Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-02-21
TESTIMONY MAY BE GIVEN TO
DISCREDIT MRS. THAW.
SAYS HER STORY WAS TRUE
Witness Under DISCRIMINATION
Fire but Answers Jerome's Cues
tons heerily-Admits That She
Wrote to White After Thaw Had
Proposed to Her.


her cross-examination and before
District Attorney Jerome had had
the witness in charge half an hour
he had secured from the court rul-
ing which apparently opens the way
for bringing into the trial of Thaw
all manner of evidence which may
tend to discredit the defendants
wife. Heretofore it has been held
that the rules of evidence protected
Young Mrs. Thaw and tlat regard
less of whether her story was true
or false the fact that she had told
it to her husband was the one essen
tial point. Mrs. Thaw has been al
lowed to repeat the story so that the
jury might Judge as to its effect on
unbalancing the mind of the man on
trial for the murder of White.
Allowed to Answer Question,
Jerome by a simple question,
opened Iue way III IhS AHIi
of testimony tending to show the
truth or falsity of Mrs. Thaw's story.
He asked the witness:
Was the story you told M, ThaW
true?"
at was" she replied firmly.
Delmas objected strongly to the
question, but Justice Fitzgerald held
it to be competent as tending to
show the credibility of the witness.
Jerome brought from Mrs. ]. j,
Game of Boston, a friend of Mrs
Thaw. who took the witness stand
during the morning session, many
material points as to the movements
of Harry Thaw and Evelyn Nesbit
following their return from Europe
in 1904 including the published Incl
dent of their being elected from the
Hotel Cumberland in this city-the
proprietor insisting that they should
register as man and wife or leave
their suites which adjoined. In bring
ing out these facts Jerome denied
that he was attacking Mrs Thaw and
said he was simply testing the credi-
bility of Mrs. Game.
Jerome seemed reluctant to begin
the crossexamination of Mrs. Thaw
yesterday, desiring to have the mat
ter postponed until tomorrow morn
ing in order that he might determine
whether or not further examination
of the witness was necessary on the
issues involved in the case. But Del
mas insisting Jerome started the
croeeexamination.
Moves NervousIy in Chair.
Mrs. Thaw moved nervously in the
witness chair and awaited Jerome's
opening questions. They had to do
with her signatures to certain pa
pers. some of which the prosecutor
declared were receipts for money
Mrs. Thaw had drawn from the Mer
camille Trust company in 1902-$25
week. Delmas protested against
the district attorney making these
statements and noted an exception.
Mrs. Thaw said she was not sure that
all the signatures were her own
they looked very much like her writ
ing, she added. Who provided the
money for the girl at the Mercantile
Trust company was not developed.
First Read It in Newspapers.
Mrs. Thaw's confidence grew as
the crossexamination went on and
she was always ready with answers.
Jerome jumped from point to- point
in her story and under the plea OF
testing her credibility was allowed
to ask many pertinent questions
He wanted to know when she first
heard she had been named as CORE
spondent in George w. Lederer's di-
vorce case.
Delmas protested. Mrs. Thaw
called him over to where she sat,
whispered something and the attor-
new dithdrew his objection.
4 read of it in the newspapers"
said the witness cheerily when Jer-
ONE repeated the question.
The prosecutor sought to show
that Mrs. Thaw had gone to Abra-
ham Hummel for advice with regard
to the divorce proceedings but was
halted by an objection from Delmas
which the court sustained. Justice
Fitzgerald said the question had no
thing to do with Mrs Thaw's story
to her husband and did not affect
her credibiIty.
Wrote 10 White from Paris.
Jerome brought out that Mrs
Thaw had written TO White from
Boulogne after Thaw had proposed
10 her in Paris.
Did you also cable White?" he
asked
The witness could not remember
The crossexamination had barely
gotten into fun swing when adjourn.
ment for the day was ordered. Mrs.
Thaw win resume the stand this
morning and the indications are that