by Brad Ricca
every major city in the United States (p. 267): “To Protect Women,” Newport Journal, August 31, 1917, 2.
Morality League (p. 267): “League to Protect Girls,” New-York Tribune, August 8, 1917, 14.
police special investigator (p. 267): Mark Twain, Scrapbook, vol. 39, May 1–September 15, 1917. Twain cut out this article, along with the striking image of Grace’s bodyguard, for his scrapbook.
“the control of men” (p. 267): “Woman Who Cleared Cruger Case,” Washington Post, June 19, 1917, 4.
“with the tides” (p. 267): “Mrs. Humiston Is Hampered,” Lima News, July 24, 1917, 7.
Code and Ritual (p. 268): Alberto Verrusio Ricci, “Black Hand Exposed,” True Detective, September 30, 1930, 29; Ibid., October 30, 1930, 50.
La Rue’s fiction (p. 268): “Miss LaRue’s Tale,” New York Times, July 24, 1917, 9; “Miss La Rue’s Woes Sound Like a Book,” New York Sun, July 24, 1917, 4.
Mrs. H. T. Clary (p. 269): “Grand Jury Calls,” New York Times, July 19, 1917, 7.
“had while they last” (p. 269): “Miss La Rue’s Woes Sound Like a Book,” New York Sun, July 24, 1917, 4.
kind of self-hypnosis (p. 269): “Hypnotic Power of Books,” New York Sun, August 12, 1917, 50.
indicted on blackmail (p. 269): “2 Indicted on Story,” New-York Tribune, August 21, 1917, 14.
17: THE MARKED NECK
Details from Joseph F. Dougherty and K. S. Daiger, “Behind Drawn Blinds,” True Detective Mysteries, March 30, 1930; “Arrest of Suspected Man,” Washington Times, August 10, 1917, 2.
“for all time” (p. 271): “Suspicion Attaches,” Washington Times, August 10, 1917, 1.
“Human Spirit” (p. 272): New York Pickets at the White House, photograph, January 26, 1917, National Woman’s Party Records, group II, container II: 276, Library of Congress; Suffragist with “Kaiser Wilson” Poster, photograph, record group 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staff, National Archives and Records Administration.
“entered their doors” (p. 272): Alissa Franc, “A Woman Visits,” Washington Times, August 10, 1917, 2.
“going to be solved” (p. 272): “Bride Killed,” Washington Times, August 11, 1917, 1.
“around her waist” (p. 273): Alissa Franc, “Other Man Tale,” Washington Times, August 11, 1917, 3. “We are unconsciously accustomed to hearing women talk this way. We know that the lives of these women are, and always have been, straight and clean, and that this way of talking is simply an outlet for a little surplus vanity. We feel it does not matter.”
“a woman assailant” (p. 273): “Mrs. Humiston Tells,” Washington Times, August 12, 1917, 1.
“which to work” (p. 273): “Woman Expert,” Washington Times, August 13, 1917, 2.
playing craps (p. 274): Joseph F. Dougherty and K. S. Daiger, “Behind Drawn Blinds,” True Detective Mysteries, March 30, 1930, 31.
“unusually black” (p. 274): “Negro Is Held as Annapolis Slayer,” Washington Post, August 14, 1917, 1.
Snowden’s interrogation (p. 274): “Negro Cringes under Grilling,” Washington Times, August 14, 1917, 2; Jennie H. Ross, “Alleges Brutal Methods Used to Make Snowden Confess Crime,” Afro-American, February 2, 1918; Stephen Braun, “Clemency for Hanged Man,” Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2001.
did not confess (p. 274): “Maintains Innocence,” Washington Times, August 16, 1917, 1.
exhumation of Lottie’s body (p. 274): “Believe Woman Was Assaulted,” Washington Herald, August 15, 1917, 1; “Mrs. Humiston Says,” Washington Times, August 13, 1917, 1.
“will never rest” (p. 275): “Miss Murray Aids,” Washington Times, February 21, 1919, 6.
“if you don’t” (p. 277): “Delay Inquest,” Washington Herald, August 16, 1917, 2. A joke later appeared in some Baltimore newspapers about Grace’s inability to drive a car; this story might be the genesis of that.
“pause to think” (p. 277): “A Woman Visits,” Washington Times, August 10, 1917, 2.
Grace visits Snowden (p. 277): “Mrs. Humiston Sees Snowden,” Washington Times, August 16, 1917, 1.
18: HER LAST BOW
“in regard to the others” (p. 280): “Exposes Social Ills at Camp,” Washington Post, November 16, 1917, 3.
