DEBAUCHED AMERICAN MILLIONAIRES.

NZ Truth, Issue 65, 15 September 1906, Page 8

DEBAUCHED AMERICAN MILLIONAIRES.

HUSBAND'S TERRIBLE VENGEANCE.

Wife's Betrayer Shot Dead Before Affrighted Theatre Audience.

Revolting Revelations of Gilded Vice.

Children Lured to Voluptuaries' Den.

In gay New York City the tragedy without a parallel, the initial particulars of which have already appeared, is now' beintr followed "by a succession of amazing developments which are causing a quiver of horror throughout the civilised world.

In full view of the audience present I at . the first nip-lit of the musical comedy, "Manrzelle Champagne," given m the fashionable Madison-: square Roof Garden Theatre,, '■■ Mr Harry Thaw, a young Pittsburg millionaire, and brother-in-law of the Earl of 'Yarmouth,' .shot dead/ with a revolver the distinguished American architect, . Mr Stanford White, who was also a millionaire. The motive was one. of vengeance— *& husband brooding over a terrible secret of his wife's girlhood, till finally lie exacts'the life-blood of her betrayer. ' , -

This is not all. The tragedy has been the means of suddenly exposing to, the public gaze. the inner lives of men. whose wealth had given them leading positions m the social world of New York. • The terrible orgies of sated voluptuaries m the days of decadant Rome fade into insignificance when,'contrasted with the shoekms; depravity and unspeakable excesses of many of these millionaire degenerates of New York. Names that were hitherto held in 1 respect how stand out

FOULLY BESMIRCHED, and the latest cables state that, rather than face the impending; investigations, a number of well-known men, who are invojved m this appalling scandal, are leaving New York. Thaw is a man of immense wealth,. Which has come to him without him. ever having 'had to do a day's honest

toil. ' ; ■• Stanford \yhite was possessed -of brilliant genius, which he prostituted to the sole object of making money, by which he might gratify his unhealthy desires, ; / Mrs Thaw is. a famous stage beauty. As Miss Evelyn Nesbit, of the "Florodora" chorus, she was- /the original of Charles Dana Gibson's famous drawing, "The Eternal Question." She is still only m her 21st year. Her husband is now 33. White . was 53. '■'■.'. v ' :

The story which has culminated so tragically, begins with the arrival m New York of this young girl, Evelyn Nesbit, at the age of 16, m company with her mother, the widow of a r poor Pittsbur.fr lawyer. The girl went out as a model to 1 artists, 'and inthe. course of her first year m the great city, met Stanford White, then a' man just over 50 years of age,, with a fine presence, ' and a great admiration for young girls with good looks." He was a /man that most peoplewould be flattered to. know, for tie was one of. the .foremost architects m America; and had designed many of the important buildinp-s of New York, including the Madison-sqiuare Garden, where he lost his life.

HOW HE HELPED EVELYN. From the first he became greatly, enamoured by the young girl's great beauty, helped her to .get an engagement "as chorus girl m "Florodora" at the. Casino Theatre, and. afterwards sent her to Paris to take lessons m singing.

In view of the disclosures that hay© now been made as to White!s mode ,6f life, it must have been impossible for her to escape from the network of 'debauchery m which, it is .asserted, he enmeshed; numerous youni* lives.

Two years" ago Thaw, mi; spite of. the determined ormositibnrof his, relatives persuaded Miss • Nesbit to marry him. He had been m love with her. for some itime, but at first she rejected his advances.. He, how- ; ever, would not accept a refusal, and. followed her to various places m , Europe, until finally she consented. It was shortly before this that Harry Thaw, who has a reputation for being rather eccentric, gained worldwide notoriety by giving a ''famous? beauty" dinner m Paris, at which were present 20 of the most, beautiful^ women of the French capital.

When Thaw • and his wife reached New York, each repudiated the marriage, on account of the hostility of the former's relatives, and were m consequence turned out of their ho-; tel. Afterwards they went through the marriage, ceremony again- m a church, and. Thaw's mother becoming reconciled, did all m her -power tq advance her daughter-in-law's social standing., ; " ./} ;• : v

Apparently , the first Harry Thaw learned of his wife's ' ; " ■ , :

EARLIER 'RELATIONS WITH ; . . ■•■ white was on. the occasion of a visit- to Paris last' spf ing. According' to a story,, generally ■ accepted m New 'York; one Sunday night, soon after their arrival, Mrs Thaw, while sitting m. the dining-room at the Hotel Ritz, became very pale and trembled violently. Rising from the table, she retired to her room. Her husband followed, and found ."that she had fainted. He was greatly agitated, and when she came to insisted upon knowing the cause of her seizure.

