New-York tribune., 1921-06-25
Nv lies Il atIner
Urged Stilllllan
EoI)rol, Action
Appeal 10 Better Nature TO
Forestall sUngenerous Esa-
sinuasior,ss Confronting
Daughter Made i'm Letter
Warned Against Advisers
Bankers Secretary Said 10
Have Unwit,ingEy Shown
Dealings With EIrs. Leeds

James Brown Potter, it was learned
yesterday, began trying to adjust the
differences between his daughter and
soon as he read last March IN Paris of
sSe divorce suit which the banker had
Instituted. Mr. Potter wrote the fol-
lowing letter to his son-in-law March
-, appealing to him to drop the suit:
Dear Jim: For | must call you this,
as you are the father of my four grand
children, and still address you so in
their. my daughters and your, inter
ests, rather than formerly as Dear
SIR, for the object of this letter, which
is intended as an appeal to you, is to
beg you to act only from your better
nature, of which you have an abun-
dance. rather than from the less wise,
less forbearing, less just, less gem
erous. less considerate side, which, un-
happily, we all possess.
My attention is specially called to
the part of the complaint that reads,
although no details are obtainable, it
aS understood that Mr.. Stillman's COM
plaint centers on happenings at the
atlllmans camp near Three Rivers,
Quebec
You cannot possibly suspect so
f1ank and open a character as your
wlfe OF any misconduct such as this
paragraph would seem to imply. Nor
u you could, would you have so little
regard for your dear children and YOUR
own pride a<d interests as to even
hint OF such a thing.
/ have not been party to your and
my daughters disagreements in any
way, having never been approached by
either OF you respecting them. The
statement | have quoted appears to me
SO baseless in reality and so unjust,
knowing my daughters character as |
90 most intimately, having been eff
tectiyely both father and mother to her
Tor some many intimate years, that |
cannot believe this is correctly quoted
appeal to you, as true gentle
man, to restrain your lawyers from
any such ungenerous insinuations as
may possibly be read from this item
with respect to the wife who nursed
you through your latest serious illness
and is the mother of your children. In
times such as these, when both Fl and
yourself should have near you the
wlsest, most discreet and truest of
TRENDS In the interests of yourselves
and your dear children, conspicuously
it IS more than possible that those you
both have about you, in reality, have
not the first requisite to be considered
truly as such. expect to be in New
York in April.
{Signed)
JAMES BROWN POTTER"
The story of how Mrs. Anne Urqu-
hart Stillman accidentally came to
know through the mistake of secre-
tary that Mrs. Florence Lawlor Leeds
figured in the life of her husband was
revealed yesterday for the first time
by persons intimately associated with
the case.
Reliable information was obtained to
the effect that it was this discovery
early in March, 1920, that precipitatcd
the break between Mr.. and Mrs. Still
man. The banker had had his wife's al
legged "hysterical letter" in his possess
sion for eighteen months prior to this
incident, but when she began to accuse
him of infidelity matters came to a
crisis and the couple separated.
Early in March, 1920, it is said,
shortly before Mrs. Stillman sailed
with Guy for Europe, her husbands
secretary rang her up one day and
asked her if she was going to Atlantic
City, adding that he had engaged ac-
commodations for 'Mr. and Mrs. Still
man"
"What accommodations" Mrs. Still
man is quoted as having asked.
"Mr. Stillman asked me to engage
one room," was the alleged reply.
1t was almost Immediately after this
that the Stillnans broke. When Mrs.
Stillman sailed for Europe in July she
was served with divorce papers as she