The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-07
EITHER WIFE OR MOTHER
 GOES ON STAND TO-DAY
THAW'S COUNSEL MAKES THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE
 COURT.

Defense Takes on More Hopeful Aspect
 Mr. Delmas, the Noted California
 Lawyer Imported Into the Case, Has
 Better Luck Than Mir. GIeason--Con-
 ducts Defense With Marked Success--
 Gets Evidence Introduced That Thaw
 Was Irrational and That White Had
 Threatened to Kill Him--JerOme Ap- parentIy Afraid to Produce an Im-
 portant Note.
 New York, Feb 6.-The defense of Harry K. Thaw, under the direction of Attorney Dolphin M. Delmas of Call fornia, began to assume definite shape to-day and when an adjournment was taken testimony had been placed be- fore the jury to the effect that Stan ford White had been heard to make a threat to kill the defendant-coupling the threat with the display of a revol- ver-that Thaw's actions following the killing of White on the roof of Madison Square Garden were considered by several eye witnesses to have been irrational" that an uncle of the de- fendant was insane, that Evelyn Nesbit Thaw passed a note to her husband during dinner at the Cafe Martin the evening of the tragedy, that District Attorney Jerome has this note, and re- fused, on the demand of the defense to introduce it in evidence So far. in- deed, had Thaw's defense progressed that at the close of to-day's proceed ings the announcement was made by Mir Delmas that ei her the wife of the nothe, of the defendant would be the first witness on the stand tomorrow morning. The threat against Thaw's life was made two years and a half be- fore the tragedy occurred. District At torney Jerome objected to the introduc- tion of the evidence declaring the de- fense was not understood to him to be one of self-defense. MT, Delmas replied that the defense intended to take ad vantage of every legal defense allowed in the state of New York, be it insani- ty, self defense or any other legitimate justification of the taking of a human life. This was but the first of series of i2teresting tilts between the district attorney and Mr. Delmas during the day, and it was agreed that MT. Jerome had found Thaw's new leading counsel a foeman worthy of his best efforts. The two men are of widely different types-Mr. Jerome quick, passionate, forceful, sarcastic and brilliant at ridi- cule-Mr. Delmas calm, courteous, re- sourceful witty, crafty and ethical, to whom the district attorney was al ways 'the learned district attorney" There was never deviation from this method of address.
 Beniamin Roman, formerly a stage doorkeeper at the Madison Square thea- ter, was the witness who told of Whites threat Roman was offered as witness yesterday, but the district at torney was successful at that time in blocking the evidence by objections MT. Delmas to-day withdrew his pro- test against the witness. Roman de- clared that on Christmas eve, 1903, Stanford White came to the stage door about 11:15 D. m. and asked for Miss Nesbit. The doorkeeper told him the actress, who was then playing on The Girl from Dixie" had gone home. White at first accused him of falsehood, and then asked who had been her escort.
 "Mr. Thaw,' the witness said he re- piled.
 "Oh, that Pittsburber," commented the architect, who to make sure the actress had gone to her dressing room on the stage. Not finding her there, White, according to Roman, walked rapidly out of the theater, with a revol- yer in his hand, and mutterng "I'll find and ftll that m -- before day light"
 The witness said he believed the threat to be directed against Harry Thaw and told him of it several days later when they chanced to meet on Fifth avenue. He also told detective sergeant about the incident. District Attorney Jerome cross-examined the witness for more than an hour, but Roman adhered closely to his story in every detail. Once or twice the wit ness became a trifle confused as to dates and as to his movements during the past five years, and said he had not been regularly employed during that period.
 Have you been paid any money by this defendant or his attorneys?" de- manded MT. Jerome at the close of his examination
 "No," came the emphatic reply from the witness.
 Have you been promised any"
 "No.''
 Thomas McCaleb, the young Califor- nian, who was with the Thaw party the night of the tragedy, was witness during the afternoon session. It was he who testified that at dinner that evening Mrs. Thaw had suddenly asked her husband for a pencil, scribbled a few words and passed folded piece of paper to him. What was in this note the witness did not know, and he was not allowed, because of an ob- lection of the district attorney, to tes- tify as to what change of manner, if any, it produced in Thaw. It has been reported from time to time that it was in this note that young Mrs. Thaw, re- ferring to White, wrote to her hus- band: "That - Cblacguard) is here" "
 "We understand" said MT Delmas, that this note is now in the possession of the learned district attorney. We want to get at the contents of that slip of paper, believing it to be ma terlal evidence We demand that the