Daily Kennebec journal., 1881-02-12
THE MAINE STATE PRISox
s'sN OF the Legislative Committee >.
that Institution.
"hat They Found Thor.


"hat They Found There
committee on Maine State p,;so
arrived in Thomaston early
oay afternoon. His ExceI,auo
iiais'ed' and Councilmen vii.
'on' hinkiey and Robie. also the Iusnso
TORS OF the Prison, accompanied the cr,,
nittee IN careful examination of Tho
departments, their products, and tho -
grounds In the evening the committee bo,d
|. meeting IN the Warden's room wbs-o ~.
inspectors laid before them the acco,n,s =,
TIC Trlson, and made various recouma,s.
'i'hs ior their consideration. This mee,ina
'a'e "our was adjourned until ThursJav
morning, when these matters were finished
An examination of the books. revealed =,
Oiack and white, the careful o,,lool. .,.
governor Garcelon and some of his notorious
Nouhciiiiieh had for the future. In the sal.
,0om' Is a large covered carriage, evidently
ouiit when families were large, and w.,or
business was in its infancy. This ;,,o.,
ARK was at one time the family wagon q,
governor Garcelon. but now. through hu.;.
ness ingenuity of the doctor, belongs to ,be
state, aud is likely to for some time.
Governor Garcelon EXCHANGED ,h;s c.
oe'ter wagon, and was allowed $40. Labor
u 'he value OF $40, was expended upon il
and now 1t is in the sale room await;no
purchaser at $40. Had the doctor begun
earlier in his life to drive such bargains he
would never have been oustea from his na.er.
nal roof. On the books these folIowino
charges are unpaid:
=. c. Moody. for harnesses q IN =,
June ~ 1879, Parker. wagon, az ~
S.,t is 6. =. Phae'on, 10 GO
seebhu-iiand phaeton, $40 90
$3.50 oo
Credited to Parker's account is
Sept. 16, by secondhand wagon. AN M
July 4. Overcharge, IN M M
~ &C. 'o'"' ooih'uission, 30 0O
$50 90
This last item of commission he has on the
credit sheet. yet as he has never paid any
money on his account he is not entitled To
this commission and the sum against him is
S3oO.00. Here you have illustrations of the
''poor mans friends"
The recommendations on the part of the in.
spectors were nearly the same as are
given in their report. of course
when the committee could examine these
recommendations in connection with the
buildings and grounds themselves it gave
them vastly different views than when re-
port is read at distance of hundred miles
What action they will take upon these rec
concentrations remains to be seen when
they report. 1t is pity that the usual
custom Of lauding unworthy as well as
worthy officers has rendered the words of
merited praise of little account. Yet it can
be said emphatically, Warden Bean is the
right man IN the right place. This was the
impression of all. He is man of large
business capacity, and well qualified to as
sumo the responsibilities of his office. Be-
sides he makes his office his business and
studies the workings of the Institution so
that he may be able to bring the best results
out of his work. The other officers of the
institution deserve the high praise they re-
ceive on all sides. Especially should the
work of Mr.. Starrett, the prison teacher,
elicit the attention of not only the commit
tee, but the State at large. This gentleman
devotes the most OF his time to prison work
and with his meagre means has certainly ac-
complished wonders. A small library of
about three hundred miscellaneous books.
school books, reading books, bibles--is all
he has His great anxiety is that this library
ton, and surely this request will recommend
itself to the goodwill of the Legislature.
But this is not the only way in which this
library may be enlarged. Almost any one
and these are only too gladly received. Why,
some Of the pupils of Mr.. Sta-rett have just
begun to read and spell; others are advanced
into historical studies; some are in the ele-
ments of arithmetic, others far advanced
Apv book then, school or reading, that would
interest boy or man. would be acceptao'e
here. The prisoners as body appear IN
oood health and as cheerful as could be ex-
pected. No matter what complaints they
preferred Of the injustice Of these sentences
they uniformly praised the kind treatment OF
,he;r officers. The committee faithfully at
tended to their duties, and their report VIII
undoubtedly be listened to with great IN
terest. -
The four class crews and the pase o"'i
nine at Bowdoin College will commence work
in the gymnasium Monday next All '0oS
forward to successful season in the line Oh
.ports. Correspondence has been opened
with the Lake George Rowing Association