Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-07
PAST LIFE THE HITCH
Harry ThaW to Take Desperate
Chances for Liberty.
HE WILL GO TO TRIAL
Rather Than Permit Himsel.. t. Be
Declared Insane.
SOME STRANGE FAMILY STORIES
Mrs. Thaw Sides With Her Son on
Eve of Trial - Afraid Of
Family History.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
| NEW YORK. January 7.-That Harry X.
| Thaw is willing to risk the chance of go
| ing to the death chair rather than have his
| past life laid bare. and that his mother Is
] willing he shall take the chance in prefer
| ence to having some of the inner family
| history revealed, is said to be the secret OF
their opposition to having the young man
| declared insane on the eve of his trial Tor
| the murder of Stamford White.
The motives animating mother and son.
| differing in inception yet strangely alike
reach the same purpose in the end. Harry
| is aware of the nature of the facts that
| have been gathered here and abroad re-
garding his career He feels, it Is said by
| those who ought to know, that all the story
| will become public property if a commits
sion is appointed to inquire into his sanity
Nevertheless it is stated in dispatches
from Pittsburg today, Mrs. Thaw. the
elder, is being strongly urged to have
commission appointed, and this advice
comes ITOlll SuNH dDiC iee"S SiS
friends of the family as Senator Knox OF
PENNSYLVANIA and Justice Mckenna of the
Supreme Court. Mrs. Thaw appealed 10
them as friends of her late husband, for
advice. but is loath in the extreme to act
| on the advice she got.
Nav Declare Him Insane.
| Tbare is every reason to believe that a
lunacy commission would declare Thaw in
sane Thaw is sane enough to realize that
and also what it would mean to him. He is
reported to have said that he has such a
dread of going to Matteawan that he would
do ANYTHING to keep out of the state nos
| pital for the insane But that Is not MS
/ real motive Rather than consent to the
| appointment of a commission, which act In
itself would make it reasonably certain OIL
| saving h ) life and keeping a dreadful blot
| off the family name, he chooses the other
| course and thereby escapes having his Pc
| culiarities of conduct become known to the
| general public.
| These peculiarities, If recounted to a
lunacy commission, would certainly lead
| to a decision that the young man was and
| Is of unsound mind.
| That at any rate, is the statement made
! by persons who have had much to do with
| the case from the time that Thaw was ar
| rested. and who will play an important
| part in the legal proceedings that must be
| followed before the case Is hnally DIS
| posed Of A great mass OF facts mas peen
| collected all going to show that Ihaw Is
| afflicted with progressive paranoia. His
| whole life has been gone over from the
time he was a mere child. and Thaw has
| -hat ,afa
found, especially in Paris and Monte Carlo.
| But these same informants say Mrs.
! Thaw, ST. does not know of the real reason
why her son is so bitterly opposed to going
before a commission in lunacy She has her
| own reasons for siding with him. There are
| some features of the family history which
| 90 far toward showing that for Harry to be
at least eccentric is not strange. There are
| stories of legs of tables having been bitten
into when some one in the family fell to the
| floor in paroxysms of rage that were not
| pleasant to behold
Switched to His View.
These and other things of the same gen.
ora, character, known only to few per-
sons outside the family, are said to be a
| mart of what Mrs William Thaw does not
| wish to become public. Other members of
| the family are willing that 1t should all
come out rather than have Harry go to the
| death chair.
| When Mrs. Thaw first came back to this
| country to aid her son she was told that his
life could be saved through having him de-
| clared insane. She sanctioned all that had
been done Then she talked with Harry.
What passed between them will probably
| never be generally known, but she switched
| around to his view. Then she wanted to
l
| than having him declared insane, that would
| give him chance for his Decentralization
| of his killing of White, for instance.
| Mrs Thaw was asked buntly If she was
| insane to think there could be any justifica-
| ton in her son walking up to an unarmed
| and unsuspecting man and shooting him
down in public playhouse: 1t was said
| she was then and there informed that if
| any course was adopted other than having
| him declared insane by a commission, her
| son would certainly go to the death chair,
| and that nothing could prevent 1t.
That fact was impressed on her with the
| greatest earpestness, but she decided against
| the appointment of commission
| Application for Special Panel.
NEW YORK, January IAN application
for a special panel Of selected talesmen
| from which to choose jury to try Harry
| K. Thaw, who is charged with the murder
of Stanford White, made by a repre-
| sentative of the district attorneys Office in
the supreme court today. The request was
based upon the contention that the wide
| publicity given the Thaw case would make
| 1t exceedingly difficult to get impartial
| jury In the regular way. The motion was
| opposed by counsel for Thaw. No final
! decision in the matter was reached, the
| court directing counsel for the defense to
embody his objections in the form of an
| affidavit and serve it upon the district att
| torney. After this is done Thaws counsel
| and the district attorneys representatives
! will be given another hearing 10 the matter.