Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-07


o large portion of the audience being &.
@ women. Justice FitzgcraId's warn g
{. ing of the morning TINT there o
% would he testimony which might {:
% shock their sense of prOpricty @
81 seemed to increase rather than de- o
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o sought entrance. g
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BY Associated Press
NEW YORK, Feb. 6.-The defense of
Harry K Thaw under the direction of
Attorney Dolphin NJ. Delmas of Cali
fornia, began to assume definite shape
today.
When court adjourned testimony had
been placed before the jury to the
effect that Stanford White had been
heard to make a threat to kill the de-
fendant coupling the threat with the
display of a revolver, that Thaw's
actions following the killing of White
on the roof of Madison Square garden
was considered by several eyewitnesses
to have been Irrational" that an uncle
of the defendant was insane; that
Evelyn Nesbit Thaw passed a note to
her husband during a dinner at the
Cafe Martin the evening of the tragedy
that District Attorney Jerome has this
note and refused, on demand of the de-
fense, to introduce it in evidence.
At the close of today's proceedings it
was announced by Mr.. Delmas that
either the wife or the mother of the
defendant would be the first witness to-
morrow morning.
The alleged threat against Thaw's
life was made two years and half be-
fore the tragedy occurred. District At
torney Jerome objected to the evidence
declaring the defense was not under
stood by him to be one of self-defense
Mr.. Delmas replied that the defense
intended to take advantage of every
legal defense allowed in the state of
New York, be it insanity, self-defense
the taking of a human life.
This. was but the first of series of
interesting tits between the district at
torney and Mr.. Delmas during the day,
and it was agreed that Mr.. Jerome had
found Thaw's new leadingg counsel a
foeman worthy of his best efforts.
Men Are a Study
The two men are Of widely different
types-Mr Jerome quick, passionate,
forceful, sarcastic and brilliant at ridi-
cule; Mr.. Delmas calm, courteous, re-
sourceful, witty, crafty and ethical, to
whom the district attorney was always
the Learned district attorney"
There was never a deviation from this
method of address.
Benjamin Bowman, stage door,
keeper at a theater, was the witness
who told of Whites threat. Bowman
was offered as a witness yesterday, but
the district attorney was successful at
that time in blocking the evidence by
objections.
Bowman declared that on Christmas
eve 1908, Stanford White came to the
stage door about 11:15 p. m. and asked
for Miss Nesbit. The doorkeeper told
him the actress, who was then playing
in 1.-THE Girl From Dixie had gone
home. White at first accused him of a
falsehood, and then asked who had
been her escort.
Mr. Thaw," the witness said he re-
Piled
'H'II Kill That --!"
"Oh, that Pittsburger," said the ar
chitect, who, to make sure that the
actress was gone, went to her dress
ing room on the stage. Not finding
her therN White, according to Bow
man, walked rapidly out of the theater
with a revolver in his hand, muttering
"Tll find and kill that - - - be-
fore daylight"
The witness said he believed the
threat to be directed against Harry
Thaw and told him of it several days
later when they CHANGED to meet on
Fifth avenue. He also told a detective
sergeant about the incident.
District Attorney Jerome cross-eX-
amined. the witness for more than an
hour, but Bowman adhered closely to
his story in every detail Once or
twice the witness became trifie con-
fused as to dates and as to his move
ments during the past five years. and
said he had not been regularly en-
ployed during that period. The wit
ness denied having been paid or prom
ised any money by Thaw or his at
torneys.
Thomas McCaleb, the Californian,
who was with Thar''s party ON the
night of the tragedy, testified that at
dinner that evening Mrs. Thaw had
suddenly asked her husband for a
pencil, scribbled few words and
passed a folded piece of paper to him.
What was i'm this note the witness
did not know and he was not allowed
because of an objection by the district
attorney to testify as to what change
Of manner. If any, 1t produced in Thaw.
1t has been reported from time to time
that II was in this note that young
Mrs. Thaw, referring to White, wrote
to her husband:
THAT blackguard is here"
I'VE understand" said Mr.. Delmas,
that this note is now in the possession
of the district attorney; we want to
get at the contents of that slip of
paper. believing it to be material evil
dence. We demand that the learned
district attorney produce 1t"
Mr.. Jerome sat silent There was
absolute and dramatic stiffness in the
court room and Mr. Delmas stood wait