New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-20
FOUR new KNOTS
in THAW TANCLE
Lawyers Meshed in Skein
of Writs Trying TO Puz-
zle Their Way Out.
SLAYER IS SAFE
UNTIL APRIL 10
Stay of Execution by Justice In
graham Bars Enforced Return
to MatteaWan Until Then.

Two writs of habcas corpus. n notice
OF appeal and stay of execution now
swaddle Harry X. Thaw in their pro-
tecting folds. Each one OF these proc
esses at law stands between him and
the taking of him into custody by the
officers upon whom the state has i'm
posed the duty Of putting and keeping
him in Matteawan.
These processes are twisted and
knotted up together in such way that
both lawyers for and against Thaw
seemed to puzzle one another all the
more as they tried to make clear yes
terday just what the situation was.
They were like two kittens VINO have
jumped into the middle Of skcin Of
yarn and have got Il wound around
themselves.
Five dates, beginning With one next
Friday before the Appellate Division,
are on the court calendars for action
on various phases OF the angle. They
are interlocked, SC .hst what happens
at any one t!ms may throw all the
others ou.. mo last Of the FIVE dates
Is April 10. as they are laid out at pres
ent. Until then, at least, the situation
is at stalemate. SO far as concerns anv
change in Thaw's custody.
The date which most especially in
terests the Thaw interests Just now is
that of next Friday. when they will
present their arguments before the APP
RELATE Division on the appeal from the
refusal of Justice Page to send Thaw
back 10 New Hampshire following his
heGuittal on the conspiracy charge.
Stay of Execution.
TO maintain the statu quo until then
they obtained this stay of execution
from Justice Ingraham:
ordered that all proceedings in or
Tor the execution or enforcement of
me order of commitment signed BY the
Hon. Victor j. Bowling on February
l, 1908, by which II. X. Thaw was di-
rected to be committed TO the Mat
teavan State Asylum be and arc here
by stayed until five days after the APP
peal taken by the said II. X. Thaw on
March IL from the order of Justice
Page denying the motion that the
Sheriff take said H. X. Thaw back to
New Hampshire.
ut Is further ordered that Raymond
+. {. hieb, medical superintendent OF
Matteawan State Hospital, and Egburt
+. Woodbury., Attorney General of the
State of New York. and their agents.
deputies and employees, be and are
hereby stayed until five days after the
determination OF said appeal, from
70 La - II. 4
OF said II. X. Thaw under the said COM
mitmcnt, signed by the Hon. Victor J.
Bowling;
An it is further ordered that pend
ing the determination of said appeal
and until five days after the determi
nation thereof the said II. X Thaw be
committed to and held in the custody
OF the warden of the New York City
prison"
The two writs of habeas corpus
which added 10 the complications yes
terday were that sworn out the morning
he was acquitted of conspiracy, and q
second sworn out Thursday night and
served on Sheriff Grtenhagen yester-
day morning. This Second one was the
channel b. which the appeal from the
decision refusing to send him back TO
New Hampshire was thrown into the
Appellate Division.
Second Writ Dismissed.
Thaw's lawyers did not feel confident
that an appeal would lie directly from
Justice Pages order refusing their
motion for this end, so they got the
hsbeas corpus writ on the ground that
he was deprived of his constitutional
rights in that he was not allowed By
the court sufficient time 70 20 back.
Justice Page dismissed the second writ
late yesterday afternoon. An appeal
from the dismissal is the form in
which the matter will come before the
Appellate Division Friday.
The first writ is what the other four
dates set yesterday had to do with.
They were set By agreement in con-
ference between Thaw's counsel and
Franklin Kennedy, representing the At
torney General in Justice Bijur's
chambers. Monday, March go, the re-
turn on this writ must be filed; Mon
day. April >. the traverse will be filed;
Monday, April II, motions may be
made, and Monday, April 10, the issue
will come to trial. 1t was agreed by
all that these dates were dependant
lIpon what might transpire in the APP
peal Friday before the Appellate Di-
vision.
1t is on the trial Of this second writ
that the Thaw lawyers hope to inject
the sanity issue into the case. They
admit that the appeal and the other
writ have to do only with the question
of custody, and that in them there is no
grounds for bringing in the question of
sanity test.
Mr.. Kennedy argued yesterday that
no way has been opened up yet for
bringing on the sanity test, and Will
object TO any such test even IN the
trial of the writ He argued that until
Thaw has actually been placed once
more i'm the custody OF DR.. kleD. OF
Matteawan. under the Bowling com
mitment, no test on sanity can be had.
That test, he said, will have 20 be
brought about by still a third writ, di-
rected against the Bowling commit
ment.
Meanwhile that commitment, which Is
the states sole warrant TO Thaw's
custody. and which has been upheld as
binding in four previous judicial tests,
has been practically set aside until the
determination Of his appeal on another
issue. Success in that line will place
him permanently beyond the grasp OF
the Bowling commitment.