She was shaking with fear, but would not say more than, "Oh, Harry. I can never tell you, you will never know." •

Her husband was not satisfied with this. At last, putt-ing her arms aliout his neck, she went back to' the days, before he sknew her— the days of the theatre and the music hall, with expensive little, suppers at fashionable restaurants. She confessed to her relations with Stanford White, and told him that the cause of her agitation was that this man was m Paris, and might, even then, be oiiartered under the same roof. Thaw, who had never • met White, vowed that Jw would find him. :uio trM him wbafc he cbbu^hi of .his coeaSv.-ct.

Next day. missing his wife -from her appartments, Thaw rushed downstairs and found her seated with a strange man. He summoned her aside, and threatened that unless she disclosed who her friend . was, he would . leave her and • return to America. .

.V, ■ WHITE'S, AUDACITY. In. a flood of tears Mrs Thaw said this was. White, who had sent a note demahdihe to see her.

1 scene changes to New York. Since "the Paris incident Thaw had .brooded much over the secret he ,had wrung: from his wife. He believed White was- still pestering her. Indeed, it is said that the architect, on several occasions , openly uttered taunts reflecting on "Mrs Thaw's past life. ■

* Then came the terrible climax. Included m " the ' crowded 'audience -of 1,000 'persons who.had assembled for the first' performance of "Maim&elle Champagne 1 ' was White-7a- regular fir'St-ttighterr-though to him -the pky was not' the ■'sole attraction on these occasions. Mr and Mrs Harry Thaw were there also. Prior to the performance they had dined at the Cafe Martin, where White and his friends happened also. to be present. They were on the terrace, however, and the Thaws m the main saloon. Thaw visited the Manhattan, Club with the object, it' is now known, of finding out where White was.. As a result of his inquiries, he went on to the Madison-square Roof Garden Theatre with his wife. All went smoothly until about 11 o'clock. 1 when Thaw rose from the seat where he was sitting with his wife, and sauntered amongst. the audience. At that time Mrs Thaw appeared •,; perfectly selfcomposed, and showed no signs of apprehension. Thaw strolled among the tables, seemingly at ease, but he never kept his eves from White, who had preceded, them _ to the theatre. <. A comedian had just finished singing, "I could love a million girls,',' a song with a short chorus, when Thaw whipped out a revolver, aimed at White's head, and fired,

, THE SHOT MISSED, but he quickly fired twice again m succession. Both bullets struck White m the back, and he fell on the floor. A doctor who was 'summoned proitiounced White dead, and the' waiters covered the -body with a tablecloth.

Thaw was arrested by a fireman arid^alpoliceman. " He made no re§i^ta,nce, simply saying, "He deserve&Hv- I, can prove it. He ruined my wife" 'and, left her helpless. Now I Have, got -him." »._ . .; It is stated; that his lawyers will argue that Thaw, aroused to arie^er against the man who wronged ; his wife, gave way to a temporary fit, of madness, and m that state of mind .murdered 'him.

, Statements about the depravity of White are so sensational that they would scarcely be accepted 'were s it not that they emanate from so responsible a person as Mr Anthony Comstock, the president of the Society for the Prevention of Vice.

White belonged, it; is alleged * to that despicable class of men who boast ' about their / victims, even though these included mere children. He has been .aptly; described as a specialist m debauchery. Up aloft m one of the towers of Madisonsquare Gardens— in . fact, above the very spot where he was murdered, and m a. place which, as ■architect, he had specially designed for . himself he maintained a "studio," a veritable deri of infamy. The orgies of vice held m this place by White and ... his de-generate associates defy description. The studio . ...j

COULD £AF.ELY BE. USED for ;any evil purpose. White was a director of. 'the building, and his word to any subordinate was law. He is alleged to have brought poor young creatures there 1 , Jtirls recruited, from the humble homes of the city, who were" bewildered m .the big square room, with its soft; red light, its beautiful pictures m glinting, heavy golden frames, \its marvels. . of tapestries and rugs," its silk-draped lounging spots , and its wine-stocked buffets, In part of it he had /.cunningly contrived a set of mirrors that . showed his visitor from all points of view. :

."W'hite," says . another account, '■and such men as he drew around ■him m the diabolical diversions he had invented, had a club m Twenty-eighth-street. • It was called the Chorus Girls' Club. It was a den too, That most sacred thing of all r-childhood— was invaded for recruits to this loungingrplace of roues, and .White had other rooms for a long, time over Roversi's Restaurant m Twenty-rfirst-street. The proprietor terminated White's tenancy after he had occupied the (rooms occasionally durinjr 'a neri'od of three months. At the "club tuards were posted at the door when'- chests arrived.

And now they speak of White's membership m another clvb — an organisation to which Vwomen were not admitted— of a' sort, to- recall the worst that has ever, been written of the life of ancient Greece anil Rome.

A correspondent 'of c 'Reynolds 's," wlio knew White m America, tells of a disgraceful incident, of which the architect was the instigator. '

LURING A CURE TO DESTRUC-

TION. While visitinn- a * small village m France, White made the acquaintance of the local cure, .a young man of splendid character, devoted to his work m the parish, and air avowed anchorite— a worthy successor of St. Anthony.

