The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-23
Anthony Constock is Put on the Stand Tor the
 First Time
FLAWS MOTHER TELLS
 OF HIS BOYHOOD DAYS
District Attorney Jerome Is Satisfied With comstock's Testimony, As He Considers Thaws Letters
 Evidence of Sanity.

| New York. January 22.-The end of the second Thaw trial is fast approaching.
 This was indicated late today when pr.
 Charles G. Wagner. the first of the
 alienists to be called by the defense. took l the stand for his preliminary examination. l Anthony Comstock, vice president of the
 Society for the Suppression df Vice. had
 been heard as a witness earlier in the
 day, and Mrs. William Thaw, mother of
 the defendant, had completed her testi-
 mony The Kindergarten teacher who had
 charge of Harry Thaw as lad of also
 testified and the day marked long
 stride toward the conclusion of the cele-
 brated case.
 MT. Comstock's testimony. while new. | had been discounted by the known facts
 that Thaw's appeal to him to assist in
 closing up the houses where Stanford White was alleged to have maintained
 elaborately furnished apartments. and
 where young girls were said to have been
 mistreated. A dozen letters Thaw wrote i to Comstock regarding the matter. giving l detailed description of the Twenty
 fourth street house. were admitted in evil
 dence and read to the jury District Att
 torney Jerome seemed pleased as the defense with the letters, and later in the 1 day read into the record himself most of 1 MT. Comstocks replies 10 Thaw. The witness indicated in his testimony that
 nothing ever came of the complaints, legal
 evidence being lacking.
 1 Thaw's Early Life.
 Mrs William Thaw, still unable to walk
 unasslsted, because of her recent illness,
 was long upon the stand. She told of | Thaw's early life of influences before hls ! birth. and of the mental unsoundness of | two of her brothers
 MT. Jerome contented himself by reading
 to the jury the affidavit made by the elder
 Mrs. Thaw last year when the question of
 her sons sanity was before a lunacy com
 mission In that affidavit she declared
 that in the direct line of descent there
 had been no insanity in Harry Thaw's
 family for generations. As to the col lateral cases. Mrs Thaw said In the af- hdavit there were but two, and they were l easily accounted for. In her statement 10
 the committee. Mrs Thaw also resented
 the insinuatons which she said she had been compelled to suffer because of the | newspaper reports of insanity in the fam | fly, and she asserted that there were no family secrets to hide and there was no 1 skeleton to be barred.
 MT. Litteton may continue with expert
 testimony tomorrow or he may offer as ! witnesses the doctors from Rome Paris I and London. who were to testify briefly | of attending Thaw In those cities. Am 1 other doctor is expected to testify about | an outbreak on a train and that will
 end all save the expert testimony. Today
 the codcil to Thaw's will was placed in
 evidence, but the will itself was tempor- , arily ruled out because of the insufficiency | of evidence showing it's custody since 1905. 1 MT. Littleton said that he would supply 1 this tomorrow or Friday.
 Thaws Will Proved. 1 It was 1O:2O o'clock when the Thaw trial
 resumed today and MT. Littleton of the l defense began at once the preliminaries 1 of proving Harry Thaw's will and codicil | executed the day of his wedding to Evelyn l Nesbit in Plttsburg. Miss Frances Pierce,
 who witnessed the signature, and who tes- l tified at the last trial, was called to the l stand
 l Miss Pierce identified the paper but MT. l Jerome objected to admitting the will in 1 evidence until witnesses had come for
 ward to prove it's custody from the time 1 of the signing up to the present moment.
 Mir. Littleton temporarily withdrew the l offer of the will As to the codcil, MT ! Jerome objected to its introduction on the 1 ground that it was the defendants own |
 ment. Justice Bowling however, said the i codieil was competent as evidence MT. Littleton then read the codicil to the l jury. The codicil, it will be rememb bered. l provided number of bequests to lawyers
 and others to aid alleged victims of Stan- ] lord White. to prosecute claims for dam 1 ages against him and for the prosecu 1 ton of all others engaged in such un- 1 lawful practices as said Stanford White.' Following the reading of tho cadioil l Mr. Littleton created something of stir | by calling Anthony Comstock to the | stand. his first appearance in the case. Comstock on the Stand. Mir Comstock said that Thaw called at his office In February, 1904. and com plained of a party who was wronging young girls. Thaw went into details, which the witness repeated as far as he | could remember. Mir. Comstock also said he had received several letters from Thaw. The witness identified several communities | tions from Thaw. one of the papers being l diagram of the premises where he de- l clared evil men were carrying on crim- l inal practices. Thsw declared that work 1 men on buildings near these premises had l heard young girls scream and suggested l that men be sent to watch the entrances | to the place. Thaw also said he had | communicated with the Society for the 1 Prevention of Cruelty to Children, sug- l gesting that a search warrant be issued ] and an Investigation be made of the l house. which was located in Twenty | second street.
 "Thaw told me he had been followed l to my office the second time by men who l were employed to watch him. continued | the witness. "I sent several men out in
 the hallway to see if anyone was there" | Mir. Jerome objected to the witness tell | ing the result of this search, but 1t came ! out in the discussion that no one had 1 followed Thaw.
 When Thaw came back to me the | third tme' resumed Mir. Comstock, v 1 told him I had been unable to secure any evidence, as the house in Twenty 1 second street seemed to be closed. He l said he would furnish me the names of | several girls who had been there and l told him 1t would be necessary to core