The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-01-03
THE STATE PRISON.

HE STATE fH1SON.
The Waterville Sentinel has publish
ed what was intended to be sensa-
tional statement regarding the Maine
State prison, and despite its editorial
disclaimer there is good deal of poll
tics and no little personal enmity at
the bottom of it. One of the stories
the Sentinel quotes it is obliged to char
acterize as of the ''dime move" order;
but in publishing such yarn it knows
that it will pass with some of its read
ers as gospel. Discharged employees,
ex-convicts and would-be employees
evidently inspired many OF the state
ments, despite the pretence of fair
ness; and every conductor of news
paper knows low easy it is to gather
disparaging reports concerning an indl-
vidual or an institution, and that a
certain element is eager to accept and
enlarge upon such reports. The con-
spicuous success of Warden Norton in
his management of the State Prison
has made him mark for this element,
and his breaking up of the loose meth
DDS existing at the prison when he took
charge has no doubt brought upon him
the enmity of others.
The Journal has been told by officials,
by those having business relations with
the prison and by private individuals
who have visited the institution, that
under the administration of Warden
Norton there has been marked i'm
provement in all directions. His first
annual report, instead of the deficit OF
former years, showed handsome bal
ance to the credit of the prison, and
during the year all the buildings had
been painted and PIT in thorough re-
pair. 1t is said that the financial show
ing for this year will be even better.
This much may be said as The Sentinel
is attacking the warden personally
and holding him responsible for the
employment of convict labor, practice
which dates back half century or
more. The State prison carriages,
sleighs, harnesses and brooms, which
The Sentinel characterizes as machine
made" have long had reputation for
durability and general excellence, and
dealers say that their quality has been
improved under Warden Norton, and
this no doubt has brought sharper COM
petition with private concerns. But
the warden cannot justly be held re-
sponsible for this condition. He is
simply carrying on the work establish
ed before he was born, and we do not
understand that he has any authority
to discontinue it or to divert the prison
labor to other lines That would seem
to be matter for the State to decide.
Few would advocate discontinuance
of all labor in the prison or diverting it
in improbable directions.
The Sentinel charges excessive or in
human punishment of prisoners; but
we do not see that it makes good its
charge. There must be some way OF
Furnishing refractory criminals, and
those who have never had to do with
this class have little idea of the diff
Guilty of controlling them. The Senti-
mel is obliged to admit that in its eff
forts to discover evidences of graft
nothing of definite character could
be traced" but it gives currency to the
street talk in ROckland and Thomaston
that the wholesale grocery firm in
which Governor Cobb is interested
supplies practically all of the pro-
visions at the prison." If that be true,
no doubt the provisions are supplied as
cheaply as they can be obtained else
where In connection with its charges
and insinuations The Sentinel gives
this plain statement from Warden
Norton:
81 want you to understand that this
prison is an open book. | am willing
that it shall be examined any hour in
the "A and | court the most rigid inves-
tigation Everything is wide open for
examination, all the books, any depart
ment and any work that is being done.
While | am here | am going to run this
institution as | see fit without aid from
outsiders and when they are not salts
fed the proper authorities can remove
me when they DESIRE