Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1915-04-07
NAMES STATE PRISON.
BUILDINGS IN DEPLORABLE
CONDITION.
CELLS SMALL AND UNsANrTARY-oosT
OF MAINTENANCE As SHOWN BY
OFFICIAL FIGURES.

OFFICIAL FIGURES.
II the bill introduced at Augusta this
winter BY Senator Chatto has had no other
result, it has opened the eyes Of the peo-
pie OF Maine to conditions existing in the
present buildings at Thomaston.
Conditions found by the Legislative
committee on its official visit resulted in
the reporting Of bill for new prison.
Senator Chatto, as chairman Of the COM
mittee, went into the matter exhaus-
lively, and his speech in favor of new
prison was an arraignment OF present
conditions which should make the people
OF Maine blush for shame. He said in
part:
The prison at Thornaston was built In 1924
At that time the ideas Of prison life were not
the same as they are to-day. Then 1t was
thought that to be confined In y small, I'M
sanitary cell was good enough for any
prisoner, and his welfare was not very much
considered.
Originally the prison had los cells, and
these seemed TO answer the purpose very well
until 1857, when the prison became so con-
tion that the prison be enlarged or y new
prison built The prison inspectors, in their
report ut that time, said:
Il Is notorious that the location, construc-
ton and Arrangement OF the prison and the
| surrounding buildings have been made re-
gardless Of the laws Of health, economy or
the system Of patching and botching which
has SO long prevailed In relation to our States
prison, but sincerely trust that whatever i'm
~. a.. H. w~xttl L. -
character.
At that time there was such demand for
| either new prison or enlargement Of the
| prison, that Governor morrill, was given
| authority to appoint commission Of one
person to examine into the system Of dis
bursements, labor and discipline in the Maine
State prison, and make recomme ndations for
such improvements as. in his opinion. were
necessary.
Hon. James @. Blaine was appointed COM
missioner, and below are extracts from his
| report.
The inspectors declare, with most manly
fraukhess, that the location, construction
and arrangement OF the prison and the sur
rounding buildings, with perhaps q single
exception, have been made regardless OF
"health, economy or public utility. These
are precisely the views which | would en-
force, and am glad to be sustained by the
opinion Of those SO thoroughly acquainted
with the subject In all Its detail, and so well
enabled to pronounce sound judgment as
! are the present inspectors.
| l dissent, however, In total from the recon-
| mendations which these gentlemen make in
regard to the enlargement OF the present
strnctnre at Thomaston cannot unite with
outlay OF money to alter or add to building
whose location, construction and arrange
ment", according To their avn declaration.
| "haye been made regardless OF the laws OF
| health. economy or public utility. IL the
| present building is SO badly located, so badly
constructed and so badly arranged as to violate
| the laws OF Health, economy and public
| utility, ordinary prudence, think, demands
| that II should be abandoned, and that the
| State should not be asked to waste any more
| IL Its money in useless struggle against the
uu merous and complicated disadvantages so
| c,eaiy epitomized in the paragraph. quoted.
II is very evident that the recommendation
OF the commissioner appointed by the govern
or was not carried out. believe the princi-
pal reason for not carrying out this recon-
| mediation was on account Of the Civil wal
\ soon after. The State of Maine was under a
great expense at that time to maintain its
part of the cost of the war, and, Of necessity
had to curtail its expenditures in relation te
improveme mis- MS much as possible ! believ,
that, except for this reason, new Stat,
| prison would have been built at that time.
| The State prison has been enlarged sine,
| then, increasing the number OF cells from 10
to 2is. Most Of these cells, however, are o
the same dimensions as the original cells
and built OF rough lime rock lsid up will
mortar. with granite tagging floor and top
There are now $50 cells which are four fee
wide, seven feet long and six and one hal
feet high. In each OF these cells there 10
bed or bunk. attached TO the side Of the wal
INV hinges. Wien this bunk Is turned down
there is a space Of twenty ine hes between tn
cell wall and the bunk, leaving space sevel
feet long and twenty inches wide. sof 'ne pi's
oner to occupy.
The argument has been made that this q
solve was Introduced hastily; that there wa
no call for new State prison; that the Stats
| prison, with an outlay 100000, would b,
sufficient for the needs Of the State OF Main,
for the next seventy-hve years, and that Z
new State prison could not be built for les.
than 81 100000.
| wehave made inquiries in reference to the
cost>of prisons. Recently there has been 9
\ new State prison built in Minnesota. y This
| prison is up-to. date in every respect. and d
sufficient capacity to accommodate from i,2ot
to 800 prisoners. The cost OF this prison
| from the best information We have been able
TO OBTAIN, was very near Sl,iou,uVV
| Now, if prison can be built in Minnesots
to accommodate 1880 persons for sl,leo,OOo,
believe it is reasonable to expect that pri-
son in the State of Maine, to accommodate say
| $50 persons, can be built fer about 100000
In fact, we have had plan and estimates OF
cost submitted to us. The estimated
cost for prison which would be up
| to-date in every respect, situated in suit
able location, 10 be determined by commits
sion, was $4,000. There are some other de-
tails which could be scaled down, briugin g
the approximate cost dowflso about s29o,ovo.
1t is reasonable to expect that tract of
land of several hundred acres could be Sc
cured in a suitable location without cost to the
State OF Maine, at this time at least one offer
has been made that, il the prison could be To-
Gated in a certain town, the town would pre-
sent the State with several hundred acres Of
land.
know that no one concerned in this mat
ter has anything but the honor and respect
of the State, together with the welfare and