Evening star., 1924-03-13
Diuorced Wife Says Jess Smith
Killed Himself to Saue Daugherty

Roxie Stinson's opening testimony
before the Senate committee late yes
terday afternoon was an amazing
tale, charging and insinuating deals
of various kinds to the Attorney Cen
eral in company with the late Jesse
w. Smith, her former husband. She
described Jesse Smith as bumper and
friend" and confidant of the Attorney
General. saying that Smith committed
suicide in the apartments Of the At
torney General here a year ago. Her
appearance before the committee was
q surprise. the hearing being called at
the last moment and without any pub
lication of the fact that Miss Stin-
son would be heard.
Sobs Sensational Story.
From behind the crumpled folds of
q tear-soaked handkerchief, she Sob
bed and murmured a sensational story
that ranged from stock transactions
to motion pictures of the Carpenter
Dempsey prize fight, all of which she
insisted were connected with profits
for her late husband and the Attorney
General.
in all the accounts Of his doings in
Washington which Smith confided to
her, the divorced vile contended
against all crOss-examination that
when Smith said I'VE" he meant him
self and Daugherty and that when
she said they" she meant the same
two men.
Specifically. Miss Stinson testified
tina, smith had given her twenty-five
shares Of White Motors stock, which
was a part of what they had OBJ
tanned without any cost; that Smith
told her I'VE" looked forward to
profits approximating S1s0,OOo II it
could be arranged to exhibit the mo-
tion pictures of the Carpentier-Demp-
sey fight; that Smith had come into
possession of an amount OF the stock
Of the Pure Oil Company of Ohio. and
that Smith, proprietor of small
town store in Ohio, worth approx
mately $175,600 when he came to
Washington in 1921. soon Increased
his fortune to approximately x2ae,Ooe.
Meant Attorney General.
All this. Miss Stinson said. was
done by "we'' and they" and she
persisted that the second man of the
combination always was Attorney
General Daugherty, because, she de-
Smith never meant anybody else, and
that furthermore when he did. he
mentioned the person specifically by
name.
Miss Stinson said she had eXacted n
promise from Senator Wheeler, demo-
crat. Of Montana, the committees
prosecutor, to keep her on the stand
only an hour today. She will return
and finish her story, If possible, to-
morrow. She was just getting down
to questioning about "a mysterious
green house on K street, when the
committee let her of.
Row With Rowland.
But in the short time she occupied the
witness chair the events of the session
resembled a carload Of ammunition go
ing off. Senator Wheeler mad a row
with Paul Howland, MIR. Daugherty's
chief counsel; sparks flew from both
sides Of the table, and Senator Wheeler
launched into a machine-gun fusillade
Of questioning in which the questions
and the answers flew SO fast and
covered so wide d ground. that
rOomful of veteran newspaper cor
respondents. hardened to the rattle
and fire of congressional inveStiga-
ton, simply couldn't keep up with
the proceedings. s.ste
Smith told her. Miss Stinson said.
of many transactions in which Mr..
Daugherty was Joined although. she
said, Mr.. Daugherty's name was not
mentioned specifically. She professed
inability to state from whom or for
what service such stock was received.
but promised tomorrow. upon arrival
of papers from Ohio, to support her
testimony with documentary evil
dence. The committee also sub
poenaed Columbus stock brokers rec