The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-11-28
TESTIMONY TO
PROVE INSANITY
TAKEN AT CLARK's SUMMIT IN
INTEREST OF VAN HORN.
II. j. Thomas and William McGreevy
Testified to Very Peculiar Actions
on the Part of the Condemned Man
When He Was at Chinchilla Just
Before He Killed Mrs. Wescott.
other Witnesses Have Similar
Stories to Tell, 1t Is Said.

Attorney George s. Horn. who IL to
appear before the board of pardons 10
interC EIDE for the life Of Murderer
George Van Horn. found two good and
reliable witnesses, Saturday, who say
with all posltiVeness that the con-
demned man Is a lunatic. They are
II. j. Thomas. a boss carpenter, and
William McGreevy, hotelkeeper, OF
Chinchilla.
Their deDositions were taken Satur-
day before Justice of the Peace B. f.
Akerley, of Clark's summit. Mr..
Thomas testified that during the time
Van Horn was in Abingdon. just pre-
vous to the murder. he worked for SIX
weeks as laborer for Contractor
Charles Silvius, for whom the witness
was a foreman At that time he. the
witness. and all the other men em-
ployed on the job were of the opinion
that Van Horn had periodical spells Of
insanity. He was laid Off several times
because of his strange actions and was
finally discharged altogether because OF
fellow -workmen refusing to continue on
the job with him. they being fearful Of
his doing them some injury.
WAS OFT OF HIS MIND.
Mr. Thomas related Il number of in
stances to prove his contention that
Van Horn was at times out of his
mind" once he was sent to take down
a scaffold and mounting it, knocked
out the cross pieces. bringing the scat
fold and himself in IA heap TO the
ground. At another time, when one OF
these strange fits came upon him. he
almost killed himself by raising
bundle of shingles on pulley to the
height of the roof and then. Just as tn"
carpenters were about to grasp 1t, de-
liberately letting go of the rope, al
lowed ii to fall to the ground. He stood
motionless when the heavy bundle
struck the ground a few feet from him
Mr.. McGreevey, at whose hotel Van
Horn boarded at this time, also ii
of strange actions lon the part OF
Van Horn and corroborated Mr.. Thom-
as as to Van Horn being sent from
| his work on various occasions for act
! ing queer. one of the most peculiar
| things about Van Horn that Mr.. Me-
! Greevey observed was that he would
ask odd questions and after being an
| swered would in the course of few
| minutes ask the same party the very
! same questions. When ne was Chided
| lie would say that MS mead was IN
| jured one time and his memory has
not been as good as it used TO he.
DOZEN OTHER WITNESSES.
There are a dozen other witnesses,
! Attorney Horn says, who will give like
testimony. They volunteered the evil
dencc and We're prompted to do it by
, their belief that crazy man was about
to be hung and that 1t was their duty
TO tell what they knew of him,
Mr.. Thomag said he thought at the
| time of the trial that he should have
offered the evidence he had, hut he
came to the conclusion that, if it was
needed, Van Horns attorneys would
send for him. Van Horns attorneys
| made every effort to get at this kind
of evidence, but Van Horn could not
give them the names Of anybody with
whom he had worked.
He could not even remember where
he had worked or by whom he was
employed or anything of that nature
Further depostons are to be takeT
during the present week.