Bell’s iron command (p. 280): “Attention! Officers of the 77th Division,” New York Evening World, August 28, 1917, 1; Norval Dwyer, “The Camp Upton Story 1917–1921,” Long Island Forum, February 1970; Roger Batchelder, Camp Upton, Boston: Small, Maynard & Co., 1918.
Not until later (p. 280): “No Second Draft Until the Spring,” Breckenridge News, August 29, 1917, 7.
practical warfare (p. 280): “Turn Camp Upton into a Vast School,” New York Times, October 15, 1917, 20.
“Hello France” (p. 280): “Good-Bye Broadway, Hello France,” composed by Billy Baskette, lyrics by C. Francis Reisner and Benny Davis, New York: Leo Feist, 1917. This song was the most popular tune of 1917.
tank watch and round glasses and Bell wary of visitors (p. 280): “Weird Trip to Camp Upton, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 9, 1917, 5.
“is a fighting man” (p. 281): “Singing Man a Fighting Man,” Indiana Gazette, August 27, 1917, 6.
“learned to the press” (p. 281): “Bell and Fosdick Deny Vice Charge,” New-York Tribune, November 17, 4.
“the camp unescorted” (p. 282): “Gen. Bell Denounces Humiston Charges,” New York Times, November 17, 1917, 9. “Women visitors are conducted to the YWCA hostess houses to await soldier friends and relatives by representatives who meet all trains at the Camp Upton Station.”
“put them into effect” (p. 282): “Won’t Aid Fosdick,” New York Times, November 17, 1917, 9.
“you don’t mind” (p. 282): “Camp Upton,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 18, 1917, 3. “Dominick Lannie would very much like to have his folks send him a pound or so of American cheese. He has a pet field mouse that he wants to nurse back to health.”
“Signed WOODROW WILSON” (p. 283): “Bibles for our Troops,” Breckenridge News, August 29, 1917, 7.
“going over the top” (p. 283): “Upton Boys Ready,” New York Sun, November 25, 1917, 16; “Over the Top,” Popular Science, June, 1918, 877.
Stimson in Upton (p. 283): Godfrey Hodgson, The Colonel, Boston: Northeastern UP, 1992, 57. He was there before October. He was there the whole time.
“he lives forever” (p. 283): “Gen. Bell Stirs Riverhead,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 12, 1917, 8.
“was on fire” (p. 283): “Harry Lauder,” Evening Star, July 28, 1917, 9. “The world is on fire. You men, as firemen, must put it out. And you’ll do it. When you get to France and put it out, don’t leave a wee bit of red smouldering. Put it out clean. You’re going to light up civilization. You boys are the lamplighters of the world. You’re going to light it up as never before, and … it will be very beautiful for your children to be able to say: My dad lit that lamp.”
“man and wife” (p. 284): “Bell Accuses Mrs. Humiston,” New York Sun, November 27, 1917, 3.
“in splendid fashion” (p. 285): “Gen. Bell Denies Humiston Charge,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 16, 1917, 2.
Grace was seen at Patchogue (p. 285): “Bell Accuses Mrs. Humiston,” New York Sun, November 27, 1917, 3.
“the proper authorities” (p. 285): “Mrs. Humiston Won’t Prove,” New-York Tribune, November 17, 4. “I will be glad to go to Washington,” she said, “if I am asked to do so by the proper authorities. If the government wants me to investigate conditions the only thing that I want is the defrayal of the expenses of my investigations and the assurance that I will be backed up in any prosecutions I may bring.”
“armies are clean” (p. 285): “Challenges Lawyer,” Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, November 16, 1917, 1. Secretary of War Baker reiterated camp policy: “This committee has sent special female agents to all camps, whose sole duty it is to look after the protection of women around camps and to guard against anticipated dangers. It is also the duty of military po
lice to watch such matters carefully and, in addition to this, precautions, it is not advisable to disclose, are taken by all military authorities, using facilities which have been confidentially provided for that purpose.”
“I am ready” (p. 286): “Won’t Aid Fosdick in Camp Inquiry,” New-York Tribune, New York 17, 1917, 9. “I believe that something should be done in this matter, for the sake of our young girls. If it is true that the health of the soldiers must be cared for, then I suggest that licensed resorts be established at the camps. Also, I suggest that these fatherless babies who are coming into the world be legitimized or be given the name of the father at any rate, and both mother and child cared for. Remember, these young mothers in New York now have the vote, whether they care for it or not, and remember, also, that they will hate their country if this shame is allowed to remain on their shoulders.”
“what conditions are” (p. 286): “Mrs. Humiston Ready,” Washington Times, November 18, 1917, 1.
