Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-03-09

dollars greater or less expense Sinks into
insignifcance. As the goods are now
manufactured in the prison they are sub
ject to no labor expense except the cost OF
the convicts' food, which does not exceed
81 per week per man. That is the KIND
OF competition which our citizens who are
engaged in kindred indus tries are Obliged
to meet How is it possible for any citi-
zen to compete with them: As matter
of act, there is sold from that prison
goods for one half what any citizen OF
Maine engaged in the same industry can
sell for. l believe that the selling at
wholesale by the prison will yield better
results. have bundle of protests from
the harness and carriage makers of Maine
against the selling OF goods at retail
hope this amendment will be given
passage.
= Mr. Singer of Thomaston said that the
warden had stated to him that he issues
printed list and that everybody has the
privilege of buying from that list. he
allows discount of per cent. at whole
sale from that list. That, l believe, is q
much less sum than would enable the
ordinary merchant to carry on retail
business at the present time.
| Mr.. Lawrence of Lubec said that the
competition coming from this institution
| was no competition at all. The compete
ton in the State of Maine on wagons does
not come from the State prison but it
comes from the West. One person has
said that the prison inspectors were in
favor of it, G. w. Jones said, "We don't
care one particle about this matter. We,
as managers of this institution, do not
care if we don't manufacture single
thing" The idea is just here, if this bill
becomes law, it puts extra expense on
the State Mr.. Jones said he opposed 1t
although he did not care about it. If the
| State of Maine feels able to pass this law
| and make the expenses of our State
greater, why all right. l don't propose
to oppose it any further, but / say in con-
clusion that the competition in the State
of Maine is not from the State prison but
from the West.
Mr.. Leighton of Columbia Falls said
that this Maine State prison under the
able management of Warden Allen and
the prison inspectors has been run since
the year 1887 and made self-supporting
excepting about $3.50 That is to say,
they have run behind as best they could
do, hampered by the laws that have been
enacted here by this House, and have been
compelled to manufacture carriages and
harnesses at loss. Warden Allen has
told me that for the last two years these
departments were not self-supportlng.
He said if he could put these prisoners
to work manufacturing brooms, he could
make it self supporting l count that
competition means mere nothing. 1t is
carriages from the West that has driven
our carriage manufacturers out OF bust
ness / have handled some prison pro
ducts myself and always paid decent
price for them. Carriages that l can go
to the market and buy at about the same
cost bought of the prison principally be-
cause it was better product. 1t matters
not to me, but as member of this COM
mittee, l say the more we hamper Warden
Allen, the more the State of Maine has
got to pay to make up the loss.
Mr.. White of Rockland said that he
lived very near the Maine State prison,
and he wished to say for the benefit of the
members of this House that so far as the
selling of goods from the State prison is
concerned, in my community the competi-
ton is very severe. Our people are not in
favor of it.
Mr.. Winslow OF Portland said that the
warden told him that these men who arc
employed there in the various departments
90 out into the world in a degree qualified
to be useful citizens. A large percentage,
of the men who go to the State prison 2Ee
men who have had no training. They
are not mechanics and they are thus led
into vice because they have nothing to do
and this is what these DEPARTMENTS are
carried on for. live ipt city where
there are great manv carriages used,
and | have never h4ard any one make any
complaint in ressrd to the competition Of
the Maine State prison. do not believe
that the Maine State prison is doing the
industries of this State any great damage.
1t seems to me if the State of Maine
would study true economy, it would per
init competent officer to dispose of the
product of the prison as he sees fit, and if
any one goes there and wants to buy a
carriage at retail he should have the privi-
| legc.
The question being on the amendment
offered by the gentleman from Bangor, n
division was called for and the amend
ment was lost by a vote of 81 in favor to
| Sc against.
The resolve was then read second time
and passed to be cngrossed.
was House document 1873, relating to the
| inspection of buildings
The pending amendment was adopted
and the bill was passed to be engrossed.
On motion of Mr.. White of Rockland,
bill an act in regard to unwholesome food
was taken from the table and specially
assigned for Thursday of next week.
On motion of Mr.. Gilbert of Canton,
the vote was reconsidered whereby the
House passed to be enacted an act to
amend chapter 291 of the Private and
Special Laws of 1891, entitled an act for
the protection of fish in B pond in Upton,
Ok ford county.
On further motion by the same gentle
man, the vote was reconsidered whereby
| it was passed to be cngrossed
On further motion by the same gentle
man, the bill was laid on the table,
Mr.. Noble for the committee on judici-
ary on bill an act to authorize appeals
| from assessors of taxes to the supreme
judicial court, reported bill in new
draft under the same title, and that it