New Britain herald., 1928-01-12
LAWSON QV TRIAL
 0N ARSON CHARGE
Hells Witness htinlte 10 lid to ChlololMm Hin
STARTLING GAM MDE
Heariag In Westport C0uEt-CAaAcc AcquAintance, Taken Hosns By New York Tee Room OWnaR, Te11s Of Night 0f Efaglat.

Westport, Jan. l2 Rt-John Don- aid Lawson. tea room owner in New York City, was given . hearing in town court today on the charge of arson and endanserinE human life in the Ire which destroyed his Imperial avenue mansion on December IS. Lawson is husband of Katharine Stewart Lawson. nationally known sculptress. and is . Dartmouth graduate.
 Tells of "Wet'' Cloth He has been under $10.O00 bondl which figure was . reduction from $a5,o0O. the original figure. Frank Adams. painter and handy man, picked up by Lawson in . municipal lodging house in New York. the chief witness for the state, testified that when he awakened in the house that night. just before he knew the place was afire, he found . cloth on hia chest which gave out m oder like the one he noticed on . cloth shown to him when in Norwalk hospital and which he was told was saturated with chloroform. Adams further testified that Lawson had visited the bedroom . short time before the lire started and 1t was one of several visits made after he, Adams, had retired.
 Lawson was in the court room with his counsel, Harry R. Sherwood, and frequently he talked with the latter and made many notes of the testimony of Adams. Adams said he was asked by Lawson, who found him in the lodging house, to come to Westport to do odd jobs about the .awson estate. Lawson drove him up on December IT, stopping at sev- eral roadhouses on the way ito get a drink"
 Visited Adams Room
 At one Lawson bought . bottle of wine. They arrived at the mansion in Imperial avenue late in the after noon. It was dark and there were no lights in the place. Lawson, he said, made a fire in the furnace and by aid of 8 lantern secured bed clothes for Adams to use in one of Ethe chambers. The two finished the wine and Adams said hs retired. The wine had made him sleeFsess and he knew that Lawson -eame into the room several times to look at him. self (Adams) holding the lantern high above his head.
 1 Adams in his testimony said that he finally got nervous because he got the impression that Lawson was crazy" and the frequent visits gave him Q regular nightmare" He would suddenly find Lawson standing over him. Adams said he finally felt aS it daylight would never come"
 Makes Six Visits.
 After the sixth visit of Lawson. Adams testified. he began to feel
 'dopy" and noticed a peculiar odor. He then found rag on his chest which was damp with 8 fluid which had an odor like that he had mo- ticed in the Norwalk hospital. When in presence of police he was asked if the odor on . rag shown him was the same, and he said 1t was. Adams words were: Tt was just luke used to smell in hospitals"
 Prosecutor Jennings asked Adams questions which brought out the fact that the odor was identical with that he identified while in Nor walk hospital.
 Adams said he threw the rag on the floor and in few minutes Law son came in, looked at him and then went out without saying . word, Leaps From Window.
 Some minutes later he noticed the room was full of smoke. Adams said he tried to % out the door and saw that the hallway was ablaze, 50 he unlocked the windows which Lawson previously had locked and jumped out to the ground. two stor- ies below.
 Lawson went to | neighbours house and called the firemen saying there was . chimney blaze in the place. The firemen found the blaze out of control.