The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-04
wHAr coop.


 WHAT GOOD. .
 A conservative estimate that we have seen is that the Thaw trials have cost his Sfsnnily s4oo.ooo and the county of New York at least s1oo.ooc more. Some have calculated that the entire cost in every way is si.ooo.ooo. but even if it is but half that sum. it is very large one and what good has come of itf. Harry Thaw murdered Stanford White in cold blood; of that there is, no doubt. It is not shown that White knew that Thaw was anywhere about. or knew who shot him. It was both brutal and a cowardly act.
 whether there was Justification for such deed depends on how one looks at 1t. Plainly his lawyers had absn- doned all hope of making a valid deS fence on that ground or they would not have resorted to the plea of in sanity as the only hope of saving him. It is possible. however. that in view of all the circumstances. and of Whites character and acts. the jury felt that 1t was Justiiable in Thaw to kill the man. stiI. we may assume that the plea of insanity saved him from death.
 Now that the trial is over and the jury has decided that he Is not guilty. on account of insanity what good has been done in the interests of law-en- forecmentR It has been so frequently charged that no very rich man could be convicted of murder. at least in New York. that 1t will be claimed that this verdict is another proof of the charge. It is not reasonable to suppose that if Thaw had been a man without money or without the influence that money commands. he would have been acquit- ted. 4 jury would have convicted him without doubt if we may judge by what has been done ct other times. Without claiming or charging that the jury was bribsd, we may safely assume that Thaw's money saved him from convic- tien.
 But letting that pass. what is to be the result? Thaw has been adjudged insane and consigned to an asylum, but is 1t at all probable that he will remain there for any length of time? If he is a dangerous Iunatic. as his at- torneys claimed. it Is plain that he should not be allowed to go at large. but may we not reasonably expect that the same money and influences that saved him from the electric chair will soon effect his release from the asy- lum7 It will not be a hard matter, we predict. to find experts. alienists ana specialists who in a year or two at most will show that he Is restored to his right mind and may. with perfect safety to himself and others. be given his liberty. and be free to return to the old life. if he sees At to do 50. Tn that event he vii doubtless feel that his money has been well spent. On the other hand, if he is really the danger ous lunatic that Is claimed. and must spend his lifs in an asylum. he might as well have been put to death or sen- tenced to life Imprisonment.
 It ia useless. however, to speculate on that point. Thaw was not insane when he killed White. and we do not believe that his attorneys thought he was--or the jury. either. for that mat ter. but they looked on it as the most plausible reason for acquitting him, and they did not intend to cvonvict. Already we find some contemporaries saying that the jury should have &C., quilted the man without considering the insanity plea. They hold that Whites character and his acts furni8.s , ed complete justification for the ksaI- ing. This Is not the way to look at 1t. White may have been as black as any of his accusers claim, but that did not give Thaw any right to shoot him down in cold blood without notice or warn- ing .n the way he did. In short, let us dismiss the matter with the feeling that a million, or even half a million of dol lars have been spent and no good has come of it. We do not see what else can be made of it.
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