While conceived the diabolical plan of seducing the cure, and with the

aid of several boon companions proceeded to carry their fiendish scheme into effect.

By assiduous attention he gained the confidence of the cure, and finally invited' him to a dinner m Paris, m the studio of a friend, borrowed for the purpose. There were present about 10 persons, amongst whom were two or three American ladies— to give tone— as well as ladies of the kind plentiful m Paris having wealth, a past, and, m fact, almost everything else except virtue. ■ • . :

There were also two charming, pretty little .French models— not of virtue-^-who were placed on eithet side of the cure, and' instructed to pay him every attention.

As the dinner progressed they plied him with .wine, and the young cure, rosy cheeked, and full of the joy of life, drank tod much. Then they firedi his blood by soft glances, more intoxicating than any wine, but although the hours went by he heroically resisted.

Urged on by the commands of White and his friends, the girls renewed their, wiles and arts, presenting to the diners a veritable living picture of the temptation of St. Anthony. \, In -the end, the vile • plotters sue-> ceeded m their foul designs. The girls triumphed,' and the cure crept out of the studio as the dawn was breaking, his head .bowed from very shame. His consciousness of degradation would, have been even greater had he but known .that m his" downfall he had succeeded m arousing the envy of his hosts.

MURDERER'S MOTHER KEPT. IN IGNORANCE. The. -steamer. Minneapolis, on Wednesday brought to London from New York a passenger who has had a terrible awakening at the end of her journey. She is Mrs Thaw, mother of the young American millionaire who shot Mr Stanford White m New : York a few days ago.

Till /she reached London Mrs Thaw was m ignorance of the tragedy. The news was received m the Minneapolis by wireless telegraph soon after the boat started — when, she was off Cape Cod, m fact. The captain acting mercifully, and m the best interests of Mrs Thaw, "whose health is not robust, decided that , the sad intelligence must not be communicated ' to her till she reached England and was among friends.

Miss Copley, Mrs Thaw's niece, who was travelling with her, was taken into the secret, and she, agreeing with the captain, made

NO MENTION OF: THE TRAGEDY to Mrs, Thaw. . ■ ;

-At Gravesend the newspapers were taken aboard but all references to 1 the murder were carefully clipped^ out, and Mrs Thaw never had- a suspicion of the nature of the items that were missine from the mutilated copies that were .handed to her. ' -

Lord -Yarmouth and Mr Blair Thaw (who are respectively brother-: in-law and half-brother to Mr Harry Thaw) were at Tilbury Docks- early m the mornine. to meet. her.

No reference was made to the tragedy till some time after Mrs Thaw had landed— in fact, when the boat steamed into the dock Mrs Thaw was talking to Miss Copley, Lord Yarmouth and Mr Thaw, m evident ignorance of it. She was quickly ushered to the boat train, rigidly preserved from the possible interruptions of any strangers whp might have blundered' ont o the scene.. In London she was met by her daughter, Lady Yarmouth; and there, m the privacy, of the family circle, the news of the murdet was conveyed to Mrs Thaw.

For the present Mrs Thaw is staying, as the 'guest of Mr Montrose Cloote, m Berkeley-square.

TO BE TRIED IN OCTOBER

Mr Thaw's trial is, not expected to take, place until October and m the meantime the prisoner, who is unaccustomed to a cell less than 10ft square, and the oppressive atmosphere, of the city during the hot months of July and ; Ausoist, feels his position acutely. If possible, he would like- to, secure an early hearing, but the miirder calendar is unusually heavy, and the Earl of Yarmouth's brother-in-law is only fourteenth on the list. He is allowed to exercise daily with the other prisoners, but does not care about the privilege, because a view of the prison ground can be secured from the upper windows of certain skyscrapers m the vicinity, arid he became unpleasantly conscious of the fact that scores of binoculars were levelled m his di-. rection.

Stories of detectives and White's detectives during the last six months, how they shadowed each other, and how some worked for both sides, accumulate daily. An important witness, Mr Thaw's English valet, Bedford, died on Monday from appendicitis. 'All the newspapers attributed to him a sworn statement to the . effect that the Pittsburg millionaire, although travelling to. EndaM. France, and elsewhere, with v Miss Nesbit, presumably as "man and wife, were nr,ver really married at all until they come to Pittsburg last year.

REASONS OP POLICY. Mrs '•' Thaw; ' who begins to show signs of herVqus strain, declares em-* phatieally "that she was married aboiit two years ago, before returning to America," but for reason of policy must for the present withhold the date and place of the ceremony. Her counsel makes a, similar declaration. The first marriage was private, and the second really took place, it is_ alleged, -because prisoner's- mother," as a church woman, desired a religious ceremony. Mrs Thaw visits her husband every day m gaol, and takes him cigars, books, papers, and letters. ■