The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1907-03-15
At TORNEYS
FOUGHT HARD r Q r
THE MASTERY.
Jerome and 0elmaS in
Mighty Struggle.
The Former Succeeded
in Showing That Thaw
Was Sane When He
Shot White.

|
est blow that has yet been admins
tered to the "brainstorm" theory, by
which the defense has attempted to
excuse the shooting Of Stanford White
by Harry X. Thaw. This the district
attorney accomplished by means of
the testimony of James Clinch Smith,
brother of Mrs. Stanford White, who
| testified that he was on the roof of
Madison Square Garden the night taat
| the shooting occurred and who told of
| conversation he had there with
Harry Thaw before the shooting. II
seemed to be the sort of talk that
any sane man of Thaw's character
and history might give utterance to,
and most of those who heard Mr..
Smiths testimony expressed the opin-
ion that it would have considerable
| weight with the jury. 1t was, in fact,
a pretty successful day for the prose
cution and its events in court SUN
further strengthened the belieftha II
Mr.. Jerome ever had any idea of try
| ing to prove that Harry Thaw is in
sane at the present time and that
therefore a commission in lunacy
ought to be appointed and the trial
suspended pending it's report, he has
altogether abandoned that notion. Mr.
Smiths testimony was admitted only
after battle between the district at
torney and Mr.. Delmas that lasted
nearly all the forenoon. When court
opened counsel plunged into a long
argument about the admissibility of
Mr.. Smiths testimony as a part of the
case-in-chief of the prosecution. Mr..
Delmas argued that to admit it would
change the whole aspect of the trial
and compel the defense to rearrange
it's entire case, and that it ought not
to be allowed unless the gravest rea-
sons for it were produced. Mr.. Jer-
ONE argued that he had not known of
the facts in the possession of Mr..
Whites brother-in-law until Mr..
Smith came back from Europe on Feb
ruary IT. and that at that time the
prosecutions direct case was all IN
and that in the interests of justice the
court should exercise the discretion
vested in it by the law, and allow
him to reopen his case to the extent
of letting Mr.. Smith tell what he saw
on the roof of Madison Square Garden
the night his brother-in-law was shot
After that, he quoted a long series OF
precedents and authorities for such
action as he requested and stated that
while he could not properly outline
the testimony he expected Mr.. Smith
to give he could assure the court that
it was of the highest Importance.
The upshot of all the argument was
that Justice Fitzgerald ruled that in
the interests of the fullest justice he
would exercise the discretion vested
in him, and allow Mr.. Smith tc
testify.
That Mr.. Delnaas agreed with Mr.
Jerome that the evidence given by
the architects brotherin-law was I'M
portant was shown by the vigor with
which he disputed almost every at
tempt the district attorney made to
get on with the examination. . Again
and again. he jumped up with objec
tion after objection to the forms Of
Mr.. Jerome's questions, and it was
only by the exercise of the utmost
tact, skill and patience that the prose
cutor was able to get Mr.. Smith.
story before the jury. Mr.. Smith tes
tilted that he arrived on~the roof Of
Madison Square Garden about an houl
and half before Thaw came in. HI
did not know that Mr.. White was tt
. be there, did not see him when he
J came In, and did not in fact know
that he was there until an hour or So
after the shooting. He even looked a
Mr.. Whites body after he had beer
killed, but did not recognize him be
J cause his face was so blackened will
the powder that came from the revol
yer that Harry Thaw used. The wit
ness further said that when ThaV
came in he saw his party get seats
and then Thaw came and talked will
the witness. He had something to say
about the advisability of buying stee
and copper stocks about that time
saying that he did not see any reason
Ewhy they should be selling so low
Mr.. Smith added that Thaw asked hin
where Mrs. Smith was, ana on being
told that she was in Paris he asked
the witness If he cared to be intro
: duced to a woman whom he described
as "buxom brunette" adding tina
: If the witness would like to meet her
he (Thaw) would arrange il. MI
: Smith said that he told Thaw he die
not care to meet the brunette Mr.
Smith further testified that wheI
t Thaw left him he wandered about tn,
roof apparently looking for somebody
: and that apparently not finding hin
he went up to the gallery, whence h,
: looked down on the spectators wh'
d were sitting below. Thaw was up
stairs two or three minutes, Mr.
Smith said, and then came back I,
where his party was sitting, got then
started for the door and then walked
down TO where, as it subsequently ap
peared, Stanford White was sitting
The witness then heard the thre,
shots and saw Thaw arrested II,
took look at the body of Mr.. Whit
and, not recognizing it on account o
the powder stains, left the roof a
once. This was the substance OF Mi
Smiths story on the direct examins
tion. When Mr.. Dellllas took him 4
hand nc said that he had told hi