New-York tribune., 1908-01-16
THAW'S VAGARIES MANY
ETORIES OF WITNESSES.
Tale of a StakeIess Whist Game
EpIireRs Murder Trial.

@-o-, childhood TO the night he killed Stanford
White Several physicians testified to insanity
in the Thaw and Copley families. The butler
employed for some times by the Thaws. told of
e-ratic acts Of Thaw, and q telephone gill in
the Grand Hotel told OF acts committed in the
hotel.
Ten members OF the coroner's jury which sat
af the inquest into Mr.. Whites DEATH were
called. and ali swore that from their observa-
tions on that day they thought Thaw was "ir-
rational" Two newspaper writers gave similar
evidence. and the steward of the Whist Club.
which Thaw frequented, said that the defendant
had displayed certain erratic traits there.
The first witness Of the day was DR.. Horatio
c. Wood. jr. Of Philadelphia In spite of OBJ
5ectfons by Mr. Jerome the witness finally was
allowed 10 state that Harriet Alice Thaw,
sister OF William Thaw, was OF unsound mind
he said that she had been committed 10 the
Friends Asylum at Frankfort Penn, suffering
from der1eutia- Her age given on the pre-
vious day as eighty years. but the witness esti-
mated Il being about sixty at the time of her
commitment
is your diagnosis OF her mental condition
accurate ss your estimate of her age?" asked
Mr.. Jerome.
II believe IT u.s." answered the witness he
was excused.
Christopher BaSgin steward of the Whist
the defence yet produced. followed the physician
He said he had known Thaw- about fourteen
years. He said Thaw regular attendant
at the club when in town. and had been there
the day before and the day OF the shooting
What was his appearance the day before the
shooting?' asked Mr.. Littleton-
His eyes was glaring and he intensely
nervous the steward said. He kept staring
about him from one side TO the other he sat
,TzS,, ,Ad oF haiv9 chi ilX- Al
though il was warm day. There was no draft
at any time but closed the windows when he
complained He complained about the electric
fans toe, although they were not him.
Thaw visited the club just before noon the day
he shot White. OF his appearance then the
steward said: He was highly nervous. He
said. This is awful He went out on the stoop,
aud just as he got there rang the bell and came
back with q small package wrapped in tinfoil
which he asked my assistant TO put in the safe
for him"
The steward put the package into drawer
instead of the safe, and opened il the following
cav II contained three Turkish cigarettes. AS
evidence of eccentricity, the steward said that
he had seen Thaw Try throw an envelope up
TWO flights Of stairs When he was asked 10 go
70 the telephone the afternoon Of the shooting
Baggin said the witness jumped suddenly and
was intensely nervous. He said Thaw was de-
cidedly irrational that day
On cross-examination some amusement
caused by the witness's story Of a sJakeless and
refreshmentless. excepting mineral water, game
of whist IN which Thaw. John B. Gleason, his
former counsel; John ". Gates, Charles NJ
Schwab Captain Wharton and others were play
ing The cross-examination did not shake the
witnesses story
The next witness, Miss Matilda c Stein, was
2 telephone operator at the Grand Hotel when
Thaw, she says was living there under the name
OF Carr although his real name was known TO
the house staff Evelyn Nesbit lived there al
the same time She said that in the two months
Thaw was there he was highly nervous. with
buging. staring eyes. Twice, she said, he gave
three different orders for breakfast inside Of
twenty minutes One day in three or four hours
he had her call about seventy-five numbers, only
not 20 answer them when she got them She
described his conduct as irrational
On cross-exanination she said she did not
know that Thaws room was connected with the
barroon. She said that the seventy-f1ve calls
were not made the day that Evelyn Nesbit
temporarily left the hotel
Miss Carolyn Lowrie q reporter, and William
\. Johnston. a newspaper man. testified 10
Thaw's actions on the roof garden the night Of
she shooting Both agreed that he appeared
irrational Lionel Straus. who was in the gar
den roof that night, said that Thaw's eyes
drawn and his body twitched." His behavior
he would cal irrational
On cross-exanination Mr- Jerome read ex-
tracts from the testimony Of the witness at the
first trial showing that the witness had mod!- /
fec his description somewhat although the ma /
1erial facts were the same The succeeding /
three witnesses were members OF the coroner's !
jury IL the inquest over the body of White ?
AL said that they thought Thaw's actions that |
day irrational Mr.. Jerome's cross-examina- /
rior was aimed chiefly az their ability to tel /
what constituted an irrational purpose, and /
whether OF not the nervousness displayed by /
Thaw the day after the shooting was not nat |
1-al in a man accused of murder. Recess was |
then declared and as each of the witnesses left /
the courtroom he was served with d subpoena /
from the District Attorneys office
When court was resumed Mr- Luletor turned 4
back 10 the establishment Of the insanity Of /
Thsv-s relatives He called first Alfred Lee /
Thaw Of Richmond q third cousin Of the de- |
fendant His fathers name William s. /
Tbs, Witness said he was one Of eleven chill /
eren one Of his brothers was Horace s. Thaw, |
and Harriet Alice Thaw was half-sister Of his /
father Witness said that his father was con- /
fined in an institution for fifteen years and died
IN 1855. when sixty y-nine years old, in Williams
burg Va Horace S Thsw died in the Western /
STATE HOSPITAL in Virginia, in 1884, when he /
was ta-enty-three years old. He said that Har-
riet Alice Thaw 50 far as he knew had been
mentally unbalanced for about twenty-five
years He had visited her in the asylum five
OF six times He had testified az the first trial
but COURT ruling cut his testimony short at
that time
Members Of the staff of the Eastern State