The Republican journal., 1877-11-15
The State Prison.
Correspondence of the Journal.

| dIS toTTOlS Will WHICH lllS penal institution Is
usually associated. Here are to be seen the good
effects of those humane doctrines which the noble
prison retormcr Howard did 50 much to promu-
gate. A firm yet kind hand manages the institu-
ton, and its affairs 20 with the daily regularity
of clock work. An intelligent attention is given
! to the important matters of cleanliness. OF moral
and medical management. 1t might well be asked
if the Maine State Prison is not model of its kind
| But though the convcts mot suffer physical pain
or want death would be almost preferred by sen
sitive soul to a sentence here the disgrace attend
ing is so great, and tremendous are the disad-
vantages thrown in the path of a man when once
set free, Like Byrons prlsonerof Chillon he nj ght
exclaim-
And the whole earth would henceforth be
wider prison unto me,
How often and how truly is the remark made
that there are some better persons in prison than
many Of those outside The arm of the law rarely
lays hold on certain otfenses that richly deserve
punishment. For instance there is the scamp
who, after being made administrator of an estate.
by the act Of a contdng, dying friend, abuses the
trust and cheats the widow and the orphan. He
is seldom reached. Then there is the venal Judge
the man about town" who goes up and down seek
| ing whom Of W, mankind he may devour the Sian
derer OF women the rich oppressor of the poor
and all the appalling catalogue Of sinners who sail
glitterng through society, prosperous and unpun-
| ished. A rejecting visitor to the prison cannot
| help thinking of the injustice of the world and of
the wretches unwhipped Of Justice. Frances Power
| Cobb has well said There is one uncomfortable
thought: it is that justice may fail to be done in
time or in eternity This thought makes the hu
man soul wrthe like trampled worm. To receive
it into the soul is madness
But leaving these questions let us visit the prison
You enter pleasant garden, surrounding a two
| storied brick house occupied by the Warden. As
! cending stone stair way, i'll building back OF
this residence, the guard room door is reached and
if you possess the sesame the bolts are drawn and
large, light apartment is revealed Three sides
of the room are made of large, grated Windows
the one opposite the entrance commands the prison
yard, and the sides to the right and left give a com
plete view of the prison galleries with their tiers
| of cells. guard stands here constantly with
Henry sixteen shot rife near at hand. The old
prison is the left as YOU enter il contains $50
cells, On the right is the new prison, built in
1861 and to which an addition has been made
this year, with sixtytwo new cells the dinen
sions Of these are four and one half feet by seven
and a half-not roomy certainly, but they are en-
| durable for the few hours out of twenty four that
they have to be occupied There are no idlers
here; all but the sick work from sunrise to sun
set, with the exception of the time allowed for
taking dinner The cells ON any tier can I'LL be
closed at On" time by a long rod connecting with
each door and moved by IL lever At night every
door is locked The walls oi the prison glearn with
the most spoless Of whitewash, and cleanliness is
the rule. No dlsagreeable odor disturbs the most
| '"hcate ofaction. Many of the cells are adorned
| hyWctures furnished by friends OF the occupants :
one or two carpeted, and some are well stocked
with books. The whole number of prisoners is
now 20l; only four Of these are women Two of
| the latter are in for stealing: the other two are
| sisters-ther crime was intanticide The women
work i'll the prison tailor shop: they are we'll be
| haved, and consequently are allowed some liber
ties; their sleeping rooms are large and comfort
able. place aal do,neS is a rule of courtesy even
in the Maine State Prison. The hospital is il large
room in the new wing. On the date of Your CORE
| spondents visit there were three nvaljds One of
these was the old man pangburn of Penobscot
county sentenced for life for numbering his wife
| He claims that he dreamed he was killing bear
| and awoke to find that he had chopped off his
wife's head This old man of eighty four years is
an object for pity. He is feeble, and lies ubcd all
| OF the time; he has lost all hope and ambition
the apple Of life for him has turned to ashes-and
he lives from hour to hour, merely waiting for
the Great Judge to call him before the final bar Of
justice If this is not the work Of Nemesis where
can it be found
-Four days ago three new prisoners entered ;
they were Anderson Of Steuben, sentenced for
eighteen months for manslaughter, Brasel of Ma
chias sent in for three years for larceny and Rich
ards Of Ninalhayen to serve a term Of eighteen
months for breaking and entering Last week there
We're nine new men sent to the prison tndoubt
edly there is an increase of crime i'll our State
due to the hard times The new wing has SIX
large cells to be used by those who have TO be GO
erced into working. Not far off are the dungeons
they perfectly dark, but are not damp,-ycnti
lation is obtained by means of Il small aperture
opening into a tube which runs to the roof 1t Il
man will not obey the rules he is shut up here uu
til he begs to be let ont. The terrors of solitude
and darkness soon overcome the stoutcst heart.
There is very little trouble III the prison obedience
is the rule, and order rrlgns supreme always
The bill Of fare for the week is as follows morn
ing and night large Loaf of wheat bread ana d
bowl Of tea,-the bread is sweet and good. though
made Of coarse flour Monday dinner baked beans
TUESDAY, corned or fresh beef. Wednesday. stcwed
pease Thursday. fish and potatoes; Friday stewed
bno h,., a.
toes: every noon the convicts are allowed all the
brown bread they desire. On Sunday they are
given rations Of tobacco to last through the week
theyean take anewspaperin place oft if they wish.
There are siXty-tive who do not use the weed
The prison dressi is half red and half black made of
all wool cashmere, which is manufactured at War
ren and at Camden. The chapel is pleasant room.
large enough to accommodate the inmates Services
are held every Sunday. conducted by elergymen OF
Thomaston; the singing j, by ladies' and gentle
men of the town who volunteer their services
The prisoners are expected to attend church mn
less excused by the warden Their minds are more
open to receive religious instruction while here
away from evil influences than WHEN out III
The frettu stir
Cnprolitable and the fever OF the world"
The Instructor at the prison desires to appeal
to all charitable and Christian persons to send re
lgions books and papers for the use of the in
mates-no matter if the books are shabby or the
papers old, they will be joytully received and read
with earnestness But be sure yon pay the ex
press or postage charge, SO that your deed will not
look rs shabby as the books The teacher is Mr. /
ID. J. Starrett; he is gentleman devoted to his
work of enlightening the poor sonls here For
slight sum he has during the last three and one
half years given all his evenings and every Sunday
to the work of teaching the prisoners. He has
taught over fifty OF these folks here to read and
write, and now has seventy pupils His method OF
work is to from cell to cell in the evenings and
give instruction. Each inmate has lamp which |
is allowed to burn until O'Clock Mr. Stamrtts
most earnest scholar now is Grey known as the
Penobscot River pirate, The teacher dwells much
upon the imDortaure of nnry a6upntia1, ,'rlt,i-