Evening star., 1909-07-14
.THAW TO TAKE STAND
Mental Examination to Be
Conducted in Open Court.
MORE WITNESSES HEARD
Woman Lawyer and Jail Matron
Consider Him Sane.
WIFE Is TO BE HEARD AGAIN
State Will Require Her to Tell About
Threats Made on Her Life
by Her Husband.
MORE WITNESSES HEARD
WIFE Is TO BE HEARD AGAIN

i WHITE PLAINS. N. Y, July 1.-THE
promised temperance of Evelyn Nesbltt
| Thaw for the state served to fill the SUI
preme courtroom here long before the
resumption today of the inquiry into
/, Harry X. Thaw's mental condition be-
fore Justice Mills.
When court opened Thaw's attorneys
took up the thread of their case. inter-
| rupted by the testimony of the plaintiff s
wife yesterday, and offered additional
| testimony along the lines of that given
by previous lay witnesses who had ex-
pressed their belief in Thaw's sanity.
The states representatives declared to-
day that they had found good legal proof
by studying the case over night to snow
| that the conversation between ThaW ana
his wife at Matteawan Asylum. In Which
the state contends he threatened to Kill
her. was not privileged.
Justice Mills ruled yesterday that If
this was satisfactorily shown by the
state he would instruct Mrs. Thaw to an
| swer Deputy Attorney General Clark 8
| questions in regard to the threat which
| were blocked yesterday by the objections
| of ThaW's counsel that the conversation
| was confidential and privileged.
Physical Examination in Jail.
District Attorney Mack said that Mrs.
Thaw would be recalled at the afternoon
session. 1t was said today that this aft
| ernoon Justice Mills would adjourn court
until Monday In order to allow Drs. Flint
and Mcdonald. the states alienists, to
make physical examination of Thaw in
| the White Plains jail.
| Miss Anna G. w. Dayley. a lawyer of
Poughkeepsie, was the first witness called
for Thaw today. She testified that she
had attended to some small legal matters
| for Thaw when he was in the Poughkeep-
sic Jail and had frequently seen and
talked with him during that time. He
always impressed her as rational man,
| she said.
| Mrs Mary Murnane matron at the Jail.
| testified that she saw and talked with
Thaw frequently. He always appeared
rational, she said.
{ At this point Deputy Attorney General
Clark asked that Thaw's counsel stipulate
| that he would make no objection to the
state introducing certain parts of the rec
ords Of the second trial of Thaw for the
murder of Stanford White in examining
some of their witnesses. Mr.. Morschauser
offered no objection.
Mental Examination in Open Court.
| Thaw's counsel asked that he be given
| twenty-four hours notice in which to pro-
duce his alienists prior to the physical
examination of the plaintiff by the ex-
perts. This was conceded by Mr.. Clark.
Justice Mills remarked that the mental
examination Of Thaw by alienists should
| be conducted in open court, with Thaw on
the witness stand.
| District Attorney Mack is crOss-exam-
| lining witnesses, and has been careful to
ask If the witnesses had ever talked with
Thaw about the killing of Stanford White
the witnesses had considered that "a del
icate subject" and it had mot been ap-
| preached
| 1t is the states theory that one of the
essential characteristics of paranoia. of
| which Thaw has been declared to be suf-
fering. is that the patient may only ex-
| hibit pronounced insanity when the one
subject which was the cause Of the men,
tai disarrangement is brought to his mind.
Thaw's Wife on Stand.
Evelyn Nesbit Thaw took the stand
yesterday as witness for the state and
against Thaw. She spent an hour and a
quarter in the witness chair, but. for
the purposes of the stenographer's record.
gave little or no testimony having any
bearing on matters at issue.
The law kept her from saying what she
might have said as to her opinion of
Thaw's sanity, because of confidential re-
and his wife. debarring either from tes-
tifying against the other. unless on mat
ter of personal grievance between them
So Evelyn Thaw left the record as bar
rem of facts against her husband as it
was when she took the witness stand.
Dressed in a blue serge semi-tailored
suit relieved at the neck by jabOt Of
white lace and at the sleeves by narrow
white cuffs, Evelyn Thaw rode up to
White Plains unaccompanied and drove
to the courthouse, where she went
straight to Mr.. WinsloW's Office. There
she remained till she was needed upstairs
in In 49,
Mr.. Clarke paved the way for her eX-
animation by asking leave of Justice Mills
to interrupt the stream of witnesses who
were testifying to their acquaintance
with Thaw and their conviction that he
was not insane. Justice Mills asked If 1T
was absolutely necessary to examine Mrs
Thaw at that time and Mr.. Clarke replied
it was. for reasons which do not care
| to make public now. he put it.
Then. as the courtroom clocks hands
pointed to g. Mrs. Thaw was called to
the stand. She entered through a lane
OF curious men and women and tripped
| to the witness chair, as though the or
deal of being a witness were an every
| day occurrence.
Beneath her broad -brimmed straw hat
a loose knot of soft black hair nestled
way of the Thaw murder trial days. but
the Eton collar and the childish look
were gone. The full lips are faded. the
color of the cheeks is less soft than in
tQOSe Gays, ana Wnen Snc spoke the III
tons tions of her voice seemed more metal
lie than they used to be.
Languid in Appearance.
| Her slight form was still slight. In
her left hand dangled the oft-described
gold mesh pocketbook, with it's studding
of diamonds and rubies and its initial
E of cleaning brilliants. The old trick
of leaning forward to rest her hands on
her crossed knees was as much in evil
dence as before.
But she Strengthened her back in more
womanly fashion; gazed at the district
attorney. at Thaw, at Justice Mills. with
less wide-open eyes and altogether look
ed more the languid woman of the world.
j DO you recall an occasion when you
went to Matteawan some months ago
with Mr.. Daniel O'Reilly." was a ques-
tion put by Mr.. Clarke.
Yes" she replied, but little harshly.
Did you have any conversation then
with Thaw?"
II don't wish to answer that aues-
ton" was the reply. She was looking
at Lawyer Morschauser, who had already
objected to the question on the ground
that O'Reilly at the time of the visit
in question was still Thaw's lawyer as
well as Mrs Thaw's. and that therefore