The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-02-25
He Will Tell in Detail of
Attempt to Secure
Freedom.
PRICE OF LIBERTY
FIXED AT $4,000
Told That He Would Be Com.
PEELED to Bid Against Powerful
Persons, Who Feared What
He Might Reveal if He
Left Matteawan
Asylum.
lspccial TO The 1,imcs.pispatch. !

Especial to The Times Dispatch
New York. February 2t.--Harry *.
Thaw tomorrow will tell the SuIzcr
committee of inquiry tho full story
OF the $4,000 bribery fund which was
TO secure his liberation from Mattea
wan.
AS a preliminary. Thaw will insist
mat he did not attempt to bribe any
one to gain his liberty. but instcaJ
was made the victim of cxtortion. Ti,aw
VIII declare that he was approached
by state official, who told him lie
was sane but that the payment OF a
large sum of money was necessary. TO
overcome the obstacles In the wav Of
his liberation
FROM this standpoint. Thaw will de-
clare he agreed To deal with tho mon
who approached him. and he is pre-
pared TO lay before the committee doe
! evidence supporting every
statement that he will make.
To Give Names mud Dntcs.
T!iaw Will give names and date.
anu corroborativc circumstances. he
1eciarcs, IN connection with every de-
tai' of his story. The facts were OBJ
'ained tonight from friend who has
the affair.
1T was last September" said this
friend, that Mr.. Tli,w was approach
eu pF an official, who said to him in
80 many words, You are perfectly
sane Iha", and know 1t: but | also
know as you ought to know, that
sane or not 1t will be Impossible for.
you 10 get out Of Matteawan unless
You are willing to pay big monev
There arc persons who fear wh,t ~,
may tell when YOU are liberated who
are willing to pay big money TO kecn
you In the asylum, and you have got
TO bid against them
nav thought the matter over"
con.inued his friend. and after full
consideration OF the circumstances and
the result of tho heart -breakin,r crsor,s
ne mas made at different times 10 So
cure his liberation through the courts
ne nnaiiy consented to deal with this
Price or His Freedom.
nc sum fixed as tho price of bis
freedom was $4,000 And the bargain
IN uctail was this: the full so5 am
was TO he paid over TO representa.
i've OF the official who made the oriri-
, ,,al proposition. with the understand
ing that Thaw was to be released bv
January l, 1913. If, however, he had
not neen released by that date, then
one-half of the $4,000 was TO he re-
turned TO his agent Thereafter a
Iurther effort was to be made TO Sc
Iuie ina" release, and if by June /,
1915 ms release had been accomplish
ed' then the half of the s25.OO0 re-
turned January l was TO be given over
again TO the agent OF the official; or. il
ihaw, on June l, was still in Mattea
wan' the balance of the $4,000 was To
De returned TO his agent and the CON
tract was to be regarded as ended"
me program. according to Thaw's
friend. was carried out on lust these
lines up TO certain point. Thaw
through an agent. obtained from Pitts
Dur2h two certificates of stock in the
consolidated Gas Company. one for 100
shares and the other for forty shares
together with $4,000 in cash, which
made up total value of $4,000. The
stocks and cash were turned over to a
Wall Street lawyer who had been
named by the official who approached
Ihaw. This lawyer gave a recent
January l, 1913. came and went"
continued Thaw's friend, ''and he still
remained in Matteawan Wherenpon
he sent for his agent and instructed
him to visit the lawyer and reclaim
half of the $4,000 as stipulated i'm the
agreement. The agent called, but had
great dificulty in seeing the lawyer.
When finally found. he hemmed and
hawed awhile and then said:
All right, but / shall have to go
to -, naming the place, to get the
stuff
Itnd Receipt Photographed.
I'm course OF time. the agent saw