The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-01-24
Secured During First Day
of Thaw's Trial.
NINETEEN OF zoo
Talesmen Who Had Been Summoned
We're Examined and All Seemed
Anxious to Serve on Jury.

New York, Jan. 24--The curtain
was rung up Wednesday for another
act in the tragedy of real life known
as the Thaw.White case. The setting
was not the gay all.night restaurants
Of the Tenderloin, where the principa
actors in the tragedy once were ia
miliar figures. 1t was not the rool
garden crowded with summer revelers
who on a fateful night clinked glasses
In rhythm to the music OF the orches
ira and listened laughingly to merry
singers, and then were hushed into
silence OF horror as three pistol shots
cracked and noted architect lay
dead at the table where he had been
chatting with friends.
The story of the play was brought
down to the grim court room scene
where IL men are to sit and render a
judgment which may mean either the
taking OF another life, this time by
the state, or determination that
Harry K. Thaw was justified in the
claim that he had shot the man who
had ruined his wife" There may be
a third decision, that Thaw was in.
sane at the time he committed the
crime-"emotional insanity" it Is
called-but there will be no opportun.
ity to say that Thaw is now insane
The trial began shortly before 1890
o'clock and when an adjournment for
the day had been taken about p. m,
there were two jurors in the box. a
third Juror had been accepted and
sworn but he was excused in the
closing moments of the days session,
the reason for the action being OF
private nature and not made public.
Nineteen of the 200 talesmen who
were summoned were examined be-
fore the day closed. Nearly all OF
them seemed anxious TO serve and q
small percentage was excused for
cause. The challenges in nearly every
instance were of peremptory charac.
ter and about evenly divided between
the prosecution and the defense.
The examination of the first tales.
men called from the large panel was
followed with the keenest interest, as
II was thought the line of questioning
by the attorneys fer Thaw would de.
velop the character of the defense
they are to set up. There was disap.
] pointment In this respect. The de.
willing to accept any proposed juror
who satisfactorily answered the ques.
tions put by District Attorney Jerome,
who personally conducted the eXaml.
nation. The defense peremptorily
challenged two talesmen, however
who gave their business as a.chiteGt3
Mr.. Jerome asked each talesman in
turn If he would be influenced by the
so.called higher unwritten law TO the
exclusion of the acts,al laws of the
state as they would be laid down by
Justice Fitzgerald. There was none
to say he would not accept the courts
ruling as to all questions of law.
On the question of insanity as al
excuse for crime, Mr.. Jerome explain
ed to each talesman that the law eX
cused only those persons who were la
boring under such a defective reasor
as not to know the nature OF the &c
committed, or even to know that The
act was wrong.
Thaw sat during the day at thu
table set apart for his counsel. A
times he seemed to take lively inter
est In the examination of the mel
summoned to decide his fate. Again
he would seem listless and his eye
roved about the court room. His fac
was pallid, doubtless due to his sever
months confinement in the Tombs
Thaw is six feet in height and is quit
thin.
M Just behind the prisoner sat tn
several members of his family gather
ed here for the trial. They greete
him with smile as he strode past o.
the way to his seat. With his eyes 1
the front Thaw did not see his mothe
or his wife until he was almost upo
! them. Then his sober face broke int
smile and he bowed,