The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-11
Evelyn Thaw Will Bring Sui Against Husband for
 Divorce
PLEA OF INSANITY
 GROUNDS FOR SUIT
Mrs. William Thaw Has No Hand In the Proceedings and She Denies That Detectives Have Ever
 Watched Harry's Wife.

New York, March 10.-Evelyn Nesbit Thaw tomorrow will institute proceedings
 for the annulment of marriage to Harry K. Thaw. The action will be brought on the allegation that the defendant was insane when the union was contracted Ihaw purposes to defend the suit The papers in the case will be served soma time tomorrow and an early trial is ex- pected. In the meantime, the two bv mutual agreement will remain apart. l In official statements by counsel for both parties tonight was confirmed tho 1 long suspected continuation in the welded lives of Stanford Whites slayer and the
 two men whose story in his defense
 brought her an unhappy noteriety as i Wide as the reading world For weeks. 1 ie mas been gossiped that divorce was imminent and even during Thaw's last 1 tflai, throughout which his wife stood ] sdheiy by hlm, it was predicted and l generally believed that whatever the out
 come for the prisoner the two would
 never again live together. These reports
 were frequently based on rumored on- position to the young woman on the 1 part of Thaw family. In their state 1 nlehts tonight, however, counsel denied ~ -his NiiaHl ihaW, Harry S mother, 1 would take any part in the proposed sep l aration. Detectives Not Employed.
 During the day Col. Franklin Bartlett. counsel for the elder Mrs Thaw. mad.,
 a statement in which he said that there
 was no truth in the reports that de- i teetlVes employed by Mrs. William Thaw
 haa had her daughter-in-law under sllr- l Nelilance Tor month. As to d possible l separation, Colonel Bartlett said The matter is inchoate. There is every disposition on the part of my clients to De absolutely fair and just toward Eve l lyn ThaW and to make liberal provision Tor her support, and even more than that
 Harry K Thaw has sought a reconcili- auon and has not desired that his wife 1 should leave him. but she desires a per- manent severance of the marriage reIa- tlons Any thought of espionage upon 1 the young Mrs Thaw would be abhorrent to Mrs. William Tlfaw and has not at any time been entertained by her"
 Soon after Colonel Bartlett's interview
 became public, A Russell Peabody per-
 sonal counsel 10 Thaw left for Mattea- wan, where since his trial Thaw has heen confined In the asylum for the criminal insane.
 Alter a talk with his client MT Pea pody returned to the city late today and
 by appointment. met Daniel O'Reilly ona
 or fhaw's former attorneys, who is now counsel Tor Evelyn Thaw The conference
 extended well into the evening and at its.l
 conclusion, MT. OReilly said:
 o'ReiIly's Statement.
 Papers will be served on MT. Pea body tomorrow by me as counsel for
 Evelyn Thaw in an action for the
 annulment of their marriage The ac-
 ton will be on the ground that at the tune of the marriage. April 4, 19O5, Harry Thaw was insane and did not know what he was doing. This action has been thought of for
 some time. It will be tried in New , York county. As yet no mention has been made of any settlement in favor
 of Evelyn. If after the annulment proceedings are through, and hey arc
 in favor of the plaintiff. some action might be taken for the recovery of counsel fees and alimony." 1 MT. Peabody, who had heard OReil- ly's remarks said:
 To-day l have visited Harry at Mat i teawan and told him the intentions O..
 his wife. He is willing to defend the suit"
 MT. Peabody added that his client. when apprised of his wife's intention, l had made no comment, except to de-
 clare that he was sane at the time If his marriage and expressed his willing ness to meet the issue.
 asked whether Mrs. William Thaw was active in the planned litigation, MT Peabody replied
 "No, she is not
 Experts To Be Called. MT. OReilly added to his formal statement that Evelyn would take the
 stand during the annulment proceed ings and that several of the medical experts who had testified at the mur- der trial would also be called. He, added that despite his announced de- termination to defend the suit. he be- lieved that Thaw would put no seri- ous obstacles in the way of separa- tion if for no other reason than grat- itude that he felt toward his wife for the aid she mad rendered him when he was on trial for his life. As to his clients financial resources OReilly said he thought she had funds enough to maintain her during the trial of ths case and as for the future, was ca pablo of earning a large income u writer
 Both lawyers empha tically denied that Evelyn had been followed by de- tectives that she had made any de- mand upon her husbands mother for & money settlement.
 It is understood that the attorneys for Mrs. Thaw will depend practically upon the evidence of insanity intro duced at the last trial of Thaw to prove tn at he was mentally ncompe- tent at the time to legally contract a marriage. Should this be established the case would be won for the plaintiffs providing there was not introduced tho defense that Thaw recovered full possession of his faculties and by con- tinuing the marriage relation give va lidity to the original contract. This point the attorneys would not discuss tonight. It was, however, pointed out that Thaw, though committed to an insane asylum as having been insane at the time he killed White. has not been declared insane at the present time whether the matter of his in- sanity will be determined before the trial for annulment is not known. If 1t Is not there will be added interest in the probable effect of the present
 suit upon the latter efforts to get rhaw out of the asylum.