Connecticut western news., 1907-03-07
CLASH IN THAW TRIAL
District Attorney Jerome Has Hot
 Argument With Judge.
ALIENIST STILL ON STAND.
pr. Wagner's Examination Continued, Delaying Mrs. William Thaw's Ap- pearance as Witness = Defendants Wife Completes Story.

PeardnCe as witness - OeIen0dnt
 Wife Completes Story.
 New York, March 6.-Interest arous. ed in the trial of Harry K. Thaw by the announcement that Mrs. William Thaw, the mother of the defendant, would take the witness stand was quickly dulled by the continued cross examination of Dr. Charles G. Wag- ner, one of the alienists for the de fense
 Thaw's devoted mother will be the next witness to take the stand in the trial of her son for shooting Stanford White. She will endure an ordeal she is said to dread greatly for the pur- pose, it is understood, of relating pre- natal influences which might have op- erated so that the unbalancing of her sons mind by delusions was logical sequence. Her examination will sue ceed at once the departure of Dr. Charles E. Wagner from the witness chair.
 District Attorney Jerome said that from the present outlook the trial would take eight or ten days more. In the latter event, with only five days week devoted to proceedings and with sum- ming up by both sides, it may be near April before verdict is reached.
 Jerome Clashes With Judge.
 While dull in the matter of the testi- mony elicited from Dr. Wagner, the trial was enlivened by clash between District Attorney Jerome and Justice Fitzgerald, at the climax of which the prosecuting officer refused point blank to cite to the court the authorities upoF which he was predicating an argument MT. Jerome was requested by the pre- siding judge to submit to him what ever authorities he had upon the sub ject.
 q have such high respect for courts" retorted MT. Jerome, ''that will not submit authorities on a queS- ton of law which is so elemental in character and upon which the authori- ties are so abundant that I must pre- sume the learned courtknows of them"
 With flushed face and sharp rap of his gavel Justice Fitzgerald said if the district attorney did not submit the authorities the court would assume that he did not know of any. MT. Je- rome did not submit the authorities, and Justice Fitzgerald ruled in favor of the defense on the point at issue, which, briefly stated, was the question as to whether the state on cross ex- animation should be allowed to go far ther with an expert witness than coun- sel for the defense was allowed to go upon direct examination.
 ]. Thaw Insane Now, Says Jerome. During the course of his argument District Attorney Jerome placed him. self on record by saying that the legal assumption before the court is that Harry K. Thaw is insane. He declared the alienists for the defense have shown Thaw to have been insane as late as Sept 22 last, and in the absence of proof to the contrary the assumption Is that he remains insane.
 At one time MT. Jerome asked pr. Wagner if he could tell what form of insanity the defendant is suffering from today.
 "I've not examined him since last October replied Dr. Wagner, ''and you cannot, MT. District Attorney, make any of my answers apply to the present time. In addition I may say that the defendants. present state of mind is not before the court"
 Present State Not Relevant.
 Justice Fitzgerald declared that the present jury only has to do with the question of Thaw's sanity or insanity on the night that he shot and killed Stanford White.
 The scope of the cross examination seemed limitless, extending even to hallucinations of the taste and illusions and hallucinations of smell. Dr. Wag such hallucinations in a subject they were indicative of serious brain disor- der. Thaw, it developed, however, hau no such Authorizations or illusions.
 In his testimony Dr. Wagner declar- ed that Thaw was made insane by Evelyn Nesbit's story, related to him in Paris, and the alienist resisted the district attorneys efforts to make him qualify or change this statement.
 SayS naw was insane at WeoOin9s
 Again at the time be was welded to the young woman in April, 1905, Thaw was insane, as he was also at the time he shot Stanford White, on June 25, 1906, Dr.. Wagner said.
 In his earlier testimony the alienist had admitted that Thaw's insanity might be of the progressive sort. but he would not say positively if it was or was not.
 Thaw had a certain knowledge, but was irrational, when he fired the first of three shots into MT. Whites body, the expert believed. He ascribed the exact cause to be a "brain explosion" when Thaw saw the architect, just as Dr. Evans had sworn.
 Mr. Jerome, in referring to the wit ness statement that Thaw had been made insane by the story told to him by Evelyn Nesbit, said that he thought 1t safe to assume, from Mrs. Thaw's statement, that Tbaw knew of the friendship between his wife and the architect.
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