East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-04-09
DELMAS PLEADS
FOR HARRY THAW
Continued from page IL


'Ye shall not afflict fatherless child,
for If 1t cry unto me l shall surely
hear, and my wrath shall wax hot and
will kill you with my sword, and your
wives shall be widows?' Did White
imagine in his hardened heart that
that God would not hear the cries of
that fatherless child in the silence of
a great city? Did he imagine that
he had forgotten his promise and his
decree? Better for him had he died
before that day, when his death might
have been deplored by his family,
when his memory might not have
survived only to be desecrated.
Delmas then described at length
Thaw's changed manner when he
went TO Pittsburg. How his mother
noticed it, and at last learned tn" Sc
cret. Ne continued. "Then you re-
member the occasion in the church
when the organ pealed out that
grand anthem to the god of our ar
mics and navies, Lest We Forget
and how he broke down with the mu-
sic ringing in his ears Lest you for
get the wrong done this girl You
never can forget what makes your
life so desolate." The courageous
man conceived he had a mission to
perform. Seeing Evelyn in the hands
of White seemed TO him worse than
the torment of hell and he came
back to New York to make one
more effort to save her."
The advocate then depicted how
Thaw and Evelyn had met almost as
strangers; how Evelyn at last learned
the stories told her about Tbaw
were untrue. ''Then,' exclaimed
Delmas. "hope began to dawn in this
mans breast. The hour of reconcil-
iation was at hand, barriers were
falling away. They came closer to-
gether until that blessed night Of
Christmas Eve. 1903. the night White
had prepared in the high tower a
banquet for this girl victim of him.
when he was to lure her to his den
again. That night when White hoped
to renew his wrongs TO her. That
night this man devoted to her
snatched her away from the jaws of
death, from the snares of disgrace,
and took her away.
"From that time on he was always
haunted by the thought that White,
| as long as he lived, was constant
menace to his home and honor. His
wife has said he would wake her in
the middle of the night and ask
ner questions about White. He con-
stantly brooded on the subject of
White.
"Then one by ore he learned OF
specific cases of other girl victims of
White. With this thought he said
Whites place was in the peniten-
tiary, that he would get worse and
worse as time went on and would
destroy not only girls on the stage.
hut other girls, and they would not
only be disgraced, but would become
bad women. To show how deep the
impression was on his mind, ] call
attention to provisions in the codi-
ell of his will setting aside thousands
Of dollars to protect girls who might
become the victims of White. and
strange to say. 1t was written on the
night Of his wedding"
Remember, the testimony of all
witnesses was that in manner and
demeanor Thaw was quiet as he
walked slowly down tt.c aisle. As he
neared the elevator he saw White and
turned and walked slowly until he
faced him and 1t was then he fired
three shots which caused death. Then
deliberately and slowly when the body
of Stanford White fell prone on the
ground, Thaw turned to the audience
: broke the pistol and raised the but
, end upwards In the air to show the
audience there was no danger. He
then walked away, and when his wife
said, 'Oh, Harry, what have you done +?
he replied, It's all right, dear, have
probably saved your life.
Il dwell upon the circumstances tC
call your attention to the fact tl.at he
believed the fate of his wife wal
menaced by the presence of t!ls man
The first thought that came Ia hi,
J mind was that he had saved her life
'Dementa Americana"
Delmas said that If experts coulC
classify Thaw's insanity they woult
g. characterize it as "Dementia Ameri
cana" which makes a man believ,
that the sanctity Of a mans home Il
q inviolate.
Jurors Faces NoncOmmittal.
The jurors appeared to give und'
vided attention to Delmas. but wer
like so many grave images so far a
showing. by facial expression any i'm
preston from his argument.