The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-02-26
mrs, THAW'S ORDEAL
District Attorney Jerome After
Details of Her Past Life.
SEVERE CROSS EXAMINATION.

Prosecuting Officer Probes Deeply into
Witness Past Life and Her Relations
With White-Reoeived Money From
Him After Her Downfall.
New York, Feb 26. The testimony
of Mrs. Evelyn Thaw in the Thaw
trial was interrupted to permit Dis
trict Attorney Jerome TO call Lawyer
Abraham ITumme to the stand.
Lawyer Hummel has become Dis
trict Attorney Jerome's "star" witness
in the trial of Harry X Thaw for the
killing of Stanford White. Hummel,
whom Jerome convicted on charge
of conspiracy in connection with the
Dodge Morse case, has been called on
by the prosecutor, in the criminal
branch of the supreme court, to testify
to the truth of an affidavit lie drew
up-an affidavit that Evelyn Nesbit
Thaw asserted was drawn up under
circumstances almost similar to those
which surrounded the signing of the
false affidavit by Charles f. Dodge
which resulted in Hummefs conviction
for conspiracy and his subsequent dis
barment from practice
TO Mrs. Thaw was shown copy
OF the affidavit on the witness stand.
She denied that she had ever seen it
before
Although the affidavit itself did not
get into evidence, its contents never
fheless were spread on the records. Je-
rome read the charges which Mrs.
Thaw made against the man whose
wife she became i'll the form of ques-
tons as to whether she had not told
Hummel of the incidents which the af-
ddavit described. She denied emphat
ically that she ever had told Hummei
the things that the affidavit charged.
Alleged. Threats by Thaw.
Most remarkable of the alleged
charges contained in the paper is one
An which Evelyn Nesbit accused Thaw
of having tried to force her to sign pat
pers accusing Stanford White of hay
ing accomplished her downfall by the
use of drugs. Because she refused to
sign the papers, the affidavit said,
Thaw threatened to kill her
Jerome framed his questions in re-
gard to the contents of the affidavit
from copy of the document which he
held in his hand. He asked the witness
whether it was true that she had told
Hummel that she and Thaw had gone
on tour of Europe and that at one
time they stopped at an old castle In
the Austrian Tyrol known as the
Schloss Katzenstein. The witness re-
piled that she had told Hummel about
her arrival at the castle
.Did you tell Hummel,' Jerome
asked, that in the morning you were
awakened by Mr.. Thaw pounding on
the door and asking you to come to
breakfast, saying that the coffee was
getting cold?"
Il don't remember that" the witness
replied.
Witness Denies Many Things
Jerome, still reading from the attida-
Wit, asked the following questions, to
all of which the witness answered mo"
did you further tell him that after
Thaw knocked you Immediately jump
ed out of bed and hastily put on your
hathrobe and slippers and walked out
of the room and sat down to breakfast
with Thaw?"
''And did you further tell him that
after breakfast Thaw said he wanted
TO tell you something and asked you to
step into your roomY'
did you tell him that when you en-
tered the room Thaw without any
provocation, grasped you by the throat
and tore the bathrobe from your
Ibid you tell him that Thaw was in
an excited condition and terrorzed
your
"rhat his eyes were glaring and that
he had in his hand cowhide whipY"
'"rhat he continued to act like de-
mented man and beat you very vio-
lently?
Did you tell him QIummeD that on
the following morning Thaw again
entered your room and beat you again
with the whip?r
did you tell him that Thaw beat
you again in the hotel in Switzerland
did you tell him that while in Paris
Thaw beat you AGAIN.
did you tell him that you found a
little silver box in Paris and that this
box contained a hypodermic Springer
THAT Thaw told you he had taken
cocaine and that on one occasion he
had tried to force you to take enc Of
the pills?"
did you tell Hummel that while you
We're at the SchloSS Katzenstein Thaw
took from You, without your consent.
and was then still retaining two dia-
mond rings. one sapphire ring with a
diamond on each side, one pearl locket,
one gold purse and $1002"
More Charges In Affidavit
Other charges that affidavit contain
ed We're that Ihaw had committed at
lacks on Evelyn Nesbit and that he
had prevented her making any cutlery
by placing his hand over her mouth;
that he had told her of his hatred for
Stanford White and that she had to APP
peal TO friends TO get her away from
Thaw
Jerome questioned the witness al
length as TO her relations with George
I.ederer, but he succeeded only in hav-
ing her admit that she had been to
MANY supperS with the theatrical man.