The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-02-12
QUICK DISMISSAL
FOLLOWS ARREST
OF EVELYN THAW'
Crutchfield Finds No
Law Under Which She
Can Be Held.
ACTRESS DEFIES
ORDER OF MAYOR
Goes On With Performance at
Academy and Is Taken Into
Custody by Chief Werner.
Police Court Hearing Re
suits in Her Prompt
Discharge.

! After hearing a dozen or more wit
nesses for the prosecution and de
! Tense. Police Justice Crutchheld last
| night at Sos o'clock held that there
was no law under which Mrs Evelyn
| Nesbit Thaw. wife Of the SLAYER of
Stanford White, could bc prohibited
/ from appearing on the stage OF the
Academy or Music, and he promptly
dismissed the charge that her public
performance was an Outrage to public
| decency and detriment to public
morals The result was that Mrs
Ihaw appeared last night Mt the
academy. and her appearance was wit
messed by an audience which taxed the
capacity of the house.
Despite the notification nv Mavor
george Ainslie that the appearances OF
Mrs Thaw would he prohibited. the
management Of the Academy at the
matinee yesterday directed Mrs Tbaw
10 carry out her performance. At the
conclusion OF her first dance which
ehaed at $40 O'Clock, she was arrested
| py Chief of Police Werner who b,d
gone to the playhouse armed with =
warrant he had sworn out before
Magistrate J. ~ Purdic 1t charcoal
that She did "unlawfully apne., T., ~
| academy of Music in n play or nublin
performance, thereby outraginr nublic
decency and to the detrimeut of n,h-
nc morals. and TO the great damage
| - ii'hoi nuisance OF all citizens OF
/ thls commonwealth"
Performance TX Stopped
Mrs. Thaw had been on m. s.,;
oareiy three minutes when Major We
her appeared in the wings and sis,,
naiied her To stop. The curtain woa
| lowered and Major Werner crossed tbn
stage TO where She awaited him Ha-
a.l"inp pahleu her To her dressng-room
ana there formally placed her undar
arrest, after reading the warrant -
ner. MAJOR Werner promptly paroled
ner In the custody of her counsel ~
VI VI. smith, Jr.. and Allen q. Collins, for
| her appearance before Justice C,r,,,a,,
held ut o'clock.
Alany I'm the audience, or usual n,,t
nn,ee NEE proportions, were aware that Mrs
Ihaw had been taken in custodv onI
locked to the stage entrance under tbo
IMPRESSION that she would be brought
OUT ana taken to Il police station In !.
patrol wagon Their numbers n.a
greatly sweiled by curious nersons
VINO had congregated about the nIav
mouse. put all were disappointed when
Mrs. Thaw did not come out osoor.ai
oy oihcers of the law.
Curious Are Disappointed.
~ O'Clock MesSrs. Smith and Col
m.s, representing Mrs. Thaw, went tn
| Ioiice Court. and In few minutes
,me small courtroom was filled with
hundreds OF men anxious to get
glimpse OF "thc most talked-of won,
an In America" They were diaon
pointed. however, for Mrs. Thaw did
not appear. She was represented Nv
1e ,ef h,torheys and remained at her no
eol "hile her case was being heard.
city Attorney FL r. Pollard and
Sommonwealth's Attorney Minitrca
Folkes appeared in behalf Of the PROSE
cution. ~
Mayor Ainslie, Major Werner and
members of the Ministerial Iynion ,yba
on Monday called upon the AIavor ond
requested that he stop the appearances
OF Mrs. Ihaw in Richmond as n detri
ment to public morals, wero the Wit.
nesses called by the prosecution
In directing the Chief of Police IA
arrest Mrs. Thnw IL she appeared
Mayor Ainslie acted upon n written
opinion or City Attorney Pollard. In
part he said:
IL Is well-settled that whatever our
RACES public decency and is iniurious
to public morals Is indictabls. IL In" In
dictable. then an offense aroinst tbo
law, ana III an otfense then a conserya
tor OF the peace may take official means
to prevent
therefore, hold. In the light of this
concise statement OF the law. and M
the deduction / made therefron tbat
! ~ the exhibition. by reason OF the plos
ltscii, oy reason OF the scenes prc
| sented or OF the character or rcputa
lioh or the persons participating in
80 Nt.eS oulIdSeS puDllc decency, you
are authorized to prohibit the exhibi
tion."
Mayor Ainslio referred the matter
20 Mr.. Pollard after he had been petit
TONED by the ministers to prevent tho
appearance of Mrs Thaw. In accord
ance with that opinion, Mayor Ainslia
notified the Leath Theatrical Company
mat Mrs Thaw would not be allowed
. 10 appear, and that Ii she did She
would be at once arrested
Mayor Ainslie and Major Werner
VINO were present ut the Academy and
witnessed the performance until the
arrest of the principal. said there was
nothing Objectionable in tho play.
Christian on stand.
Rev w. Asbury Christian. n. D.
pastor of the Union station Methodist
Church, said that he could not saw
that Mrs. Thaw possessed no talent.
lie added that he knew Of her reputa-
ton by the reports published In the
dally press. While l have known the
newspapers in Richmond to make mis-.
takes" he said II have never known
one OF them to publish falsehood.
My opinion OF Mrs. Thaw's reputation
has been formed through these pubI-
cations"
Rev. w. J. Young. d. D., pastor OF
Centenary Methodist Church. on the
witness stand declared that Mrs Thaw
was not advertised, because OF her
ability as dancer. but because sho
was "thc most talked-of woman In
America" II her appearance was be-
cause Of her ability. and not because
offer no objection TO her performance
Rev. John W. Shackford, another
Methodist minister, testified that Mrs.
Thaw was nm exponent OF impurity, and aa