Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-10-31
"Man Is certainly stark mad; he
cannot make q flea, and yet he will
be making gods by DOZENS.
-Montaigne.

cannot make q flea, and yet he will
be making gods by DOZENS.
-Montaigne.
DON'T JUMP AT CONCLUSIONS
"I am reserving Judgment of the
state Of affairs at Thomaston. which
have not visited since last Spring,
until the truth of falsity of the
charges Is determined. That should
we can hope to retain the services
Of self-respecting men on the boards
of our institutions and as officials
That aff1davits have been filed is no
sure indication that the conditions al
legged exist. When they have been
sifted out and the truth determined
we shall be in a position to decide
what, II anything, is wrong and what
should be done about it,
So far all must agree with Prof.
Austin H. Mccormack in his con-
illusions respecting the situation at
Thomaston. Regarding certain of his
other conclusions, they seem to us to
leave something to be desired; in
deed he disregards his premise when
he criticises the Governor and Coun-
ell for directly seeking the truth.
In justice to all parties concerned.
the prisoners, their guardians, the
supervisors and ourselves. we must
keep our thinking apparatus straight
The first step is to ascertain what,
IL anything, is wrong" How may
this be done?
AS we understand it, the Governor
and Council do not have power OF
removal OF anyone, who may be
found implicated in these charges.
Their duty in the premises is to get
at the truth. and we believe the pub
lie will be better satisfied and the
ends Of justice better served to have
this done in open and above-board
fashion. It appears that Prof. Mac
Cormack would have turned over the
charges to the prison commission,
notwithstanding the policy. the judg-
ment and the commissions attention
to its duties, are indirectly called in
question by these charges, which. be
it understood, nowise reflects on the
etaracter Of the commissioners.
One Of the alleged reforms insti-
t1ted at the prison under the adj
ministration, which Prof. MacCor-
mack approves, consists in giving the
prisoners an opportunity to be heard,
without having any complaints they
may make being submitted first to
the persons complained of. tffe Of
dcers Of the institution. In this
connection 1t is both interesting and
Informative to note what has hap
!. pensd to the employees of the prison
who dared to make affidavits re-
specting conditions there: they were
discharged Immediately: there was
no waiting until their charges might
be proved or disproved. It's a poor
rule that doesn't work both ways.
Let's consider this situation briefly.
Some Of these making charges were
employees Of the prison, over a con-
siderable period Of years. who must
have apprehended what has hap
pened, namely their dismissal. These
employees had been placed over the
prisoners by the supervisors. The
assumption following upon such
selection and implied approval on the
part Of the supervisors, the COM
mission and the warden. would seem
to entitle those approved employees to
be considered honest men until prov
ed to be otherwise. Is 1t unfair to
suppose that had the MacCormack
method Of quiet investigation been
adopted these men might have been
discharged and the public been no
wiser?
Another objector declares that If
the Governor had been on his job he
would have seen to 1t that such con-
ditions, as charged. should not have
had q chance to exist-but he fails
to tell us how the Governor might
have gone about 1t. Should he have
had himself arrested and incarcer-
ated incognito to learn at frst hand
after she method which we believe
is that most approved by the re-
formers? We would expect any
other method which the Governor
might have adopted would be about
a. successful as fishing with an
alarm clock for bait. forsthe wary
trout.
Another comment Is that the Klan
II endeavoring to have a Klansman
appointed warden. This Is not un-
likely. perhaps, but how may any
body be appointed to a place not
made vacant and how may that be
done after on open, thorough investi-
cation by those who have no power
Of removal?
Still others see in this publicity an
effort to put an end to prison reform
in this State. There are indications
in support Of that. Though we say:
IL it can't stand up under publicity
let 1t fall" the fact yet remains that
no administration Of any penal in
stttution under the sun is perfect, that
none might be Investigated without
that being found which would afford
material for critics to harp upon.
Let's not forget that important fact.
Considerations like these naturally
may have Influenced the conclusions
OF Mr.. Mccormack and other
friends Of reform.
Having at first hand seen some of
the effects of that reform m. o.,