New Britain herald., 1925-03-11
MRS. STOKES TAKES
 STAND IN TRIAL
Denies Charges Made by Her HuSband-,NOt Cr0SS-Examined

Chicago, March 11,--Mrs Helen Ellwood Stokes of Denver was call cd to the witness stand today in the trial of her husband W. F. D. Stokes chargcl with conspiracy to dcfame her.
 Her appearance as 6 witness marked q departure under the hi noIs statutes which prohibit n wife testifying aga.nst her husband. Judge Gcmmil ruled that her test- mony should be so circumscribed that it would not be evidence against her husband, but rather defense of attacks on her name. ! Mrs. Stokes was on the witness stand thirty minutes and was not cross-cXamined, She made a gcncr- d1 denial of all accusations made against her by Stokes and J. r. Burke and c. V. Hanson, Chicago sleeping car conductors, who testi- 1 fled she had travelled overnight with men companions.
 Mother Is Called | She was followed on the witness stand by her mother. Mrs. Arthur Scott Miller of Denver.
 Mrs. Stokes denied that shc had shared on one occasion q berth and on another compartment with q young man on route From Denver to Chicago, or in the opposite dircc' tion.
 She also denied statements Of Stokes as to occurrences in their New York home New Years Eve, 1919. Stokes had testified she twice appeared partly disrobed before her young cousin, Hal K. Billig of Chi cago. which, the aged defendant testified. was followed by their fin al separation, January 1, 1919.
 Mrs. Stokes said that she never had ridden on train with any man other than her husband and that she invariably travelled with wom- an companior.
  an inmate of the EEerlclgh CIub' notorious a decade ago in tho night life of Chicago. If was investigation of such alleged information that led to the present trial of NIT. Stokes and Robert r. Lee. Chicago negro
 Mrs. Stokes testified that she mover had taken the train from Den yer upon which Burk said she rode to Chicago with a man she introduc- cd as Blllig.
 She denied that she had travelled from Chicago to Denver with her children in 1922. as testiticd ny Eurkc. who said that was what made Mrs. Stokes figure in his memory.
 "The children were wards of the Denver Court" she said, "and l could not have taken them from the state"
 Mrs. Stokes said that Stokes left her January s, 1919, as against his statement of January l.
 She identified diamond ring as q present to her after the January 1 fixed by Stokes.
 Scratched Husband.
 "Yes, l did scratch him. admit fed Mrs. Stokes, referring to her husband. "He was trying to choke me and defended myself in that manner" ,,,,
 "Mr. Stokes left the house said Mrs. Stokes in reply to d question as to who was responsible for the sep aration. "I did not know he was leaving. He said nothing about it.
 Mrs. Stokes was asked to remove her hat and displayed a mass Of un- bobbed, titan hair. She denied that she ever had had it doCtored or that il, was Of different color now from what it was when she was married,
 She spoke in a low voice, with a glance occasionally at her huge gray haired husband.
 She was dressed in a blue tailored fur-trimmed suit, with a tight little hue hat that came well down over her face.
 Mrs. Miller. Mrs. Stokes mother, was asked only few questions re- garding the presence of the children at the time the sleeping car conduc- tor said their playfulncss attracted him 10 Mrs. Stokes. She said they were in her Denver home.
 The prosecution tried unsnccoss- fully to have introduced documents presented in Stokes unsuccessful dl- vorce suit, but was oVerruled, and rested it's case,
 pr. Hal C. Binig of Chicago tes- tifed that his son was not out of Chicago, except for short weekend trips, in 1922, the latter part of which was fixed by two sleeping car conductors as the time Bllig traveled from Denver 10 Chicago and Chicago 10 Denver with Mrs. Stokes.
 Norman C. Fortney and E. C.. Gibson, neighbors of the Billigs, testified in corroborating statements of Dr. Bilig.
 Leon DiSgs. mulatto actor, was recalled for completion of his cross accumulation.
 Diggs testified that while he had signed an affidavit mentioning Mrs. Stokes, he did not know her and had not read the statement before signing it.
 The noXt five witnesses denied the testimony of Stokes in which he had detailed conversations he had with them and various clews they had