After his death in 1925, there was a great deal of controversy, and some historians suspect that some resentful Imperial Tobacco executives were feeling some anger at Duke for having lost the Tobacco War between Duke's company and Imperial Tobacco.
Setelah kematiannya pada tahun 1925, terdapat banyak sekali kontroversi, dan beberapa sejarawan menduga bahwa beberapa eksekutif Imperial Tobacco yang dongkol merasa marah pada Duke karena mereka dikalahkan di Perang Tembakau antara perusahaan Duke dan Imperial Tobacco.