Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-03-24

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they handcuffed him2
Now. gentlemen. you have heard
what the facts are here in connec-
ton with his being in that institution,
taken there on February 18th, es-
.. capped April 24th, after he had been
, committed just few weeks or few
I months, and the superintendent of
that institution as a reward of merit,
II you please, parolled him on the next
day into the arms of his mother, who
had been in similar institution, if
mot the same one. And it was not
negligence, they say. I do not see
how any body or fair minded men
can conceive how it was anything
else The doctors all claimed that
this man was suffering from demen-
Tia praecox paranoia,. "a type of incur
able insanity as understand it.
! This case comes home to me very
tforcibly because within few miles
/, OF my home, another man escaped
and came down and wendell his way
I down into the town of Brooks and
trapped at the door of q house that
was occupied by an old lady. That
/ old lady had a wonderful lot of cheer
and she invited him in and fed him,
and she went to the telephone and
notified the officers and they came
| there and took him, and a short time
before that somewhere up in the
, town Of Hampden or Herman, or up
, there somewhere, he had brutally
taken a knifo and cut a young girl
e. to pieces.
| Now, gentlemen, sympathy can be
worked in two walks on this PROPOSE
ton. We are entitled TO some protec-
ton ourselves, and when we appro-
PIRATE money for institutions of this
kind, to run our States prison, While
we show grief and sympathy with
! the poor unfortunates who are with
in, 1t does seem to me as though we
place them there, not with any spirit
! that we want to get back at them for
what they have done, but we simply
wish for them to be taken care of
| that we might breathe this free air
and live in this wonderful land of lib
erty that we all so much admire and
think so we'll of. Can there be any
thing but negligence in this froposi-
ton, and if so, then these boys should
be paid for what they have lost. Let
us not be beduddled by the number
OF COWS or how much these COWS
We're worth. The esteemed gentleman
! from South Portland, MIR. Iiinckley,
knows that the value was estimated,
and those figures were laid before us
fairly and squarely and the value Of
| those cows was never disputed, not
for a moment at the hearing. and here
! is dash of the family history
mother, father, sister, broter. grand
! hfater, aunt and uncle insane and
they parolled the boy, a strong. able
boy suffering With this disease into
the arms of his mother TO be taken
care of by her, and not negligence,
What in the world is it but negli-
gence? If the gentlemen who signed
this minority report did not think that
there was fair opportunity for these
boys to get justice in the court Of the
state of Maine, why did they sign
the report? DO they wish to give us
to understand that they are willing
for US TO proceed, but not u burglars
chance to proceed in that direction. l.
for one, am in favor of seeing these
boys paid for the property they have
| lost. IT is going to cost the State OF
Maine something TO defend II case OF
that kind Now they talk about
| cross-eXamining the witnesses.
/ have told You here once OF twice that
they We're cross examined some as
they came in here before that COM
mite. They were pursued, in my best
Judgment and the gentleman from
South Portland was in close pursuit.
! He was after all the facts and he got
them. in my best judgment, and .;,st
as they We're. We are not establish
ing u precedent. You would think
from some of the conversation that
you have heard here this morning
that this was the first time that ever
a resolve of tbs kind was entertained
in this way. 1t has been my pleasure
to be a member of this Legislature
before, and we passed resolve. If my
memory serves me right. to look af
ter the family of a man who was
killed in some road operation here. /
also have in mind another instance,
but as long as my memory is a little
foggy on that, 1 will say nothing
more about it: but L think I am
right when | say that we looked at
ter a family in another instance.
! I feel that we can safely come to
this conclusion. that there was ne
gligence; that these boys should be
reimbursed; that they We're in no way
responsible for what occurred. Then
it has been intimated here that they
! were uncertain about whether this
man caused this loss or not. Why,
the circumstances all point to it, The
boy himself said that he did it, oh,
the little instance up there of shoot
ing the girl who Tilted him, and then
the burning in close connection with
that there in that neighborhood. and
| the other large set of buildings going.
| Oh, it all indicates that. CircumStan-
| tial evidence is the strongest evil
dence you possibly can have. and the
lawyers of this House know it, and
all the circumstances point in that
direction. The question is up to as.
gentlemen of this House. Let us not
pass the buck but stand up and
be men and. if those men should be
paid, pay them.
The question being on the motion
OF the gentleman from Auburn. Mr.
| Wing, that the minority report be
accepted. the question was put by
the Chair and the declaration made
| that the minority report was ac-
| ceuted