Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-02
JEROME WOULD
SEND PRISONER
To AN ASYLUM
Plans to Have ThaW
Examined
Court Grows Weary When the Trial
Lags and Makes sharp Retort
to the District At
torney
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
NEW YORK, March 1.-The insanity
of adolescence, paranoia, and the char-
acteristics of brain storms" occupied
hoth sessions of the Thaw trial today,
and when adjournment until Monday
morning was ordered DR.. Britton ID.
Evans. one of the alienists for the de-
tense, was still under cross-examina-
tion.
District Attorney Jerome's course in
questioning the witness was somewhat
bathing. He seemed desirous to nave
DR.. Evans admit that Thaw suffered
from paranoia, which is practically IN
durable.
Then again he brought from the wit
ness the opinion that when Thaw armed
himself he we'll knew that q revolver
was an instrument for self-protection
and when fired into human body might
produce death.
Finally the prosecutor wanted to
know IL the actions of person suffer-
ing from a brain storm, or mental ex-
plosion. would be characterized by the
calm. considerate manner which Thaw
displayed the night he shot Stanford
White to death on the Madison Square
roof garden.
jerome Finally Rewarded
The net results appeared to be that
MIR. Jerome Is still laying the founda-
ton on which he may ask for COM
mission in lunacy to judge the present
mental condition of the defendant.
Even to the extent of greatly fatiguing
the jury and judge, the district attorney
dwelt on the subject of adolescent IN
sanity and paranoia, endeavoring TO
esta blish relationship between the
two and was at last rewarded by DR..
Evans admitting that the defendants
will and codicil did not suggest to his
mind paranoiac form of adolescent III
sanity.
Adolescent insanity, it has been ex-
planned is common in persons during
the development period of life-from ~
to DO years, while paranoia is a fixed
insanity upon one subject-monomania
Justice Fitzgerald indicated his
fatigue at the three days examination
of the expert when Mr.. Jerome began
to question DR.. Evans about his knowl-
edge of other instances of adolescent in
sanity which had resulted in acts Of
homicide.
The alienist said there was a woman
in his hospital for the insane at Morris
Plains who in the midst of a brain
storm or mental explosion had killed
two of her children.
Judge Grows Weary
After a number of questions by Mr..
Delmas to this line of explanation.
Mr. Jerome argued that 1--WE are just
getting to the point of this thing" This
brought out weary remark from the
Judge to the effect that I'VE have been
a mighty long time getting there"
Mr.. Jerome disclaimed responsibility
for the tedious cross-examination, sus
gesting that the blame was with the
evasive answers of the witness.
am NOT wing whose fault 1t is.
said the judge, but repeat, we have
been long time getting to the point"
The district attorney and the judge
had another wordy conflict near the
close of the day, when Mr.. Jerome
asked DR.. Evans to give his opinion of
DR.. Allan McLane Hamilton, who is
reported to have said that he believed
Harry Thaw to be suffering from a
form of insanity which could not pos
sibly have been eradicated by this time
Refuses to Answer
'I refuse to answer" replied the wit
ness.
Mr.. Jerome argued the point and cited
a part of the record in the Preusser
case at Albany, where the presiding
judge had allowed one expert to give
an opinion of another.
Nov, will you direct the witness to
answer" suggested Mr.. Jerome. in
quiringly, of the justice.
II will not" replied the justice. He
added that he would not rule finally
on the point until he had read the
entire record of the Preusser trial. AS
Mr. Jerome said the ruling would cover
the last questions of his examination
the adjournment until Monday was
ordered. DR.. Evans will again be on
the stand.
Dr. Evans declared today that Thaw
showed a degree of adolescent insanity
when he wrote the letters in 1908, after
Evelyn Nesbit had told him of her al
legged wrong at the hands of Stanford
White.
The delusions apparent in the letters
Were more concentrated in the will and
codicil executed April 4, 1905, and when
taken by themselves indicated a para
noiac form of insanity of adolescence
cence. On June 25, 1906, when Thaw
shot and killed White DR.. Evans said
the defendant was suffering from an
explosive outburst of adolescent insan-
fly.
Mr.. Jerome tried to make the wit
ness admit that a person insane from
1908 to 1906 suffered from a chronic form
of mental disorder, but DR. Evans in
sisted that the evidence werely showed
acute outbursts and not a chronic state.
Now that Evelyn Nesbit Thaw is no
longer on the stand and the center of
all interest the prisoner is attracting
more and more attention. He gave out
no additional statements today, but
created almost as great a sensation as
yesterday when he issued his attack
on the "unprofessional" methods Of the
district attorney.
Through his counsel Thaw obtained
permission to absent himself from the
room.
When he got into the prisoners pen
Thaw threw off his hat, brought his
heels together and began violently TO
go through a five-minute drill at 'set-
ting up" exercise. When he had fin
ished Thaw announced that he was
ready to return to the court room, de-
claring he had been compelled to take
the exercise.
Mr. Jerome was later informed of the
defendants conduct and made notes
upon II,
Thaw again brought TO court several
large packages OF letters, which he
read with avidity and made pencil notes
upon each. He took apparently no