Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-23

the penalty Of frst-degree murderer, 50
freely expressed at the very beginning Of
his trial. Poorer men than Thaw have had
more famous counsel to represent them.
There is no evidence that huge sums have
been spent by the defendants relatives in
preparing his case. The state has spent
much more In bulwarAing the prosecution
Evelyn Nesbdt'e testimony viii cost Thaw
work Of refuting what she may have to say
has caused the district attorneys ONCE no
end Of worry, and has entailed the expendi-
ture Of many thousands Of the peoples dol
laTs.
His Main Hope.
Thaw's hope for hfe and liberty is largely
one of psychology. He thinks he knows the
men Of New York city, and he does not be-
heve that In any twelve Of them there will
be the unanimity of opinion that is neces-
sary to send him to felon's death. Thaw
processes to hope for acquittal: it is more
likely that he hopes for a mistrtal. Here
the Nan Patterson case shines out as
notable example Of the difficulty of convic-
tion in case where pretty woman aaaa Is the
the eyes Of the law in the famous case now
going to trial, but his fortune rests entirely.
upon the pretty little artists model and
chorus girl who became his wife and whose.
of the noted architect, inspired the willful,
and headstrong young PhtsburE spendthrift
to the hatred which eliminated In the death
o. Thaw Is to be aeautted or finally is al
lowed to go free because Of numerous mis-
trials. 1t will be because of the Nesbit girls
influence with the jury. She will be the plea
ss .b T er to as the ana store ne s
has to tell. believe her. then Judge him. He
awaits the verdict with confidence.
"Thaw is not crazy" said man Of au-
thority in the. criminal courts building last
do vuhn no uvna
brought over the Bridge Of Sighs' for the
proceedings that were necessary in post
poning his case two days. He seems to
me to be wiser than his counsel. If he had
listened to them, and agreed to enter plea
of insanity he would have been sent TO an
asylum for the criminal insane. where the
confinement, the environment, and the as
sociations would have driven a person Of
jealousy and all the other vices he is adj
mitted to possess to an early grave. Had
he lived quietly and peacefully, he might
have been declared sane at any time.
brought back to New York and then placed
on trial for the killing Of White.
Power Of Pretty Face.
II have been a follower of criminal cases
in this jurisdiction for many years. and 1
know the power a pretty womans face has
with jury. Thaw. who devours the news
papers daily, knows the same thing, and
wife he Is willing to stake his chance of
life. There may be perversion Of justice
in all this; 1t may be admitted to be a
terrible thing that pretty woman can be
placed in position to defeat the ends of
Justice, but there is no need to shut ones
eyes to past performances and to facts.
Evelyn Nesbits Is the trim little figure
about which the tempest Of the trial will
lash its fury. If she be swept away Thaw
will go to his doom. If her story and
her personality stand against the storm,
Thaw's life will be spared. The woman in
the case. in this instance. Is the case
ITSELF"
District Attorney Jerome has had the
lesson of a woman's plea brought home to
him several times during the years he
has been at the head of the states army of
prosecutors in New York county. He has
found that juries with q preponderance of
old men or Of young men are too likely to
be swayed by sentiment. This time he has
made an effort to avoid both horns Of the
dilemma by summoning on the special
panel Of 200 talesmen men of middle age
and Of strict business habits The men in
the district attorneys ofice spent many
days in selecting the panel. They investi-
gated each name upon 1t before a sub
poena was issued. The result of their care
full work was apparent when the talesmen
began to file into the court room last Mon
day morning.
One after another they were scrutinized.
and there were few among the 200 who
we're under forty years Of age or above
two score and ten Practically all Of them
are engaged in some business pursuit. The
professional man or the student Of psy-
chology was not wanted by the district at
torney. .,z-.-
Fear Of Mistrial.
. Jerome fears mistrial as much as any
one, but he is determined to profit by past
and to eliminate as many posi-
bilities- Of sentiment influencing the judy
ment OF the twelve good men and true
as he can, and still remain within the pur-
view Of the law. He is going to make an
effort to prevent the yellow newspapers
to this end will try to bar from the court
room all the heart-throbbing writer's who
have traded so splendidly on the famous
murder trials Of the past few years. The
of the court will call for the expulsion of
the writer, and any misstatements concern
ing the proceedings may be followed imme-
diately by punishment for contempt of
little village Of Herkimer during the prog
ress of the Chester Gillette trial has had
much to do with the determination to en-
force strict rules at the Thaw trial.
There are scores Of out-of-town CORE
spondents, reporters. artists and special
writers in New York for the Thaw trial
Never before has a criminal case had SO
many ramifications as this and never has
TIC VI lie persons lnVOlVeQ been
greater. Europe awaits the story of the
trial as eagerly as does New York and
while New York is all a-dutter
with excitement over the beginning Of the
long -waited-for affair London, Paris and
Berlin have sent their own special corre-
spondents across the ocean to chronicle the
details Of the trial. The color and style of
the gown worn by the Countess of Var
mouth when she attends the. trial will be
an item Of worldwide Importance.
Army Of Newspaper Men.
The court officers are overcome by the
problem Of what to do with all the legiti-
mate newspaper men who want to write
about the trial. Monday they cut the Cor
dian knot by keeping all the newspaper
men out. That was all very we'll for the
preliminary session, but cannot hold good
during the actual progress of the hearing.
The immense Jury panel more than fills the
seating capacity of the court room, which
is known technically as Supreme Court,
Trial Term, Part 1, Criminal Cases" There
are fully 200 newspaper representatives
for admission. This indicates
that the general public will not be admitted
at any time, except in individual instances,
through the favor Of the district attorney
or some officer of the court
Opinions vary as to the time the selection
of a jury will require. Few are willing to