Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-02-15
ReFoRMAToRY FOR WOMEN.
No Opposition to Measure Before LEGAL
Affairs Committee.


gal affairs committee Tuesday after
noon was on the BILL advocated by the
Maine Prison Association, to establish
a state rcformatory for women, for
which the sum of s33. 600 is appropri-
atnd, Richard Webb Of Portland pre-
scented the case to the committee No
ono appeared in opposition.
Mrs. Mary S. Burnham, the Port
land police matron. explained that at
present there was no place where fe-
male offenders over 16 years of ago
could be sent save jail or various
houses q correction. Under that age
they may be committed to the State
Industrial School for Girls at Halo
we'll In Portland they hesitate To put
youthful female offenders before the
court and to send them TO jail because
OF the concentrating influences. They
invariably leave Jail more hardened
than when they went in. One Portland
girl Of "a has spent four OF the last
five years in Jail. They have an aver
age of about 200 Young girls n year in
the Portland police station. Most OF
them are immoral and drink, too The
two usually go together. Mrs. Burn
iIhii 'ttii. ioII' tlibuEUI ltidI there " ere
moro vicious women and immoral wo-
men in Portland than in Bangor for
instance. because OF the large number
Of soldiers and sailors there.
Tho bill provides for system of
parole and indetertninate sentence and
these features, as we'll as the bin as
whole, were praised by DIR. Catherine
Davis, superintendent OF the Bedford
R"formatory for Women Of New York,
VINO appeared before the committee.
Or. Davis told of the work done at
Bedford in reforming young women
and strongly advocated the adoption
or similar system in Maine out of
the first 1000 girls released from that
institution, only 33 are at present in
the clutches of the law. Many OF them
are sent into reputable families to act
as servants and an effort is made to
educate them industrially so that they
are self supporting
Mrs. John F. Thompson Of the Port
land Young Womens Christian Asso-
citation. Mrs. John F. Hill OF Portland
ard Miss Mcdonald. superintendent OF
the State Industrial School for Girls
at Haliowell, also favored the bill.
City Solicitor Richard f. Harvey OF
Portland appeared in favor of the bill
amending the law in relation to chang
ing the ward lines in cities. Under
the present law the changes must be
made by ma ajority of the voters. The
new measure makes q majority Gf the
voters at the election sufficient to ef-
feet the change.
Pugglcs Higgins, clerk of the legal
affairs committee. appeared before
that body TUESDAY afternoon in sup
port Of the bill regulating the practice
OF veterinary surgery. medicine and
dentistry. He explained that when the
original law was passed persons who
had Dracticed before Feb. 90, 1905, were
authorized to register if they applied
to the board for certificates before
Sept of that year. Some persons have
failed to do so and the amendment
gives them until Sent. L. Of the pres
ent year. James :. Wright of South
Paris submitted n similar hill. hut il
was fully covered by the one Mr.. Hig-
gins appeared for, he said.
William +. Haines of Waterville
appeared in favor of the bill TO OK
tend the time for Incorporation of the
charter of the Penobscot Bay Water
Co. which proposed to consolidate tho
water supply systems of Searsport
Stockton and Belfast. There was n
opposition.