Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-15
NLElS BAR DOWN ].
Valves Right of Secrecy Be.
 tween Nurse and Patient.
SPEAKS PUBLICLY IN COURT
Nurse at Monte Carlo and Boyhood Tutor Swear That Stanford Whites Slayer Was IrratonaI-Doctor Tells of Insanity of Relatives. ... .ts,5 4

Tutor Swear That Stanford Whites Slayer Was Irrational-Doctor Tells
 of Insanity of Relatives. .t,,5 ',
 New York, Jan. 15.-In open court Harry K. Thaw took active part in his 'trial by formally waiving his rights to secrecy between himself and Mrs. Amy Gossette, q nurse, testifying of what she terms his ''irratio acts" while he was i'll in Monte Carlo. This was the first time since the shooting of MT. White that Thaw has spoken for himself at any court proceedings.
 Mrs. Gossette was testifying in cor rOboration of the assertion of the de- fense that Thaw was insane until the time of the shooting. While Thaw was i'll in Monte Carlo she nursed him, hay ing been sent to him by Dr. Price Mitchell.
 Professional Ethics Involved.
 The woman's testimony was not al- lowed at first because of an objection
 
 that the law did not permit a physician or nurse to testify as to the condition of patient unless the latter gave per mission in open court.
 Martin w. Littleton. chief counsel for ThaW, at first hesitated at allow ing his client to waive his rights and tried in every way to bring out the tes- timony without having to compel Thaw to speak for himself. Finally, apparently deeming the testimony i'm portant to his client and seeing no other way out of it. Mr. Littleton con- sented to the proceedings. He refused, however, to ask the question of Thaw himself, but instead permitted the court to do so.
 Upon being asked by the court whether he desired to consent to the nurses testifying Thaw arose from his seat and said in tones so low that he could hardly be heard by persons seat ed around him:
 q dO.'
 Jerome Scores Repeatedly.
 Then he fell back into his seat, and his nurse related in detail the actions of the defendant and his appearance while in Monte Carlo, all of which, she declared, impressed her that he was irrational.
 Mir Jerome succeeded repeatedly in winning points on technicalitieS. He brought into use the professional se- crecy that exists among physicians. His every objection to physicians tes- tifying to the ghastly details of the mental condition of Thaw's ancestors obligations compelled medical men to keep silent on the nature of their pa, tient's affiictions unless they were gv- en permission to talk by the patients themselves in open court.
 Judge Bowling agreed with the dis trict attorney and sustained every Ob- iection. Despite this. the defense sue ceeded in bringing out enough testi- mony from the medical witnesses to establish foundation for their plea of insanity.
 From Madhouses.
 They proved that ancestors on both the prisoners maternal and paternal sides showed signs of insanity and that several of them were inmates of asylums.
 Mir. Jerome in his cross examination of the witnesses for the defense was aggressive and sometimes even fought the witnesses on their own testimony in an attempt to make them appear in credible in the eyes of the jury.
 Considerable amusement was caused by Mir Jerome's cross examination of Professor C. A. Koehler of Winona. Minn, q tutor. who was at an acade- my in Wooster, O.. when Thaw was a pupil. The instructor said he had on several occasions publicly referred to Thaw as the horrible example"
 Mir. Jerome brought out that KOehler was a church member. and at the time he so referred to Thaw he be- lieved him irrational. When asked to explain how he reconciled the illus tration of boy he considered men tally unsOund as warning to others the instructor became painfully con fused.
 Family Skeleton Barred.
 Dr. John T. Deemar. now of Kit tanning. Pa. and who for years was the Thaw family physician, told of treating Thaw as a boy for St. Nitus' dance and said that Henry W. Copley, a brother of the prisoners mother. died an imbecile. Dr. Deemar also declar- ed that John Ross. maternal cousin of Thaw. now in the Hope Institution For Feeble Minded. was suffering from . maniacal affiictiOn.