Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-18

lawyer, WOulu take the neaQ OF the table
and begin the examination of witnesses
after the opening address BY one Of his
associates, who followed Assistant District
Attorney Garvan.
The case for the people was presented
In less than two hours. 1t was a plain
recital of the fact that Stanford White
had been shot to death on the night of
June %, 1906, in the Madison Square Roof
Garden by Harry Kendall Thaw. Witnesses
OF the act were placed on the stand and
possible manner. The cross-examination
was short, and the only point that the de-
PENDANTS lawyers attempted to make was
that White had made threatening move
ment. The son of the murdered architect
told of seeing his fathers dead body, and
while he was testifying Harry Thaw's face
became pale and purple by turns. He kept
his gaze on the floor and bit his nails nerv-
ously as the son of his victim related his
experiences in calm tone and only once
with emotion.
Mr.. Gleason was agreed upon to make
the usual presentation of what the defense
expected to prove. He was the especial
choice of Harry Thaw. who admired him
because Of his skill a whist player. The
speech of Mr.. Gleason was commented upon
generally as not well chaptered and lacking
in consecutivity. Surprise was expressed
when, the following day, he called and
began the examination of the first witness
DR.. Wiley, Pittsburg physician, who tes-
titled to certain actions of the defendant in
Pittsburg which indicated to the witness
an unbalanced mind. The principal Incl
dent to illustrate this opinion was the vio-
lent pulling up a blind in a street car Oy
Thaw and the violent pulling down Of it by
the conductor. Then, against his Will. as
subsequently shown. DR.. Wiley was made
an expert.
DR.. Wiley Became Bewildered.
When it came to the cross-examination
he was 80 confused by the rapid fire of Dis
trict Attorney Jerome that he halted, hesi-
tated and finally became SO bewildered that
he was unable to answer the simplest ques-
lions relating to pathology and anatomy
Delmas, the senior counsel, was Infatuated.
He pounded the table in front of him with
his fist and declared the examination to be
a farce, and asserted that the witness never
should have been called. The district at
torney took this to mean that the defense
had prepared their case In the usual man
ner-which Is to have complete under
standing Of what the witness was to say
before he went on the Standard there
fore conducted his examination on that as
sumption.
The feeling between the prisoners coun-
sci became so intense that LAWYER O'Reilly,
who had been retained especially to coach
his associates in New York procedure, an
nounced that a conference would be held,
and that if Harry Thaw insisted on Mr..
Gleason continuing Gleason could continue
alone, and that his associates would with
draw from further active participation The
morning, and Thaw was directed to make
a decision. Urged by his mother, he de-
cided to retire Mr.. Gleason to the rear and
to re-establish Mr.. Delmas in his original
position at the front.
Mr.. Delmas at the Front.
This plan was carried out, and the pro-
ceedings took on q new aspect. Benjamin
Bouman, who had followed the flustered
DR.. Wiley the day before, was recalled,
and most of the questions put to him by
Mr.. Gleason were withdrawn, and Delmas
began to lay new groundwork He
brought out that the witness had heard
Stanford White threaten to kill Harry
Thaw Christmas eve, 1903, and the
whole trend of the questioning appeared to
be that the defense intended to enter self
defense in addition to the defense of in
sanity, which Lawyer Gleason put forward
in his opening as the plea on which the de-
PENDANT rested to escape conviction.
The district attorney was visibly per-
picked by this seeming dual defense, espe-
cially when BOuman was succeeded 1mme-
diately by two witnesses who swore to the
irrational manner Of Thaw on the night he
killed the architect on the roof Of Madison
Square Garden. Mr.. jerome asked just be-
fore adjournment was taken that he be IN.
formed who the defense intended to call
az the first witness the next morning and
Delmas replied that 1t would be either the
wife or the mother of the defendant
Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the girlish wife
of the defendant, was placed on her oath
the next morning, and then began the most
dramatic story of wrong and despair, con-
fession and retribution ever heard in
court room. The announcement that the
once beautiful chorus girl and model was
to tell her life story drew such an immense
throng to the criminal courts building that
an extra detail of police was required to
keep the crowd in check. They had to
fight women as fiercely as they did men,
The streets in the vicinity Of the court
llo1 f1,11
time set for the opening of the trial. and
every entrance to the building was besieged
as soon as the doors were opened.
Women Present in Large Numbers.
Acting under the orders of Judge Fitz-
gerald, only those who had business in the
court were admitted. At least that was the
assumption, but through methods which
were not disclosed hundreds succeeded in
gaining admittance and packing the spec
tators' seats. The most insistent and sue
cessful were women, who were willing to
employ any subterfuge or deception to gain
their point. Judge Fitzgerald was not I'M
mindful of the fact that his instructions
had not been carried out
The recital Of the wife was the laying
| bare of her life from her childhood; the
poverty of her family; the efforts she
made to help; her ambition to become an
actress; the meeting with Stanford White
when she was sixteen, and wore dresses
1 "
| interest he took in her welfare; the subtle
| manner in which her childish confidence
| was gained; the visit to the studio; the
| drinking of a glass Of drugged champagne,
| and then the awakening to a realization of
what had happened.
The California lawyer with consummate
| skill broke in at intervals to make the wit
ness repeat, as she did over and over again,
| that she had related this entire experience
| to her husband, the defendant. He met the
district attorney at every turn when vital
part of the story of degradation was told,
and had the witness make the positive
declaration that the story she was telling
| in the court room was the story she told
| to Harry Thaw and that her confession was
what drove him to take revenge on White.
| The witness was wonderfully composed, and
| in perfect self-control. She showed no sign
| of mental or physical fatigue after the long
ordeal on the first day, nor on the next,
| when the opposing lawyers battled with
each other over technical legal issues. When
her examination was resumed, she dis
played remarkable perspcacity in making
her answers. Not more than three or four
times did she reply to a question to which
the district attorney could object, and she
seemed to know intuitiveIy just when an
objection was to be interposed and remained
silent until the court had ruled.
Note Was Finally Admitted