The daily Nome industrial worker., 1917-01-13
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Unsavory as may be personal aspects Of the Thaw career. now that the life of this man is drawing ill such dramatic fashion to close, we cannot deny that it was his terrific fate to exemplify for us the ob solete methods of modern criminol- ogy, and especially the methods of criminal law in treating it's victims Thaw's was a mind diseased. It was a mind diseased long before he startled society, which had before laughed at his pranks, by shooting White. The evidences of that ab- normality which was insanity were clear enough, even without his pie dinners graced by the presence ot leading men of society and of state who felt none the worse for an as sociation in those orgies. But when from the wayward qualification of the sensualist he passed into the realm of homicidal degenerates, all the world demanded that he be suit ably punished.
 It was all right just as long as he had sailed down the stream of social delights youth at the prov and pleasure at the helm, running and debasing all those with whom he came in contact. But when rival debauche is slain in a fit of jealousy reasonable enough among such, so- ciety demanded that the law step i'll with it's criminal procedure and satisfy justice.
 At all times Thaw was a subject not for the prosecuting attorneys but for the physician who could mi mister to a mind diseased, but be- cause society is still groping with the facts of existence, it measures all cases that come before it with the same legal yardstick as far as the criminal procedure is concerned. The fate of Thaw to reveal to shocked public the inanity, the hy- sterical obsOleteness and the meta physical impossibility of such legal methods only has added to the tra- gedy and it is not the least startling phase of this grim case that while the public press dished up the facts as to his career on demand to sensation loving public, none took the trouble to point out the most obvious significance of this particu- lar human tragedy.
 At no time, not as pleasure seeking youth with too much money, as a sexual degenerate, seducer, or as a homicidal crank was it the cri- minal lawyer who should consider treating Thaw From the beginning his detention was desirable and ne cessary, but such detention under scientific men who might have re- moved the mental affection that got the better of his uormality.
 in fine Thaw was demented. He was demented when he entertained assistants Of the Washington depart meuts at pie dinners where naked girls flew out of baked confections on the dinner table. or doped with champagne the victims of his lust. Then he should have been taken under treatment and incarcerated ill such a way that he would not have been permitted to disturb society which may not have felt his disgrace so keenly for these things.
 The fact is that before he killed White, Thaw was regarded as a young man who had more money than was good for him; who was sowing his wild oats as young men with lots of money are entitled so to do. His criminal propensities there in occasioned no dismay. Every one lfeh that youth should have it's fing and Harry Thaw was hell Of good fellow. He was the friend or churchman and churchwomen and one pastor testified as to his char acter on one appealing occasion. His debaucheries and his orgies were delicately termed "escapades', and he was reckoned none the worse therefor. Every young fellow did it-that is every young fellow that had money enough to do it.
 So his vagaries were non-criminal until that fell day when he fired the shots killed his former friend, the