Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-28
INTEREST lessons
IN THAW'S TRIAL
Continued from First Page.)

environment Of wealth and luxury in which
| he had been reared.
| DR.. Evans said he assumed the letter was
| addressed to the girl for whose hand the
| write was suing.
would the fact" asked Mr.. Jerome.
I that the writer had been travelling
through Europe with the young woman as
man and wife, though not married, have
| any effect upon your opinion?"
| NO" replied DR.. Evans, "for man
| under those circumstances may love the
woman just as much as though she were
bound to him by holier ties
! A Hard Question.
| 'Does that letter. taken alone and entire
| ly separated from everything else in the
case. show a pathological condition on the
part Of the writer2" asked Mr.. Jerome.
| It took nearly half hour and many
| questions to secure the wished-for answer
| Dr. Evans finally said that If the letter had
| been handed to him without his knowing
/ who wrote it, or any of the circumstances,
| he would not be able to form any opinion
regarding the pathological condition OF the
| writer
DR.. Evans was asked to describe the term
pathology of the mind" and spoke for
speaking it was diseased condition of the
| brain. DR.. Evans was explaining the eff
feet of mental medicine" when District
Attorney Jerome interrupted.
81 will be short" said the expert
eff we can get anything short" said
the district attorney, "go ahead.
DR.. Evans went on at some length ana
when he had finished Mr.. Jerome asked
the stenographer to read the previous ques-
ton. In loud voice the stenographer
read:
"If we can get anything short go ahead"
''Not that one,' said Mr.. Jerome, amid
general laughter.
The question had to do with what patho-
logical condition was suggested by certain
of the defendants letters.
DR.. Evans again examined the letters
closely.
Mr.. Jerome then selected a letter, handed
it to the witness, and asked:
"Does that letter, excluding all else, show
that the writer was insane?"
Unbalanced When He Wrote.
st am of the opinion that he was mem
tally unbalanced when he wrote the letter."
''Was he insane"'
1t took a dozen repetitions of the question
to secure an answer which satisfied Mr..
Jerome, but DR.. Evans finally answered in
the affirmative.
What is there in that letter that leads
you to make that conclusion?'
I'm the first place, a broken-up condition
of the writing. That is, breaking in the
continuity of thought.
There are further indications in the
writing on the margins and the curving Of
the lines,'' continued DR.. Evans. 'The un-
derlining on another page is a common
sign of mental disorder. None Of these
things is in itself of great impo rtance. but
taken together they lead to my conclu-
sions."
In this letter the word "blaggard" ap-
peas, and Mr.. Jerome and the witness had
a little tilt over it, Mr.. Jerome attempting
to induce the doctor to express an opinion
as to whether cultivated people used that
spelling, but did not succeed in getting an
answer.
More Letters Shown.
Two other letters were shown DR.. Evans,
in one of which he found evidences of an
unsound mind. The other, he said, did not,
taken by itself, show such evidences. OF
another he said: '1n my opinion there
are evidences here that the writer was not
mentally balanced"
Thaw paid little attention to the testi-
mony today, but sat in his usual place
reading letters and chatting with his law
yers. Mr.. Delmas sat close to the witness
box wrapped in a large Overcoat, and
spoke only once or twice during the morn
ing.
Dr. Evans was still on the stand when
the luncheon recess was taken.