The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1907-03-06

TIC was DOIH9s
New York, March 5.-A long stride
forward in the trial of Harry X. Thaw
was taken when District Attorney Jer.
ONE announced the conclusion of his
exhaustive cross-examination of DR..
Britton d. Evans. one of the alienists
for the defense. DR.. Evans had been
on the stand each session since We'd
nesday last
He was Immediately succeeded on
the stand by DR.. Wagner of Bingham
ton, N. Y, who accompanied him on
most of his visits to Thaw in the
Tombs. Mr. Jerome indicated by his
questioning of Dr. Wagner that he may
finish with the witness today.
Mrs. William Thaw, it is expected,
will be the next person in the witness
chair. She may be sworn either late
today or early Wednesday. With
Mrs. Thaw's testimony in, the defense
will practically have completed its
case, and 1t seems likely that the
states case in rebuttal may be begun
before the end of the week.
What District Attorney Jerome will
be able to prove on rebuttal remains
quite as much mystery as ever. He
complained, in seeking broad inter
pretation OF the rules of evidence by
Justice Fitzgerald, that II he should
call any of the defense's alienists in
rebuttal, they might refuse on the
ground of professional privilege to an
swer any questions put to them.
Or. Hamilton May Not Testify.
This seems to indicate that Mr..
Jerome's threat to call DR.. Allan Nc
Lane Hamilton In rebuttal carries
with 1t the possibility that DR.. Hamil-
ton may not testify, for at the time he
examined Thaw in the Tombs he was
In the employ of the prisoners coun-
sci.
1t is not yet exactly clear to the lay
mind to what extent the district attor-
ney can go in disproving Mrs. Evelyn
Nesbit Thaws testimony. He has ad-
mitted that even If he could prove
that Stanford White was out of the
country at the time of the alleged ex-
perience of Evelyn Nesbit in the oath
street studio he would not be allowed
to do so on the ground that it would
be collateral fact.
It appears, however, that the prose
cutor can call upon any one to contra
dict Mrs. Thaw in instances where she
said she made certain statements to a
third party. On this principle, Mr.
Jerome has indicated that he will call
Howard Nesbit to testify that his sis
ter told him Thaw treated her cruelty
because she would not tell lies about
Stanford White.
Had an Insane knowledge.
DR.. Evans left the witness stand
subject to recall for redirect and re-
cross-examination, but he may not be
called for either. He protected the in
terests of the defense quite keenly
throughout his crossexamination and
at all times appeared match for the
district attorney, who displayed so
much expert medical knowledge during
his famous grilling of Dr. Wiley, the
Pittsburg alienist.
DR.. Evans admitted that Thaw had
an insane knowledge of what he was
doing on Madison Square Roof Gar
den the night he shot and killed Stan
ford White The New York statutes
prescribe that to be exempt from pun.
ishment for crime an insane person
must have been so demented as not to
know the nature or quality of his act
or to know that the act is wrong.
In explaining Thaws actions subse-
quent to the shooting-his quiet de-
meanor, his directions as to what
should be done with his wife and who
should be sent for-Dr Evans declared
that as soon as the defendant shot
Stanford White the" brain storm sub
sided and his senses began to reor-
ganize themselves so that the man
knew quite well what he was about.
He also knew he was attacking Stan
ford White when he shot the revol-
yer, DR.. Evans admitted, but the
knowledge was that of an insane mar
and the act was the result of insane
reasoning.
DR.. Wagner also declared that Thaw
had irrational knowledge of what was
transpiring on the roof garden. He be-
lieved the prisoners insanity dated
from the time Evelyn Nesbit told him
Der story in Paris in 1908.
DR.. Wagner caused quite stir in
court by using the present tense in
responding to question by District
Attorney Jerome as what form of in
sanity Thaw has or had" Dr.. Wag-
ner testified that Thaw "is suffering"
from symptoms which lead toward a
melancholic state and a state Of de-
mentia praecox When asked to de-
scribe the latter phrase DR.. Wagner
said 1t covered such wide field as TO
be difficult of strict definition. He
said that Thaw's condition of mind at
the time of the shooting was the re-
suit of one of the insanities of Adde'S
cence. He would not further classify
the exact form.
The district attorney continued his
somewhat puzzling tactics. His ques-
tioning Of DR.. Evans seemed to have
A. - II.
never was insane to the extent con
templated by the criminal statutes of
this state. Again, with DR.. Wagner as
the witness, he worked toward the
same end at one time and al another