The Washington times., 1923-11-02

dent pro TEN, and presiding over
the impeachment proceedings
against Governor Jack Walton.
would suffer under such circura.
stances.
Stokes himself has testified that
he was seventy years old It il a
matter Of court record.
Gave Age As FOrty-five.
In examining Mrs. Stokes and her
mother, Samuel Untermyer asked
for the age given by Stokes for his
marriage certificate and produced
the certificate in evidence. 1t
showed that he had given his age
as forty-five, cheating nature out of
a mere matter OF twelve or thirteen
years.
His little. narrowly set eyes con.
tracted. He had been watching his
pretty wife closely as she testified,
not missing a word or q change of
eountenance. But when IL was made
palpable that he had posed az .
man of middle age, although he was
already approaching old .ags, he
leaned over the crescent shaped
counsel table and hid his face from
Judge. jurors and spectators. It was
culpabihty on a small and cheap
scale that seemed to hurt him. The
"Old Cove" has ever done things on
a grandiOs scale, even in his two
suits against his wife. He shrunk
under this exposure of pettineSs.
Weak Spot Touched.
His weak spot had been reached.
That weak spot was his egotism, his
vanity, his youth that he hated to
lose grip upon.
As she has conducted herself all
through the trial, Helen Elwood
Stokes displays grit and pluckiness
on the witness stand that the most
critical and cynical of observers
could hardly fail to admire. She sits
square In her chair, In her dark blue
suit, her red gold hair pushing from
under her plain turhan, glintlng in
the sun that strikes through tho
deep windows back of the Jury box.
Her shoulders are boyish, well set.
In answer to the charges wit.
nesses brought against her, the
pantry and kitchen women and the
Janitor, Thornton, that she made
many visits to the correspondent.
Edgar T. Wallace, she related the
details of her life as the wife Of
Stokes, the expectancy Of the first
child. its coming. the birth of the
second, which left her practically
an invalid for q year and a half.
told OF a serious operation, OF q
broken arm, told the Judge and
jury the story OF a wife and mother
with the multitude of duties and
sorrows that befaI a wife and
mother. These covered the period
Mnen she ts alleged to have had
wallace as a lover.
Hurts Charge At Stokes.
There was no affection in anv
word she uttered. Her story came
out under adroit questioning by
her counsel. Her answers were
brief, but as with her mother. she
was woman enough to hurl across
10 the jury, before protest could
De made by opposing counsel, the
Iact that her husband had lain in
a New York hospital with two bull
let's In his side-the result OF his
one experience under fire-in the
Baltic OF Broadway, shot by an old
Ilame OF his dying passion.
Tnat was the only time she VIC
lated the rules of evidence. That
sne knew she was not doing quite
the right, technically, can hardly
be doubted, for the several other
questions asked by her counsel she
dld not attempt reply, awaiting the
OBJECTIONS of Steuer, which ob1ec.
IONS were sustained by Justice
Mahoney.
All the while the SPECTATORS
watching so keenly this battIing
woman, saw that in her wIde.anarI
kifay,Dlue eyes there was not only
intelligence of n high order. but
also a sense of humor. Once she
laughed and her lips were frank in
tnelr mirth-eVen generous.
The sun that brought out the
natural red gold CLINT Of her hair
daZed her after she had been on
the stand about an hour, and she
reached to the little curved edge
OF her turhan and pulled it, as a
boy would pull down his cap.
Courage Of the Heart.
The hours of direct examination
crept on, as the hours of cross.
examination creep on TODAY. but
Mrs. Stokes did not even ask for a
glass OF water.
There are many beautiful things
in life, but perhaps ona of the
most beautiful Is courage Of the
heart. She seems to have 1t,
Jurors and spectators and the
h!ach-robed Judge shift about in
their chairs, and did shift until
chairs groaned under them. She
stood up like a little soldier, UNI
tired, unafraid, and probably saved
for the grand big cry that brings
all women relief when the bed room