Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1906-07-05

During the singing of a comic song
at the Madison Square roof garden in
New York, and while the garden was
echoing with the laughter and ap-
plause of the audience, a series of
shots ratified in the rear of the au-
ditorium, and man in evening dress
was seen to fall across a table at
which he was sitting with a party of
friends. Stanford White, the eminent
architect of the firm of McKim, Mead
& White, was the victim, and Harry
Thaw, a member of a prominent
Pittsburg family, did the shooting.
Instantly the great audience was
thrown. into a panic, and a wild STAN
pede occurred, during which chairs
and tables were overturned, and men
and women fought with desperation
to scape from the roof
The first intimation of trouble came
when walking in front of his seated
victim Thaw exclaimed, s'You deserved
this. You've ruined my. home" and,
drawing an automatic pistol, fired
three shots.
A woman, who had been sitting
with Mr.. Thaw, sprang to her feet and
rushed up to where Thaw was strug-
Cling with a fireman, threw her arms
around his neck, exclaiming, "I'll
stand by you, Harry"
The woman who accompanied Mr..
Thaw was Evelyn Nesbitt, whose mar
riage with Thaw for time estranged
the latter from his family. She was
member of the original "Florodora"
sextette.
Thaw was arrested and taken to the
\ police station.
s The following day he had his pre-
liminary examination, and later was
indicted by the grand jury on a
charge of murder in the first degree.
Thaw frankly admitted that he killed
White and pleaded in justification
that White had ruined the life of his
wife, the beautiful former chorus girl
and artists model, Evelyn Nesbit.
Thaw was examined by alienists in
an effort to pave the way for de-
tense built on plea of insanity. The
young millionaire absolutely refused
to answer any questions or submit to
an examination, and the doctors gave
it as their opinion that he was per-
fectly sane.
Mrs Thaw appeared before the
grand jury, but refused to testify for
fear that she might harm her husband.
Emotional insanity will be the de-
tense at the trial, which will be begun
soon. 1t is proposed to lay bare the
entire life of Mr.. White, especially his
association with young girls, whom
he entertained in his studio in the
tower of Madison Square Garden.
1t will be proven, it is asserted, that
Thaw was goaded on to commit the
murder by White himself-that the
architect constantly annoyed Evelyn
Nesbit Thaw, the prisoners wife.
Tries to Renew Friendship.
1t is said that White had seen Mrs.
Thaw at least a dozen times in the
past year and half and that when
they met casually he had tried to re-
new the friendship that had existed
between them before her marriage.
The defense will endeavor to prove T,
that White was q roue, and that many
young girls In this city have been his
victims. Former members of the dis
trict attorneys Office staff may be
summoned to tell the complaints Of
White that have come to that office
The Gary society agents, also, it was
said, can be summoned to tell of the
complaints they received against
White and his studio in the Madison !,
Square tower.
Whites End Near, Anyway.
In the opinions of physicians who
performed the autopsy on Whites
body, the life of the architect was
shortened not more than two years by
the. bullets from Thaw's pistol. He
was found to be suffering from