The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1908-01-29
Oppressive"
Insanity Is New Name For
Thaw's Mental Disorder.

Be Taken by Commission Which,
Goes to BIackwell's IsIand-Prese.
cutlon Begins Its Rebuttal Today
and Case Should Go to Jury Soon.
New York, Jan 2S.-The Thaw de.
fense closed its case with manic
Oppressive" insanity as the explana.
tion Of the death of Stanford White at
the hands of the young Plttsburg mil
lionaire. Today the prosecution be.
gan its evidence in rebuttal and the
case should go to the jury by Wednes-
day night or Thursday noon.
District Attorney Jerome will apply
for the appointment of commission
to take the testimony of Abraham
Hummel, the disbarred and convicted
lawyer, who Is confined in the peni-
tentiary on Blackwells Island and
who is said to be too i'll to appear in
court.
Mr.. Littleton OF the defense said he
would oppose any such action, where
upon Justice Bowling announced that
if necessary he would go to the is
land himself tonight in company with
the defendant and his counsel to pre-
side at the taking of Hummels testi-
mony.
The jury, it was stated, would not
be compelled to take the night trip
across the river. Thaw seemed de-
lighted at the prospect of the outing
even to the grim shores OF New
York city's penal colony-and smiled
broadly at the courts suggestion.
District Attorney Jerome disap-
pointed a crowded court room when
he refrained from his tactics OF last
year in batting the expert witnesses
for the defense, three Of whom-Drs.
Wagner, Evans and Jelliffee-de-
clared that Thaw at the time he killed
Stanford White was suffering from
such defect of reason as not to
know the nature or quality of his act
or that the act was wrong.
The prosecutor contented himself
with drawing from the alienists the
fact that last year they swore it was
during a brain storm" that Thaw
committed the homicide. He also
read from the affidavit made by DR..
Wagner before the lunacy commits
sion last year giving conversations had
with Thaw in court which tended to
show that the defendant had dis
tinct recollection of occurrences on
the roof garden Immediately preceding
the tragedy.
Justice Bowling Asks Questions.
Ii was left to Justice Bowling to
make a most important inquiry of the
alienists. He desired to know the eX-
act nature of "manic-depressive" in
sanity, and if the attacks were likely
to recur. He also asked If a person
suffering from this form of insanity
would be likely to commit assaults.
He learned that it was recurrent
form of mental disorder. the attacks
coming suddenly and without warn
ing. period of insanity being follow
ed by a maniacal outburst, then by
period of complete depression and
then by another lucid interval.
It seemed that the presiding judge
was securing information upon which
to predicate judicial action in the
event of a verdict of not guilty on the
ground OF insanity or OF straight ac-
quittal Even in the latter event, 1t
was pointed out, Justice Dowling
would have the right to have Thaw
committed for examination.
English Physician New Witness.
An English physician, one of three
foreign men of medicine who testi-
fed, first gave the name of manic
Oppressive" or "sub-acute mania to
Thaw's mental condition. DR.. Sydney
Russell Wells OF London made the
diagnosis during an outbreak by
Thaw in London in 1899, when with
a normal temperature Thaw demand
ed that the walls OF his rooms in
nursing home be torn down so that
he might have air and that twenty
tons of ice be put in the apartment
to cool 1t.
Mr.. Littleton's question, which was
answered by the three experts, was
complete resume OF the evidence,
with the exception, as District Attor-
ney Jerome pointed out, Of the testl-
mony of James Clinch Smith, brother
in-law of Stanford White, who talked
with Thaw for fifteen minutes just be-
fore the shooting on the roof of Madi-
son Square Garden. The question
contained some 10000 words.