Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-04-03

4 in an effort to secure the assistance
! of Mrs. Clement in enforcing the law.
Always he was there in the perform
ance of his duty, declared Judge
| Connolly.
| / am going to say, said Judge Con-
molly, that for some improper reason
| they have taken these half truths and
| woven them together in an effort to
cause you to remove this Sheriff and
! supplant him with another. l am
| going to try and show you that this
| is so and that there is no cause for
removal.
Judge Connolly said that it had
been charged that one Bushey, a
! prisoner in the Jail had escaped. He
| felt that every citizen of Kennebec
county ought to thank Sheriff Cum
mings that this opportunity offered.
He then referred to Deputy Sheriff
Harry Pinkham, sitting among the
Sheriff's witnesses, as a young man
who went over seas. who was gassed
and was in the hospital and then he
said:
"One night over there on the edge
of No Mans land man, gassed, q
wreck, wounded, fell over the par
rapet into the trench at Harry Pink
hams feet. That was the first time
| Harry Pinkham ever saw Bushey.
Later they were in the hospital to-.
gether. They came home. Pinkham
became a deputy sheriff. One day
, Bushey, a mental wreck. came to the
Jail. Pinkham went to the Sheriff.
He pleaded for his Buddy, asked
that he be made trusty and used
out Of doors in the hope that it
might benefit his health. The
men, l hope the time has not come
when it is a crime in the State of
Maine, to allow such a man out in
/ Gods sunshine.
"Bushey got away and went down
town. He got some liquor. He broke
his trust, not because of criminal
desire. but because he was mentally
unfit"
Judge Connolly said that the
charges of liquor being sold in the
jail would be disposed of by showing
its absurdity. They would call men
who had served in the Jail, because
they had been named. These men
would show that no liquor had been
sold in such a way as the, prosecu-
ton had set forth. 1t would be
shown that the man who gave the
most evidence on this line, who said
that he went into the Jail with s107
in his possession, actually had but
| All whose names had been men
toned by the prosecution or in the
Csc would be called, the Judge said,
except where there would be unnec-
essary exposure.
) Referring to the charges of gambl-
; ing the Judge said that it would be
admitted that cards We're undoubt-
edly smuggled into the Jail. Only a
few days ago in the Cumberland
county jail, where there were four
men to keep watch, instead of one. as
in the Kennebec Jail. they found
saws which had been struggled in,
The care which was taken to keep
i. countraband out of the Kennebec
r Jail would be shown by evidence re-
lating the finding of key to unlock
= one cell block, which hdo been made
from a spoon.
f Ingenuity Of Prisoners in ldIeness
5 ITO show you the ingenuity of the
prisoners III their idleness," continued
: Judge Connolly, they removed an
entire door frame, they filed off rivet
t and they broke a glass in the door to
= the strong room and in those three
ways got access to liquor. The
! sheriff was constantly on watch for
, them and there never was a time
: when liquor was sold in the Jail
when cards were struggled IN
: vthey were kept hidden whenever an
officer came in. That has been the
S experience of men who have worked
:. in jails.
y so we will go down through this
; entire mess--of testimonE-and show
I that this respondent has exerted him.
self efficiently.
The Bither Case
n I'VE will show that in the case Of
Bither. the druggist, the first pressure
j l. ~, 5a;1
+ Cummings. He had a United States
license which permitted him to have
alcohol. The hands of the Fedora
e officers were tied. Mr.. Cummings
: complained to Mr.. May. l think the
5 county attorney also complained and
we have the record Of the complaints
:, And Bither's license was revoked
u only to be restored.
$50 far as we have learned that's
where this thing started. From the
: time Cummings complained they have
4 been on his back. They have been II
, alliance with notorious boot -leggers
', They permitted this man Lett ant
= this woman McDermott from Massa'
;, chusetts to travel this State from
i one border TO the other to discredi
him. And they never were brought
= into court here.
e "They are the same ones who pu
4 up a job on some of our people II
: Portland and on one of our police
n men.
g "They have been in alliance witt
: the prohibition department from thai
h day to this.
THE respondents were dismissed By
= order of the court and every one
. knows that such a dismissal is fol
h service rendered.
t Not only have they been ham
:, mering away on this respondent bu
s they presented the same case tc
V Baxter and he refused to prosecute
o because he was informed of the ami
e mus back of it.
e I'VE heard Moran testify that he
n didn't work with Cummings because
: he wanted to work up big cases. We
|, will produce the records of the cour1
t and show that in 1925, with three
officers residing in the county, there
S were only six prosecutions in the
e county. l think three of them were
v dismissed. Fines ranged from SIS tc
f $1,000, with three Jail sentences. Ir
. the sheriff's prosecutions there were
e $1,000 fines and Jail sentences.
e Il am not criticising the judge oil
r the Federal court because he Is
:, bound by law. But I am refectipe
Il on the big business which Moran
0 wished to do. In our own county
e there would have been fines and jai
q sentences.
S There were available to all the en-.
:, forcement authorities search war.
rants. We will show that of the
warrants taken out by Cummings
e 5000 were productive Of results. and
d of those taken out by Federal officers
only 2o8o resulted in effective cases.
e 1.-THE police in many towns have