The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-03-12
HARRY THAW

CONTINUED from First Page.)
August II, 1918. You had sued out a
writ In 1922"
Yes. sir"
"And that writ was dismissed7''
"Yes. SIR
Were you at Matteawan continu-
ously from that timer"
Excepting for a few days when I
came to New York city in connection
with suits brought AGAINST my mother
for previous counsel
From this time on 1t became ap-
parent that Thaw had II perfect grasp
of dates and of occurrences which ac-
which he had been connected.
Can you tell me what was the pop
ulation of Matteawan during the Pc
Rod of which we are speaking7"
why. / should say from 500 to
900. That Is exclusive of employees,
of course"
And how many employees were
there?
About 40. generally"
Now, Mr.. Thaw. viii you state
what were your duties at this time ?"
II assisted in the stewards office,
doing clerical work for the most part.
a
uuently sent to Albany, and were
the material from which tally on the
supplies was kept"
Thaw'a Working Fours.
What were your working hours7"
asked Mr.. Stanchfield.
t'From about 7:45 in the morning
until about b:15 In the afternoon.
Did you have much leisure time
them"
Yes, good deal. except when the
stewards report was being made
out
Were there any books in the asy-
lum that you could read?"
"A few. but most of these I had
read previously | had books OF my
own, however. and tried to vary my
course OF reading between history,
science and psychology"
Did you read any light literature-'
Yes some"
Then Mr.. Stanchf1eid had Thaw tell
under what surroundings he ate his
meals and spent his time. and wheth-
er or not the presence of persons vio-
lentlv insane affected him.
"As a result OF your experience in
Matteawan. what do you think would
have happened to you had you not OBJ
tanned your ilberty?'' Mr., Stanchfeld
asked.
Enough to Make Man Crazy.
Why l thought thought that I
might later justify the charge OF in
sanity against me because OF the hor-
rors OF the place.
From the experience you had with
habeas corpus proceedings did you be-
lieve there was any possibility of your
gaining liberty through those cham
nels?"
mo, sir: felt that 1t was impos-
sible. or course, though. one always
has some hope. Besides. I was in
formed by counsel that the superin-
tendsnt could not release me"
Was thers- any treatment given
your"
Very little"
Well. Mr.. Thaw. did you ever talk
to anyone about your right to leave
Matteawan ?"
'1n the spring OF 1919, and the ear
ly summer. yes
did you talk to any lawyers of
your right to leave IL you had regain
ed your sanity 2"
Yes"
Here Justice Page interposed to ask
the name of the lawyers, and Thaw
named Alfred Henry Lewis. former
District Attorney of Cleveland. Ohio.
No Legal Way Out.
You were given to understand"
continued Mr.. Stanchheld. that there
was no legal way out?"
Yes, SIR
And after you had arrived at this
understanding did you ask for two
automobiles To take you away7"
Yes, / asked one OF my agents. II.
A. Hoffman. i asked him to find two
and men, and specified
hA 6uf {rf1a of Soxt xxrts hu,,
were to be in readiness"
why asked Mr.. Stanchfeld. did
YOU ask for TWO automobiles ?"
Why, for fear one might break
down"
Mr., Hoffman is not one of the CO.
defendants with you. is he?"
mo. SIR
What date did you fix for the
automobile to Gomez"
mentioned the second Sunday in
August, but I later stipulated August
II. at O'Clock In the morning. For
fear there might be some doubt about
the time l arranged to have the auto
mobiles come at the same time with
the milk wagon"
And you were familiar with the
fact that the milk wagon usually ar
rived at that hour?'
Yes"
Thinks He Was Sane.
Now. on August II did you think
you were sanef"
Yes. sir
And when you walked through the
gates that morning did you have any
idea you were committing a crime?"
81 was exceedingly particular"
NIT 4AI
phasis, mot to commit any crime or
act Of violence In any way"
Thaw will take the stand again to-
morning for further cross
examination, and the trial will then
be closed with the summing up of
both sides.