“will be sufficient to refute them” (p. 286): “Bell Accuses Mrs. Humiston,” New York Sun, November 27, 1917, 3.
brides in nearby Patchogue (p. 286): “Three Soldiers Take Brides,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 22, 1917, 15.
“Uptonia” (p. 286): “Baby Born in Cantonment,” Gazette Times, November 18, 1917, 14.
trouble in the neighboring towns (p. 287): “Yaphank Vice Story Blasted,” New York Sun, November 17, 1917, 1.
“mentally and physically” (p. 287): “Officers Urgently Needed,” New-York Tribune, November 17, 1917, 10.
Upton vice (p. 287): “Finds No Girl Died,” Washington Post, November 18, 1917, 2; “No Liquor, No ‘Dope’ Law,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 27, 1917, 7; “Hell’s Kitchen,” New-York Tribune, September 21, 1917, 5.
“in our jail” (p. 287): “The ‘Limit’ Promised to Crooks,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 13, 1917, 3.
crooks in line (p. 288): “Camp Upton Eager,” New York Sun, October 1, 1917, 2.
dressed in black (p. 288): “Couple Planted in Hotel,” New-York Tribune, November 27, 1917, 5.
19: ARMY OF ONE
eyewitnesses who saw them (p. 293): “Bell Accuses Mrs. Humiston,” New York Sun, November 27, 1917, 3.
“peddling gossip” (p. 293): “Mrs. Humiston Is Peddling Gossip,” New-York Tribune, November 30, 1917, 5.
“all the boys I am” (p. 293): “Bell Catches,” New York Times November 19, 10; “Camp Upton Charges,” Army and Navy Register, December 1, 1917.
“a right, you know” (p. 294): “Mrs. Humiston’s Charges,” Middletown Times-Press, November 19, 1917, 5.
“at least in this locality” (p. 294): Ibid.
hightailed it to the hotel room (p. 294): “Mrs. Humiston Admits,” New York Sun, November 27, 1917, 3. The Sun reporter called Grace Humiston’s office for a statement on Bell’s findings. Grace admitted that she sent Adkins and a “Miss Francis” to Camp Upton to register at the hotel on the military reservation there as man and wife under an assumed name. She reminded the reporter that they did so successfully. They registered as a married couple, despite their obvious age difference and might have done so without problem if they were not recognized by a soldier.
“shaded in this manner?” (p. 294): “How It Works,” New-York Tribune, November 28, 1917, 10.
“this disgusting errand” (p. 295): “A Disgraceful Experiment,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 28, 1917, 6.
“disgusting trick” (p. 295): “Humiston ‘Plant’ Scored by Baker,” Washington Post, November 29, 1917, 5.
“of sensation mongers” (p. 296): “Light on Mrs. Humiston,” New-York Tribune, November 29, 1917, 8.
“things that ain’t” (p. 296): “Intimates Mrs. Humiston,” Salina Daily Union, November 16, 1917, 4.
“scintilla of evidence” (p. 296): “Mrs. Humiston’s Charges,” New-York Tribune, November 29, 1917, 3.
lasted three hours (p. 296): Ibid.
“problems on our hands” (p. 296): “New Charges Made by Mrs. Humiston,” New York Sun, November 29, 1917, 14.
“thoroughly fumigated” (p. 297): “A Study in Morbid Psychology,” Brooklyn Life, December 1, 1917, 9.
“remove the smirch” (p. 297): “Rookie Demands That Slur,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 9, 1917, 45.
“he has set” (p. 298): “Brands Humiston Camptales False,” New York Sun, December 19, 1917, 4.
“crazy about uniforms” (p. 298): Ibid.
“activities to New York” (p. 299): “Takes Police Power,” New York Times, December 30, 1917, 23; “Woman Morals Guardian,” Milwaukee Journal, December 30, 1917, 1; “Mrs. Humiston Is Dropped,” New-York Tribune, December 30, 1917, 3.
committee disbanded (p. 299): George W. Wickersham, Joseph P. Lincoln, James S. Cushman, Rev. Dr. Charles Parkhurst, Mrs. Felix Adler, Mrs. A. Ladenberg, Evangeline Booth, Harold Content, Mrs. William Curtis Demarest, and Rev. Dr. Charles Slattery all resigned.
Izola Forrester (p. 300): Izola worked with Grace in the Morality League, in her office, and in a variety of other roles. Izola, the granddaughter of John Wilkes Booth, was a secret writer who honed her craft while working on and off with Grace. She went on to have a terrific career as a writer.
“various army camps” (p. 300): “Pair Driven from Camp,” Washington Post, November 28, 1917, 2.
former New York City policemen (p. 300): Roger Batchelder, Camp Upton, Boston: Small, Maynard, 1918. The Upton military police force included 142 former New York policemen, some during its construction phase.
