Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-12-28

Z
along each side Of the long ROOM The man
| here uho attracts the nast attention i the
I notorious Haynes. He i Z medium sixed,
wify, Intelligent looking man. and abort
the Iass convict in the room
whom anyone would pick ont for :
desperate who besrs the stain Of cold
hlOoded murder. It 10 doubtless truc that
/ HAYNES is generally regarded y the most
dangerous convict in the prison. Serving
life sentence the extreme penalty Of the
law. be fully understands the fact tnAt
whatever be may do his fate csnnot be any
more hopeless. He is BY far the finest
workman in the prison. and his productions
| show high order of mechanical genius
In the furniture room the reporter Was
shown q number Of carved chairs and come
| iaizid center tables Of his make which are
genuine masterpieces Of artistic workman
ship He also makes some lawn tennis rack
eta that will bear very favorable comparison
with the best work in this line sent out by
any OF the large sporting firms.
When the executive party made their
tour Of the wood shop Haynes turned from
the cabinet he was making and shook hands
very cordially with Governor Burleigh.
They then entered into conversation in
the course of which the Governor referred
to meeting a sister Of the prisoner, most
accomplished and estimable lady. The
/ prisoner spoke of her with evident prite,,
adding, .sno man has better people than
have. | am the only black sheep in the
flock
How happens it Mr.. Haynes that . man
from so good family rs you have, comes
to be here. How do you account for it.s
~ don't know, Governor. presume it
is due TO innate cussedness; that is the
only explanation can make of it. The
spirit OF rebellion is too strong in me for
me to resist it. l suppose if my folks had
tried 10 make me q bad man they would
not have succeeded; but all their iniiu-
ence upon me was for good. They wanted
me to enter the Methodist ministry. The
home atmosphere that surrounded me was
refined and elesating. l rebeiled against
its good influences. l chafed under its
wholesome restraints--and here am.
That's all the explanation am able to
give"
.sAre you contented here?f
"Yes, probably as much 80 as | should
be anywhere. There is one matter Gov
ernor that should like to have on use
your influence for. | don't know as it is
within your province; but if you can do
ANYTHING to secure little increase of pay
for Mr.. Plumer, the prison chaplain, |
certainly hope you will do so. He is u most
worthy man and is accomplishing an excel
lent work among the prisoners here"
A little later the executive party was in
.erviewing the women prisoners. The best
appearing and most intelligent of these is
Mrs. Barrows.
II had hoped Governor to obtain some
mercy at your hands before you left the
executive chair" she said as the party en-
tered her room.
"T,ut no petition for your pardon has
been presented to the Governor and Coun-
Gil during my term of Office" was the diplo-
matte answer.
"Do you have to have petitions"
Certainly
..well, think my friends could get me
ONE
1t is the old story. sHope springs eternal
in the human breast" and there are proba-
bly, very few inmates Of the prison, espee-
ially among those who are serving long sem
tences who do not cherish the hope that
they will eventually secure a pardon. A
good many Of these hopes are realized too,
for the JOURNAL man was Informed by ln-
spector Jones that the records of the prison
show that II 2-3 per cent. of all the crimia-
ais committed to its keeping have eventually
gone out on pardons. 1t is doubtless large
ly due to this fact that the idea pr
walls that almost anyone can
eventually secure a pardon by beginning
early and hanging TO the matter tenacious!y
enough. II is not surprising, therefore that
even Mrs. Barrows, who came to the pris' n
under sentence of death, shares in this gem
eral hope of executive clemencv. A witt
to the broom shop revealed one of the
busiest places in the prison. Among the
men employed here are some whose crimes
have been among the most atrocious in tie
criminal annals of our State. A notable
instance is that of Merrill the China man
whose brutal murder Of bis own mother, aud
the horrible means employed to dispose of
her body, are still distinctly remembered by
all readers of the public press. d
As the JOURNAL man was passing from
the room he caught glimpse of a familiar
face 1t was Cromwell, who is serving
life sentence for the murder of Cashier
Barron, of the Dexter Savings Bank. The
scribe well remembered the trip TO Dexter
to attend the preliminary hearing Of this man
and his partner Stain. He occupied the seat
with Cromwell most Of the way from New
port junction and made ineffectul attempt
to engag him in conversation elicitiag
nothing further than denial that he hal
ever been in Maine but once in his life, and
that years before the Barron murder was
committed. Prison life has not improved
the appearance of Cromwell although he is
sail to enjoy very good health. He is much
thinner than when the JOURNAL man last
saw him, on his way to incarceration in the
Penobscot county jail at Bangor. A visit 70
the trim shop brings us in conversation with
David t. Stain and Calvin Graves. Stain
had changed very little since the JorRSAL
man last saw him. He has the rer-
utation of being of the best behave,
convicis in the prison, and is an industriou,
worker.
.sHow do Won get along Mr.. Staiu?" asiet
Governor Burleigh as he shook hands viii,
hiil.
ooh very we'll, thank you. As well "a
any man could perhaps, who was suffeiinr
the penalty of crime which he never
committed. | am here. and | try to be pa
iient and make the best of my let
''Yon still protest yonr innocence OF tsp
crime Of which Won were convicted do you.
II do. | tell you the truth Governor
| when say that I never was in Maine with
| was brought here for trial.
syour son tells different story, doesn't
hes"
my son left home when be was four
teen wears Oil. Since that time as yoa
! know biz record has been noioriousIy bsi.
| No dependence whatever can be put in any
thing he says.
| 'sBut you had a criminal record before
! you came here did you not Mr.. Stain
mo sir. | had trouble about ring.
bat it was given me. The man who made
me the trouble in regard TO II did so to sat
| isfy an old grudge. ! have done nothing
criminal in my life: but, on the cher hanl
I can show that have WORKED. hard an !
made an honest living.
4 The Oil man spoke with suppressed fecl-
ing and there was a tremor in his voice.
Retributive jnstiee-whch the writer
believes is entirely deserved in his case
evidently weighs heavily upon him.
4 Graves. who is one Of the quietest ans
most intelligent men in the prison,
was busiiy engaged in putting the iron
finish upon a handsome sleigh. On the
bench in front Of him vas a handsome deer
skin which he was intending 10 mount in
leisure moments for one of the ofsici.li-.
He il said to do this very nicely. Graves is
one of the very best workmen in tho prison.
He puts the metal trimmings upon
all the carriages anil sleighs that 20 out Of
its shops.
In charge of the repository the Jorassr.
mae found George Harrington who brrne'i
the Oak Grove Seminary. He has grown
verv much since he went To the prison, anil Is
counting the days that must elapse before
the expiration Of lis sentence. In reply to