The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-10
FINAL EFFORT IF
 STATE ID CONVICT Prosecutor Darrin Puts HainS'
 Witnesses on Grill THE QUESTION OF SANITY Some of the Friends of Annis Said Captain Hains Appeared Rational,
 But Irrational Actions
 Are Spoken Of.
THE QUESTION OF SANITY
By JAMES FRENCH DoRRENcE.


 New York, January 9.-(special )-The state made a. last desperate effort today to convict Thornton Jenkins Hains of the murder of William E. Annis. In rebut- tai, in the trial at Flushing, Prosecutor Darrin recalled nearly all of his witnesses and put to them set list of questions.
 The first of the sort was to show that Capt. Peter c. Hains, IT,, was sane when he fired the shots that killed Annis and that he is now sane.
 The second effort was to discredit Tier ney, the ash gatherer, who claims to have been an eyewitness of the tragedy and who testified for the defense. On neither count did the state made much head way.
 It is true that a number of Annis' friends said that he looked rational after the shooting. Several of them. however, testified to appearance and actions that were anything but rational.
 None of these witnesses would admit having seen Tierney on the float When MT Mcintyre took them in. hand on cross examination nearly all admitted that they were unduly excited; some said quite frankly that they had run away as fast as they could and still others remember whom they had seen.
 Are you willing to swear that Tier ney was not on that fioat?" was MT. McIntyre's stock question.
 None of the witnesses was willing to go that far.
 Mir Darrin was again unable to get before the jury Edwin Andrews version of the brief, but important conversation, that he says passed between Captain Hains and Annis after the shooting.
 As Annis lay bleeding to death on the deck, according to MT. Andrews, he turned over on his side and said: Captain, you have made a sad mistake"
 The captain then replied: T may have but l don't think so."
 Still according to MT. Andrews, friends asked Annis what it was all about, and he said; T know what it is about, but he has got the wrong man.
 This evidence would have helped the state but under Justice Cranes ruling it could not be used against Thornton Hains.
 It came out late this afternoon that lll6 dZiAc u1l WILL WAA4Ci <Auhlo neS killed was purchased by Captain r1ains at a Broadway sporting goods house on November 27, 1906, and not on the day of the tragedy, as had been intimated. George R. Snyder, clerk, recognized the gun by it's number and said that he had sold it on that date.
 Harvey C. Rockwell of the yacht club party took the stand to say that Captain 1ains seemed rational.
 Did you ever visit an insane asylum % demanded Mcintyre.
 Never"
 Did you ever see an insane man?'
 Not to my knowledge
 Would you be surprised to know that crazy men sit in chairs, stand up, walk around, eat drink, sleep and smoke cigarettes?' asked Mr. Mcintyre.
 MI. Rockwell refused to be surprised.
 It is not unlikely that the defense will have one or more handwriting experts to discredit Detective B'allon, who declared that the original of a telegram to Gen eral Hains was written by Captain Hains in the Flushing jail. The defense today made Fallon rewrite the message from dictation The two missives are so near alike that the defense proposes to go deeper into the matter.
 Dr. Mcbride, who on direct examina- tio ntestifed that he was kept busy lodging behind an upturned boat on the float while the shooting was going on, was recalled to say that he lad not seen Tierney on the float.
 Did you see Mrs. Annis on the f1oat?' demanded Mcintyre.
 T did not"
 The prosecutor seems to he making a great deal of the evidence of Witness irierney from the effort that he made to
 l1xx II 4rFac n hrin ncy anything against Tierney direct, the wit ness being unwilling to go further than to say that he had not seen him on the float