The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-02-10
Purpose OF the Defense is for
the Young Millionaire to
SubStantiate the State
mentS of His Wife.
ANTHONY COMSTOCK MAY
TESTIFY FOR DEFENSE
Head of Society for Preven-
ton of Vice Says Thaw
Sought Him to Investigate
Whites Iniquilous DenS.
(By Carl S. Brandebery)

10y SdIi -. BfdnueDcry.D
New York, Feb 9-Harry X. Thaw
will take the witness stand To deiiv-
er the final blow in his defense for
the killing Of Architect Stanford
White. Judge Dolphin Delmas, chief
counsel for Thaw, practically decided
today that the millionaire defendant
should become a witness and corrobor-
ate the sensational testimony given
by his chorus girl wife.
Harry Thaw will tell of Evelyn Mes
bits refusal to marry him because OF
what she termed her degradation ut
the hands of Stanford White. He will
tell the jury how the fragile child,
In fearful words, that day in Paris.
sobbingly told him of her shame and
ruin--a story that burned into his
soul and famed the fire of a consum-
ing hatred for the architect Thaws
lawyers will seek to show by his tes-
timony that he brooded over his wife's
wrongs until in the stretch of time
there appeared in the Pigment of his
disordered mind white specter of
girl, victim of Whites lust as was
his wife. This specter came to him
at night and in his waking hours and
with it the hallucination that Stanford
White was pursuing his wife to take
her life with some subtle poison.
An agent Of Providence"
When he saw White that night
"glowering" at him in the roof of Mad
ison Square Garden. Thaw will tell the
jury. that he believed that. as the
agent of providence. he was d.
rected to kill the architect. within
minute. after the shooting Thaw
said to his wife: Its all right. dearie,
| have probably saved your life''
1t was this belief that White was
plotting to murder Evelyn that caus-
ed Thaw to make that remark which
for long time was one OF the mex
plicable mysteries In the case
Should Anthony Comstock, head OF
the anti-vice society recover from an
attack of pneumonia before the con-
clusion of the Thaw trial he will be
called as witness for the defense
ing testimony to corroborate the
hSoliihoHy VI ESeiyn 4>eSDIt l0dW.
Comstock Visited by Thaw.
Comstock gave out an interview at
his home today in which he declared
that year before the shooting Thaw
came to him and told him of Whites
character and that he found one clear
case against the architect.
Mr. Comstock said: u know that
Stanford White was a human mon
ster. / know that much of what Mrs.
Harry Thaw has stated as a witness
is true. | know that Stanford Whites
den in the tower of Madison Square
Garden was as he described IT, I
know that White made business OF
running young girls. l know of at
least one specific instance. And what
j know / learned after | had been CIV
en- the first clews by Harry Thaw
himself
Thaw Exposed White.
Mr.. Comstock said that in the sum-
mer of 1905 Harry Thaw came 10
him and told him of Stanford White.
charging that the architect was ruin
ing young girls in his studio.
AS nearly as / can recall" said
Mr.. Comstock today MIR Thaw said
to me I want to tell you of a man
who has ruined more young girls than
any man in New York He is parti-
cularly given to pursuing the young
girls of the stage. II is a debt which
society owes to itself to halt hfm now,
before he brings shame and sorrow
to any more victims.
He has come in my own life in
such way that / desire above ev.
erything else to see his practices stop
ped in order that others may be spar
ed the suffering he has brought upon
me and mine. His name is Stanford
White. he is an architect and he has
an infamous den in the tower Of the
Madison Square Garden
That in effect was his statement"
continued Mr.. Comstock, although OF
course / asked him a great deal more
of the matter. He left after securing
my promise TO investigate He agreed
TO pay the cost of looking into the
case. He at once mailed me a check
to defray the necessary expenses, and
wrote me several times
upon the subject of White, asking
each time what progress we were
Whites Practices Investigated.
"Our investigation confirmed 10 a
great degree what Thaw had told
me. Our detectives were astounded
1t what they discovered. We work
but of all cases these are the hardest
% prove under the rules of evidence
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