Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1905-09-01
THE PRISON SCANDAL OUT
COMMISSION HEARS STATE
MENT FROM MARY ROGERS.

She Was Intimate With Long Term
Prisoner Who Visited Her Cell
conHictins Stories a. to Persons
Involved-Peek's Testimony.
The hearing In the state prison In
vestigation was &C ntinued ut Bellows
Falls Friday and Saturday, August
20 and 20. and was then adjourned
until to-day at Young's hotel Boston.
where several dispositions VIII De
taken In the presence of the commit
tee and governor.
AT Fridays session sensational tes-
timony was given In connection WIN
the alleged immoral conduct. while
an inmate of the prison, OF Mrs
Mary Rogers OF Bennington. CONVICT
ed of the murder Of her husband.
Horace BOYD, prison officer. tes-
tilted that Vernon Rogers. "trusty'
llong-term prisoner told him that ne
! (Rogers) had access to Mrs. Rogerss
cell last spring by means OF a KEY
which he had made in the shoe shop
of the institution. Rogers had charge
Of the west hall, at the further end
i of which was Mrs. Rogers's ROOM
and was there alone In the daytime
This was cell No. 81 and had double
doors. one day the witness saw Rog-
ers i'm there and asked why he was
there. He said he didn't know but
soon after said he had made key to
her room. He didn't tell when he
first began to go in there, or how ne
happened TO go, but 1t was BOYD s
opinIon that IL had been going on for
about two months. He used his KEY
10 get into her corridor and the other
door she opened by removing the
lock with a pair of scissors. BOYD
asked him how many times he went
in and he answered when he wanted
to. He said no one else had anything
to do with II. The date of this con-
versation was about month pre-
vious to Warden Harpin's discharge.
Boyd said he talked with Rogers sew
eral times about the matter but did
not report ii to Cakes. The place
where Rogers worked was in sight or
the windows of Harpin's office. A
man might stand in the corridor,
however, without being seen because
of a platform which might shut or
the view.
After Boyd had testified certain tes-
| timony taken at an executive session
of the committee was made pubic.
Former Superintendent p. w. oakes
of the state prison testi1ed at tnat
session that Rogers had informed
him that last March Fred Morse. an
Iother prisoner. had given Rogers
KEY which fitted Mary Rogers's cell.
cakes also said Rogers had told him
that the latter's key opened the out
side door of the cell but would not
unlock the inside door. The second
door, the superintendent testified, was
opened according to Mrs. Rogers
story by Mrs. Rogers herself. VINO
removed the screws in the lock by
means of pair of scissors which she
had been possessed of. Cakes further
testified that while these alleged nap
penings occurred he was Ill ana that
the prison was In charge of II. u.
Harpin, the warden. When the super
Iintendent heard of these irregularities
he discharged Harpin Immediately
1t appeared by other testimony that
upon this discovery by Cakes. Rogers
was put into confinement and told
that he must stay there until he told
who was implicated with him. He
denied that anyone else had any
knowledge Of 1t,
Miss Sarah Ourkee. matron at the
prison since 1881, who had charge OF
Mrs. Rogers and was supposed TO hold
the only keys to her cell after the
death watch was removed. testlned
that she kept the keys where she was
very sure no one had access to them.
She visited the cell at least four
times a day When she heard OF the
scandal she asked Mrs. Rogers about
it and the latter finally admitted that
Rogers had visited her cell. coming
\ in with a key which he told her Har-
old Harpin gave him, the latter telling
him if he thought so much of her ne
had better go and stay with her;
After Harold was discharged ne hau
an officer, either Craven or Jacobs,
get the key for him. but Rogers got
it again and made duplicate OF It..
Miss Durkee did not know what keys
young Harpin could have had at first.
certainly not hers. and she knew OF
no duplicates Mr.. Fits asked cakes
If he knew there were no duplicates
and Cakes said there We're not.
Miss Durkee said she asked Mrs.
Rogers to write out her story and the
latter did so. 1t was written without
her dictation or suggestion as TO
what to write Mrs. Rogers wrote 1t
of her own free will. no one else Pc
| ing present in her room and Miss
Durkee did not see the statement
until it was finished. Mrs. Rogers
gave 1t to her on the date 1t bears
she read it and took 1t to the super
intendent. In talking the matter over
several times afterward with the
matron, Mrs. Rogers never altered or
took back any of it. Mrs. Rogers
seldom refers to the matter now
Where she is at present, it is not pos
sible for anything similar to happen
again for there are two women with
her. and no man is employed about
the corridors.
| The statement follows:
| March 10, 1905.
Mabel Rogers. For Miss Durkee.
| have exhausted every measure in
| thought as to what was best in re-
gard to this matter. and have en-
tered on the decision that l would
make a full statement at the best of
my ability. so far as I know and as
| know it.
Our conversations are doubtless
immaterial, with the exceptions of
the principal facts, and how they
came about.
Before the doors were ever opened
| he spoke with me and related to me
how he remarked to Mr.. Harpin
how blue" he felt at times. and that
he told him that he might keep me
company when he had leisure time,
for namesake if nothing more. He
said the more he thought about 1t
the more he thought he would. i
am unable to state as any fact as to
whether he was testing or sincere, or
whether Mr.. Harpin was sincere, II
he made the statement But 1 can
state that he did not seem to FEAR
coming around to the back door past
the Office windows when Harpin re-
manned here, and said he did not
care for Harpin, if no one else came
into the office. And when he left.
then he was very careful.
81
Harpin or Harold, as we were holding
a conversation at the door. he un-
locked the doors and came in. At
that time / was not aware he was