Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-01-17
CARAVAN BRANDS
1HAW MURDERER
PROSECUTOR DECLARES PITTS
BURGERS KILLING OF WHITE
WAS PREMEDITATED.
SCOFFS AT INSANITY PLEA.
New York Laws Clear on Point and State
Seeks Conviction Only Under
Statutes.
FIRST WITNESSES ARE ON STAND

FIRST WITNESSES ARE ON STAND.
! NEW YORK, Jan. 13.-The state to-
| day opened its case against Harry X.
! Thaw, the young Pittsburger charged
with the murder OF Stanford White, one
of the best known architects of America
Assistant District Attorney Caravan
made the opening speech for the state,
declaring that the Madison Square Roof
/ Garden killing was Il deliberate murder.
| He said that the state hoped to convict
Thaw under the laws of New York,
which he said could not be twisted to
show insanity OF the defendant.
! The people rested at 3:19 o'clock.
Garvan Opens for State.
| Prior to the opening of the court A
I Russell Peabody, attorney for Thaw
said that no application for a commission
to go to Pittsburg and take the testi-
mony Of Mrs. William Thaw would be
made, as the defendants mother had
| telegraphed she would come to New York
when needed. Mrs. Thaw is still very
! sick.
| Thaw was called to the bar promptly
at 10 a. m.
! Within the next few minutes, Assist
ant District Attorney Garvan had be
gun the outline of the prosecutions case
to the jury.
The defense in this case" said Nj.
| Garvan, depressing entirely from his ad-
dress of year ago, lis insanity. The
material facts are admitted. Insanity,
let NE adjure you, is not to be defined 10y
what you or | might think. 1t is not
what physicians or metaphysicians may
tell us, or what scientists or pseudo
scientists may describe. Insanity, as we
have to deal with it. has been defined by
the Legislature of New York. The law
is wiser than we are. We are sworn to
obey it and to live under it. That law
says that the only person excused from
criminal responsibility is he who is so
deficient of reason that he does not know
the nature of or quality of his act or that
the act is wrong. With this definition,
and this definition OF the law alone I
ask you to judge of all the ac,s OF this
defendant the night of June %, 1906,
when he shot and killed Stanford White
on the roof of Madison Square garden"
Deliberate Murder, He Says.
Mr.. Garvan dwelt at length upon the
conversation Thaw had on the roof gar
den with James Clinch Smith. a brother
in-law Of Stanford White. The CONVEX
sation he declared was entirely sane, and
was INDUCED in just a few moments be-
Wall street to ocean travel were dis
cussed-all in a normal way.
Mrs. Evelyn Thaw listened to the as
sistant prosecutors description of actual
details of the tragedy with tensely drawn
features. Josiah Thaw, the brother and
Mrs. George L. Carnegie, the sister. COM
pleted the usual family group. Thaw
sat with his eyes fixed upon the prose
cutOr, his head rested upon his right
hand
After describing the shooting of White.
Mr.. Caravan declared in conclusion that
judged by any test, the prosecution be
lieved the homicide could only be ex-
planned a s''a premeditated, deliberate
and cowardly murder"
First Witness Is Called
Walker H. Volkening. a draughtsman.
was the first witness called. His dia-
gram of the scene of the killing which
the prosecution used throughout the first
trial was introduced in evidence today. A
year ago this witness was not cross-ex-
amined. Today Mr.. Littleton for the de-
Tense questioned him at length as to all
the physical details of Madison Square
garden at the time he made the draw
ing. No mention to exclude the witness
ps was made today and young Mrs.
'Thaw and the other members of the de-
PENDANTS family listened to the evidence
for the first time.
Whites Relative on Stand.
Then all witnesses except medical ev-
nerts were excluded. DR.. John T
Deemar. the Thaw family physician
was i'll the courtroom. As the second
witness for the prosecution, Mr.. Garvan
examined James Clinch Smith. who last
year testified in rebuttal having been
abroad when the case was first present
ed. In great detail Smith described the
entrance of Thaw and his party. With
them was Mrs Evelyn Thaw. Thomas
McCaleb. and Truxton Beale. Mr..
Smiths testimony followed that given
at the first trial almost 1dentica1ly.
The witness described what he saw of
the killing, saying he tried to get to
Thaw but a fireman had thrown his
arms about the defendant. Three shots
We're fired, The witness did not know
until after he had left the garden that
the victim was his brother-in-law
Mr.. Littleton for the defense demand
ed to know why the witness had sworn
Thaw was looking at White when he
did not know White was in the place.
Mr.. Smith shouted in response that he
was testifying to the best of his ability
and in view of subsequent events.
He had written down his conversation
with Thaw after the shooting. and had
repeated it from memory.
Smith was still under cross examina-
ton when the luncheon recess was or
dered