Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-02-07
COMMITTEES HEARINGS.

X.
former sheriff of Cumberland county,
Mrs. George F. French and Miss
Mabel Davies of Portland and f. Y.
Turner of Auburn appeared before the
committee on ways and bridges. Thurs
day afternoon, in favor of the act intro
| duced in the House of Representatives
by Mr. Scates of westbrook. to au-
thorize the employment of county
prisoners on the highway. The act
does not apply to inmates of the
States prison.
Mr.. Pencil was the first speaker,
stating that he had been asked to ap-
pear before the committee in favor of
the bill because. he had supposed, he
| had been sheriff of Cumberland coun-
ty for six years.
When l was sheriff of Cumberland"
said Mr.. Pennell, Il frequently talked
with the county commissioners about
the working of prisoners on the roads.
Any one who has ever studied the
question will certainly admit the fact
| that the prisoner should do some kind
of labor, and the best kind of labor
is that which will do the most good
to the greatest number and to the man
himself. There is no place where
| prisoners could be employed to d
greater advantage than on the roads.
| Some one has said that If the men
! work on the roads that there will be
a great number of escapes but where
the work has been done it is shown
that the escapes are very few. The
men who would escape anyway would
be persons who are serving sentences
OF 80, so or 80 days for intoxication
and would eventually land back in the
! Jail again. And if they did escape and
leave the county the people would not
! be obliged to pay for their mainte-
l nance. One competent man could easily
! look after a number of prisoners.
| "Outdoor employment, with plenty
| to eat and plenty of work, is good
| thing for prisoners, said Mr.. Pennei,
| Cumberland county has an average
l of from 125 to 100 prisoners in its jail
/ and IS of these are employed IN the
Workshop l find that the cost of
maintaining the workshop in Cumber-
land for seven years was over slo,ooo.
The county commissioners in those
seven years received $500 more tnan
this $15,000 but the county had 10
board the prisoners and there is GER
tain amount of depreciation
The county of Cumberland would
have been better off years ago IL u
had abolished it's workshop Ii you
out prisoners at work on the highways
it will be of great benefit to a county
The average man is certainly worth a
dollar a day to work. and that dollar
$ so much to the good Of the county.
Of course the question naturally
rises, what will be done with the
prisoners in the winter time? ! WOULD
favor stone shed to break rocks ana
[ tell you one thing. Mr.. Chairman
md members of the committee, that II
is generally known that prisoners
in Jail will be obliged to break rocks
hat certain class of men will keep
miles away from such an institution.
hereby lessening the burden on the
axpayers of county.
Mrs. George f. French of Portland
spoke in favor of the bill. saying that
the measure was certainly in line with
progressive prison legislation.
THE great question or at least one
one the great questions that are con-
sidered at the governors conferences"
lone with our prisoners. A large part
# the duty which we owe our State
is to reform these prisoners =
BILE. In the United States the cons
vict lease and tae eoIi,tet= issAaa. a..
tem are doomed. The governor of
Kansas pardoned a number of prison.
ers as that was the only way that he
could get away from the convict lease
system and in one year Gov. Blease
Il South Carolina pardoned over 500
convicts because he realized that the
onvict labor system had been OUT
grown.
Il am interested in this measure.
continued Mrs. French, because it
holds out the idea to give the prison
ers Gods greatest remedy. the out
'f-doors, with its bright sunshine.
Men could be placed at work in the
highways and it would not humiliate
Continued on Page Seven)