“When did Mr. Thaw next talk to you about such cases?” asked Delmas.
“The next time was in Pittsburg, when we were married. He told me that the girl was dead. He said he had investigated the story and that it was true; that afterward the girl married, but her husband heard the story of her connection with Mr. White and that he cast her off and she died in great poverty and disgrace.”
“Did you and Mr. Thaw often speak of these girls?”
“Yes, there was a constant conversation. I could not possibly tell you every place and every time we discussed it. He told me something ought to be done about the girls. I told him I could not do anything. He then said I could help him. I tried to get his mind on other things and then he would say I was trying to get out of it. He said White ought to be in the penitentiary; that he got worse and worse all the time and something had to be done.”
This closed the direct examination, and Mr. Delmas then read a letter from Harry Thaw to Anthony Comstock, the foe of vice in New York. In it Thaw described the studio in the Madison Square tower, and said it was filled with obscene pictures, and should be raided. He also described the studio at 22 West Twenty-fourth street, which he said was “consecrated to debauchery” and was used by “a gang of rich criminals.” He described the studio and said in it there were many indecent pictures.
In this building, the letter said, were the famous red velvet swing and the mirrored bedroom. He inclosed a sketch of the arrangements of the rooms. “Workmen on the outside of the building,” says the letter, “have frequently heard the screams of young girls from this building.”
The letter continued that the place was run by “rich criminals,” but was frequently visited by young men who did not know its character. The letter said that the place had been partly dismantled three years ago.
The letter called attention to still another house, saying:
“You may also abolish another place at 122 East Twenty-second street—a house used secretly by three or four of the same scoundrels.
Mr. Delmas then asked permission to recall Mrs. Thaw for one more question—a startling one. Mrs. Thaw blushed violently and said in reply that White was a monster given to such practices that they would not bear repetition.