Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-18


OF the history Of the case. stanchields
authorizations. decisions and actions
prior to his commitment, and that DR.,
Starrett told DR.. Hammond that he
knew Stanchfield as gathered from the
! people of veazie and among other
things that Stanchaeld had threatened
to shoot the Greenleaf girl and the peo-
| pie OF veazie were affair of him,
Mark that. honorable members of the
Senate. as make 1t bear upon the
angle which you will hear later: that
| the conclusion which he arrived at
from the examination was that
stanchfieid was dangerously insane and
should be indefinitely confined and that
DR.. Hammond agreed TO this and stat
ed that this was also his conclusion.
Mark you. gentlemen, these are two
doctors in general practice. not men
who are qualified to find out the va
carries of a human mind when reason
is knocked from it's pedes tai. Mark
that point, If you please. as i proceed.
Now let me read the testimony of Da-
Wis. Frank Davis testified that he had
been a newspaper man for some thirty
y
chief Of police of Bangor; that he
wrote up the story of the shooting of
the Greenieaf girl and the burning of
the Jones and Prouty buildings for the
Bangor Daily News; that he had an
Interview with DIR. Hedin-that is the
gentleman that am going to show
to you from his own testimony ought
to have known that when this man
was turned out into the streets of
Veazie. from the testimony which fol-
lows. he was turning a mailman out,
a mailman that the witnesses who
didn't know anything about his mental
delusions said was dangerously insane
and mailman, two doctors, gentle
mem of the Senate, whose duty was not
to examine and hold such men in check.
Was he a mailman? Was he danger
ously insane? Will any gentleman
dare, when he hears this evidence,
stand on his feet in any presence and
say that he was not a mailman, and
say that he was not dangerously in
sane? They will not do it. They do
not dare to do it, Mr.. Davis had his
notes with him at the hearing before
the judiciary committee. He stated
that the article in the Bangor Daily
News of May 10th contained a copy.
He gave this testimony just as you
have heard 1t from the sheriff. Hon.
cradle members of the Senate, l ask
your indulgence. I know you will
grant it. 1t is your duty to hear it all
before you pass upon this important
question. .
Now we will take the testimony of
Mr.. EaVis, the vrst selectman of T. q
town of Veazie, to which 1 call yo1r
attention and beg that You will give 1t
yo,;r lnost careful consideration. MI
Davis testified that he had been a se-
lectman of Veazie off and on about
30 years: that he has a farm adjoin-
ing that of the Austin w. Jones
Company; that he had been engaged
in farming for about 80 years and in
raising Holstein cattle for about 70
years; that he now has a herd of
about 10 head of cattle, 40 of which
are pure bred Holsteins and he was
well acquainted with the herd of the
Austin w. Jones Company; had ex-
amined their herd on several occa-
sions, and that the figures confined
in the third column of the schedule
in the hands of the members of the
Judiciary committee were made by
him and were his estimate of the ca sh
value of the cattle destroyed; that
they had q speculative value be-
cause the manner in which the Aus
tin Jones Company was developing
no question in his mind that one or
more of the cows of the Austin
Jones Company would be found worth
more than the value given to the
Whole lot. He explained what it
meant to develop herd and THAT it
meant to a Holstein breeder to have
his mature cows destroyed as the
cows of the Austin Jones Company
were; that the herd of the Austin
Jones Company was considered by
lexperts to be one of the best herds
in the State; that he was familiar
with the development work which was
being done by the Austin Jones
Company, the feeding and night milk
ing and all; that $500 was too low a
value for the barn and silos. That
is the first selectman who had asked
the Sheriff to commit Stanchfield to
the insane asylum on a Is day COM
mitment and had later had him reg
ularly committed and had supposed
that he was taken care of. Please,
gentlemen, pay attention to that. .
Now Mr.. McIntire, an expert, tes-
titles as to the value. There will not
be any question about that, so will
skip it.
Now listen to this gentleman, Mr.
Drinkwine, who testified that he was
third selectman of the town of YEA
zie-partieularly pay attention to the
date-that on Saturday, he 24h day
of April he heard that Stanchfield had
escaped from the Bangor State Hos
pital. Let me add, on the Gath day OF
April he did escape from the Bangor
State Hospital, he claimed to have
swan across the Penobscot river, he
went to his home and brought back
to our insane asylum his insane moth
err with him-and that Is not In dis
pute, that she had been insane, and
incarcerated in the insane asylum of
your State-and on the 25th day of
April, Hedin and the superintendent
of your Hospital and mine and the
people of the State, turned this man
loose upon the community against
the protests of three selectmen Of the
town of Veazie, to murder the inha5i-
tants of the State. to destroy their
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