“to Mayor Hylan” (p. 301): “Mrs. Humiston Explains Why,” New-York Tribune, December 31, 1917, 5.
a little hollow (p. 301): “Mrs. Humiston Is Dropped,” New-York Tribune, December 30, 1917, 7. “Commissioner Woods asked for my resignation on December 11, after I had refused to give the committee of which George W. Wickersham is chairman the evidence I possess as to evils in camp areas.”
20: THE ASSASSIN STRIKES
The details of the attack come from “Threatens Mrs. Humiston’s Life,” New-York Tribune, January 20, 1918, 8; “Boy Threatens Mrs. Humiston,” Times Herald, January 22, 1918, 5.
“quite as easily” (p. 304): “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes,” Cromwell Argus, December 2, 1918, 6.
“sense of suffocation” (p. 304): “Women of Middle Age,” Times Herald, April 5, 1921, 12.
rule 39 (p. 304): There were still several points of inquiry that didn’t seem to fit. One was that Martin Donnelly had seen Cocchi covered in dirt. Another told a story that two employees of the Consolidated Gas Company had been refused entrance to Cocchi’s cellar on February 14 and 15.
decision to Justice Goff (p. 305): “Lagarenne Guilty,” New York Times, Februry 22, 1918; “Detective Is Convicted,” Bridgeport Telegram, February 23, 1918, 20.
“with the unearthing of it” (p. 305): “Gives Lagarenne Credit,” New York Evening World, February 18, 1918, 3.
signature on some reports (p. 305): “Convicted Detective Witness,” New York Evening World, February 26, 1918, 2.
“best of me in court” (p. 306): “Osborne Aims Blow,” New York Times, February 28, 1918, 9.
dismissed the indictment (p. 306): “Captain Cooper Discharged,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 28, 1918, 1; “Acquitted in Cruger Case,” New York Times, March 1, 7.
Lagarenne’s sentence (p. 306): “Cruger Case Sleuth Fined,” New York Evening World, April 19, 1918, 2.
court costs (p. 306): “Special Expenses in Connection with the Murder of Ruth Cruger,” City Record, City of New York, February 28, 1921.
Snowden verdict (p. 306): “Jury Quickly Finds,” Washington Times, February 1, 1918, 3; “Find Snowden Guilty,” Washington Post, February 1, 1918, 2.
“she was doing” (p. 307): Court of Appeals (Records and Briefs), John Snowden, October term 1918, case no. 95, vols. 1–2; “Ask New Trial,” Washington Herald, December 6, 1918, 2.
Val Brandon testimony (p. 307): John Snowden v. State of Maryland, Court of Appeals (Records and Briefs), O
ctober Term 1918, case no. 95.
crowd at execution (p. 308): “Cards Issued for Snowden,” Washington Times, Februrary 27, 1919, 1.
band played gospel (p. 308): “Our Legacy: The Last Hanging,” Capital Gazette, February 3, 2015.
Murray was there (p. 308): “Mrs. Murray Aids,” Washington Times, February 21, 1919, 6.
“I will not interfere” (p. 308): “Will Not Interfere,” Evening Capital, February 25, 1919, 3.
meekly and quietly (p. 309): “Cards Issued for Snowden,” Washington Times, Februrary 27, 1919, 1. Attorney Theodore Brady said, “I have never in all my experience seen a man like Snowden.”
“unsealed if necessary” (p. 309): Ibid.
“Humiston back to Annapolis” (p. 309): “Mrs. Murray Out in Statement Regarding Part,” Evening Capital, February 27, 1919.
“sweatbox in Baltimore” (p. 309): Hannah Jopling, Life in a Black Community, London: Lexington, 2015, 71.
“with a lie in my mouth” (p. 310): Excerpt from the last statement of John Snowden, February 27, 1919.
“God will bring things right some day” (p. 310): “Anonymous Letter,” Evening Capital, March 3, 1919.
21: THE INVISIBLE PLACES
“it seems to fall” (p. 311): Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Trans. Robert M. Durling, New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, 136–38; canto 21.
reservist in the Italian army (p. 311): “Cocchi’s Immunity,” New York Sun, July 7, 1917, 4.
provide food from outside (p. 312): “Cocchi Fights Return,” Washington Post, June 23, 1917, 5.
Mayor of Bologna (p. 312): “Cocchi Shames Bologna,” New York Times, July 3, 1917, 4.
Cocchi’s testimony (p. 312): “Full Story of Cruger,” Asheville Citizen-Times, July 28, 1917, 1. Most papers printed a version of the testimony; this paper printed the entire transcript—which is one advantage of a smaller-market paper.