Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-12-28
THE STATE PRISON.
What Il Shows to Visitors.
uAsi lssfa1i Reporter Ear aad Heard
On eeesat Visit Iksfs.

mat issfasi aspsstss sau aat Hsass
On . eeesat Visit Tkass.
A large prison is never without melan
choly inferest. II il q volume Of trxzease:
bound in stone and iron. each Of whoss
pages is : human being. II is in fact . vol
ame Of volumes, for each page has It's exr
story 10 tell. Of weakness and temptation
of passion and appetite. of the weaknesses
and the shortcomings Of hamanit,
" hich find an abnormal development in
some men and constitute them criminals,
and outlaws, the enemies of socia
ial order at war with the laws that regulate
and protect society. Not every man wh0
fills feion's cell is born criminal BY an,
means. Rum. rather than any inherent de
pravify of nature. j. responsible for the
fallen state Of Large percentage of the
men and women who are today doing pen
anee TO the Law.
The Maine State Prison would not make
much differeIt showing in this respect
from other penal Institutions of its class.
1t was the good fortune of the writer to
visit this institution with the Governor
and Council on the occasion OF
their recent Official trip to Thom-
aston Through the kindness of Warden
Alien aud State Inspector Jones he was Civ
en- an excellent opportunity to thoroughly
inspect the prison. and converse with many
of its inmates. 1t is certainly well mat
aged, and the wonder to the visitor
is, how its officials are able to obtain 50
good results with the antiquated facilities al
their command Tise prison buildings are
all of half century behind the times. The
JorRSAL man had visited several similar
prisons in other states and dill not expect 10
find any waste space in the cells. He was
not prepared, however, to find any
such contracted quarters as are occupied
by the prisoners at Thomaston. They are
veritable living graves AMI the occupant Of
one of them may assure himself of the
fact that the grave in which his mortal clay
will one day be hidden in mother earth,
will be little if any smaller. There is no
doubt but what in the long, long ago when
the buildings of the Maine State Prison
were Young, thes cells were of the regula-
ton size aud considered eommodious in the
extreme. But those days have departed,
and the growth of the spirit of humanity
making itself felt in the prison manage
ment of other states in enlarged cell
accommodations, has left the cells at
Thomaston a sort of monument to bygoDe
days. In some instances the prison ofii-
cials by tearing out petitions have been able
to provide fair sized cells. but the great
majority of them still remain as they were
laid out many years ago. 1t must not be
supposed that these quarters are barbarie by
any means. Compared with those in use in
the infancy of the prison they are luxurious
indeed One of these old time cells may
still be seen in the prison cook room. II
looks very much like submerged iron
box, triie larger than fair sized
copper boiler. On the front side of the
door which covered this trench, much after
the style of an ordinary street scuttle, is a
square hole and through the narrow aperture
thus provided the unfortunate men confined
in these. living graves obtained the few
struggling rays of sunlight that managed to
reach them from the upper world. In those
early days when cruelty in prison manage
ment appears to have been looked upon as
one of the fine arts. the. men were put in
to these sub-mundane quarters by means of
a short ladder. The iron door, or, more
,.,,ox,,, .,,oI,;,., ,.,var ,..s than saourad ;,,
p."pay .. T., s asns - haar,. ;ron h.rs
a p'a H. ;,n nnd Tho ennf,r,nn,,a nr;soner
thus secured was left to shiver it out TIL
morning, for in those days the prison was
not heated, the criminal classes-possibly
in orthodox anticipation Of the future, be-
ing deemed, it would seem, exceptionally
impervious to cold. But for all this there
wore, times tho scribe was fold when these
n.l,rrr,,,na .n,rt,nan,s would he actuaII,,
fros, fined in the morning and their inmates
n,,,,h Win coId Toot mo At this rs-
,n;oder az bv-gone official ;uopis;tion the
.forrxu man cauld not gather himself to-
oetbar tn in,lu,e, tho spirit of criticism upop
nresent Quarters To he srrc the oceupan, ;
haven't mucb room for gymnastics, but
tbanks m tho admirable new system of steam
be.,;pc tbey are warm and comfortable.
From the guard room of the prison the vis-
;tor obtains a good view of the ward and
work shons Around these runs high wall
of cran;,a ma sonry on ton Of which. nj reg
Mar ;nt,vals arc little o1,ard houses, very
nuch after the style of those occupied by
railway gate tenders except that they are
more literally supplied with windows. The
ouards who nafrol the walls. armed with
WJrRhpsfpr rifles.
bopse every half hour. so that they are KEEP,
almost continuously upon the move about
the enclosure.
A bay windey hitting out into the
,r;son ward from the guard room
commands an excellent view of all the shops.
ana here n euard naces constantly to anil
fro r, wonH certainly seem an impossihil
T., for anvthing. Ia occnr in the ward that
,r,n,J escan,. ali of tho ken eyes that con-
s,an,,v witch i.
Tno ,irs, ,,o;nt AZ ;n,eyest visited Inv ;i,,
..,;t., !, III. ,our ns Tho v.rious bu;l'l;ugs
.ha, ,,,lc mn tho nr;san. was the cook room.
uors ,s .,sawbere tho work ;s ali nerforme,l
~ nonv;c,s Tbc ,srea,er n.rt of The eoak.
~, + l,,,, !, ,hrec ,arg.. stean na;Iers In,
,;,,,a hat;,a hs;na do,e .sds from tho
~ H., ~, forns Iarg. ami constant sr.
.;.',S s ,sr;son ~, r, = W., nice loo.ins
-, - ,,ood q. cum bc
-, .,v,,,'..re ,,,ss on, of , frs,-c,,ss
s.'raI;,,, - ea,r sn.I i;rht ,nd ,,holesama
r. a.h,' aary,,, haas ,t,s. was stsam;og il biz
ta,,,ss r,,e, ~. ser;hs nade His yi.;s also
81 ~, s,,na,;vir, email that .ant Far h
..a,,,:,.. ,,;,, 10. nr;x,n fare i. bv ne
,.,aans b.rd .s s,,,,,s ,,a wont IN n;etnr.
!. IN ;nr,s,ss - ia, r,r;so, arc cer..inIv
as haa,,bv ana well fed looking body o,
-, - ~. las sAnn for MANY aavs
psrs,,ns IN, mos, po,ahlc convict in tbi.
.,a,.sr,,nI,,. ran = plsnav ~ nsn who csm
,n;,,ad i" ,l,. E.rrows ,nurdar He /
,,is,.s,,..f,ceI ,ooJ Iookinp youn,
- an;oys ,bo rcnn,s,ion n
ha;,a n,o5ai n,;so,.y In ,he courss a.