States army.
The most conspicuous scandal in
which Stokes had been involved out
side the present case was that notori-
ously known as the Case of the
Shooting Show Girls" in 1911.
SHOW GIRLS FIGURED.
They were Lillian Graham and Ethel
Conrad, chorus girls then living at
the Varuna apartment, on Broadway
and West Eightieth street, where he
was visiting. They fred six bullets
at their visitor, three taking effect
For several days his life was in
danger.
The young women, when arrested,
asserted they had fired in self-defense.
They were charged with attempted
homicide, brought to trial and exon
Grated of all blame before jury.
The young women asserted that he
had attacked them and they had re-
pulsed him. Miss Conrad. on the
stand, testified:
He cursed me and started toward
me. Lillian said, Don't you dare
touch her. He grabbed her by the
throat and pushed her out of my
sight into the hallway. When I saw
them again, Lillian had a revolver
and he was trying to take 1t from
her.
ACCUSED OF FIRING FIRST.
81 felt my life was in danger and
picked up chair. He pointed the
gun at me and fired. / ran and got
my revolver and said, Drop that gun
or I'll fire. He did not drop 1T, and l
fired all the shots that were in my
revolver"
had been intimate with Stokes, and
he cast her of. When he heard of IL,
1t was testified that he said to Miss
Conrad:
Send her to Europe and get her
away from here. She has letters of
mine that you must help me get
back. Come again and we will fix
this up"
In this trial Stokes brought his
young bride. the present Mrs. Helen
Elwood Stokes. into the nauseous
mess as a witnsse for him to show
that he was out of town on a date
that he was said to have spent with
one of the chorus girls.