Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-07
THAW'S MOTHER ON STAND
shs Tells Of Mental Condition Of Bon After
Return frcm Europa
SEEMED TO HAVE LOST INTEREST IN LIFE
vs-ExaminatiOn IL Brief and Inef-
<ectuAl-JerOme Indirectly Raises
Question of Junacy COm-
mission.

trial Of Harry K. Thaw for the murder OF
Stanford White today when the defendants
mother took the witness stand to contrib
ute what she might toward saving her son
from the electric chair. Mrs. Thaws stay
before the Jury was brief When Mr. Del
mas had finally limited her examination
to the change she had noted in her sons
condition following his return from Paris
in 1903, after Evelyn Nesblt had told him
her life story, and when District Attorney
lJerome had with great consideration con-
Quoted short and Intellectual cross-exam-
ination. mother love welled strong in Mrs.
| Thaw and she felt she had not done her
all. She was loath to leave the witness
chair.
There is the question of heredity," she
protested when both Mr.. Delmas and Mr..
Jerome told her she might step down.
Il have asked you, madam, all that is
considered necessary" said Thaw's at
torney with the utmost Difference.
Mrs. Thaw half rose, hesitated and was
about to sit down again when the leading
counsel for the defense offered her his
hand to assist her from the stand.
Twice during her recital Mrs. Thaw broke
down and was unable to proceed.
witness Nearly Breaks Down.
After a few moments Justice Fitzgerald
asked solicitously If she felt able to pro-
ceed. and Mrs Thaw. evidently much
chagrined that her great grief had over
come her strong will Of resistance. nodded
in the affirmative. She declined a glass
OF water. made an effort once more to
proceed. but failed. Justice Fitzgerald then
Iinterposed relief for which the elderly
woman facing him must have felt deeply
grateful. He said that as many of her
remarks had been uttered in a very low
voice 1t would be necessary to have the
stenographer read all her testimony up to
that time to the jury. When the reading
was ended Mrs. Thaw had regained her
composure and was able to proceed.
She said that when Harry came horne
in 1903 he seemed depressed and appar-
emily had lost all interest in life. He
passed sleepless nights, would often leave
the table at meals and go into the rarlor
to play upon the plano, the music growing
softer and softer until it finally died
away.
'He told me a wicked man-probably
the wickedest man in all New York. had
ruined his life"
1t was not until some time after he
had offered this explanation of the
change in him that she learned the story
of the young woman who was 70 heeAnie
her Sdanghtsr-in-law.
Mrs. Thaw told of her son breaking
down in Pittsburg church and explain
ing that It was all because OF the sor-
row which prevented the young woman
he loved being at his side. Mrs. Thaw
told Of coming to New York to meet
Evelyn Nesbit and of giving her consent
to her sons marriage-the one condition
being that the girls past life In New
I W -. ~ A.zOl 20 he
referred to in any way. Then came the
story of the marriage in, Pittsburg in
| April, 1905, the honeymoon trip and then
happy. placid summer spent az the
mothers country home in the mountains.
CrOss-ExamInatiOn IL Brief.
! Mr.. Delmas ended her testimony alb
ruptly. The district attorney was taken
by surprise and began to cross examine
! Mrs Thaw in low voice. He asked the
conditions surrounding the increase in
her sons allowance, but Mr. Delmas OBJ
jected. He asked what the sons income
! amounted to. Mrs, Thaw said it was
/ moderate and nothing like the sum the
: newspapers have so often reported.
Mr.. jerome then trod upon whai
! ne must have felt was the thinnest OF
, Ice lest he put himself in the attitude OF
, attempting 10 harass the pathetic hgure
: in black on the witness stand. He asked
the mother what she knew OF her SON,
| relations with Miss Nesbit before she be.
came his wife.
I Nothing" she replied without hesI.
{ fancy.
t The district attorney seemed completely
{ bafiied and speedily brought his cross ex
animation to a close.
: Mrs. Thaw's story was deeply imprcssiv,
4 in its simplicity and brevity.
! II Harry Thaw's fate Is thrown into tn,
hands OF the twelve men in the jury bo1
q who today heard the mothers story, ther,
: seems little doubt that what she said will
: carry wonderful weight But Mr. Jerom,
Z gave the impression that he might use tn,
mothers testimony as a weapon in an
!. other dlrection-in his fight to have a com
mission appointed to test the present stat
of mind OF the defendant
Threat of Lunacy Commission.
While the elder Mrs. Thaw was on tn,
stand the district attorney engaged in
,, wordy war with Mr. Delmas during whicl
: he uttered publicly for the first time tn,
threat Of lunacy commission Mr.. Delma
; was invoking the presumption Of law tha
Thaw, declared insane in 1903, rename,
q insane in 1904. This was TO enable Mrs
Thaw 20 state conversations with her soi
during the latter year. These conversation
were admissible only on the ground tina
they were the utterances OF a person men
tally irresponsible. Mr. Jerome said ther
was no reason why the assumption shoul'
not continue down 10 the present, and 1
y Mr. Delmas' point were well taken tn
; trial should be suspended and a commits
: sion appointed
a Justice Fitzgerald upheld Mr. Delmas
position and said the question OF commits
a sion was not before the court With tn
completion OF the mothers testimony to
n day Thaw's attorney said they would hav
= but two more wftnesses-experts-wh wi
y be called upon to answer a newly-frame
2 hypothetical question covering the entir
A. case from beginning 70 end These expert
a. are said 10 be Drs. Graeme NJ. Hammon
ana Smith r. Jelliffe.
5 Harry Thaw during his mothers sta
upon the stand seemed unusually pale an
"a extremely nervous
At the end Of Mrs. Thaw's examinatio
y court adjourned until Friday morning.
10 death In Justice F1tzgerald's family eauE
c, ing an abandonment Of the Thursday eli