Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-04-05


That Of Her Husband Earlier in the
Week
conjunction with Sheriff Cummings
| Both of those officers talked to him
of the evil of fooling with the liquor
business. He had promised to keer
out of the business and had done so
Had gone to Boston and was working
there.
He had gone to the station to mai
| two letters for the sheriff one night.
For four months of his term was
inside turnkey at Jail. Saw no gam.
! bling or drinking. Lines of Shaw's
poem Sunday night In Kennebec Jail
in which he was referred to, were read
| to him and O'Brien said there was
| nothing occurred in the Jail to warrant
such words. He never saw blanket
| hung over a cell door in the Jail.
F. Harold Dubord of Waterville, ar
! attorney, testified that he had visited
the Jail at least 20 times since the
| first of the present year to see his eli
| ents, and he had occasion to talk with
| prisoners other than his clients. He
! had never seen prisoners intoxicated
| had never seen the sign of liquor on
| any prisoner. and had never seen any
| gambling at the Jail. He had also Wis
! tied the kitchen and had never seen
| any cans or other receptacles which
might have contained liquor. He had
never heard from his clients that IL
| quor had been drank in the Jail He
| thought that liquor conditions were
| better in Waterville now than they
| ever have been.
| Augusta Furniture Dealer
! Arthur n. Soule of Augusta, fur
niture dealer, testified that he lived
F, on Swan street 100 feet from the Maud
| Clements house which has figured In
! the testimony. He never saw any
| signs of immortality at the Clements
house. He had heard that the house
was not as it should be, but he knew
nothing personally about it. He had
never seen Sheriff Cummings in the
| Clements house.
Turnkey Ba-rows
John T. Barrows. turnkey at the
county fail, was called as the next wit
ness. He testified that he heard last
summer that there was a vacancy in
| the position of turnkey at the Jail and
he applied for the position. He had
never been a member of the political
organization of Sheriff Cummings. He
had been con1 icted of the illegal pos
! nicipal court and had been police
! man at Gardiner but never drank
! liquor while on duty.
| The witness testified that a party
| going into the woods wanted him TO
/ procure some liquor for him. He
went to Augusta and secured the
| liquor and when he left the car at
/ Gardiner, he was arrested by Deputy
: Sheriff Arthur G.. Robinson. He
! pleaded guilty in the Gardiner NUM-
! cipal court and paid a fine of $500.
, He did not tell Sheriff Cummings
| that he had been convicted Of liquor
! selling.
/ AS turnkey, the witness testified
! that he visited the cells, sometimes
several times during the course of q
day. He found saws in the cell of
! Harry A. Kirby, charged with mur-
! der, and on one occasion found a key
made from handle of spoon on an
iron beam in the bath room.
The witness testified that he had
found cards in the cells and had de-
stroyed them. He never allowed card
playing in the Jail. He had never
seen signs of liquor on any prisoner
! except in one instance, and the pris-
oner at the time was Charles .Pullcn.
Pullen had found some cider in the
parlor cider that had been seized sy
deputy sheriffs.
Have you ever taken any liquor
or anything that would affect your"
asked Attorney Connolly.
Never" witness replied.
The Kirby Letters
Mr.. Barrows, testified regarding re-
ceiving the letter that Harry A. Kir-
by had handed to a Salvation Army
lieutenant. Later, Mr.. Barrows nal
asked Evangelist Greenwood If Kir-
by had ever handed any mall to him.
Mr.. Greenwood had hesitated at first
and then had admitted that Kirby
had handed him a letter for Mrs.
Kirby in case anything happened, but
that it waS not a letter that would
amount to anything or would inter-
est them. Upon request, however,
Mr.. Greenwood had brought the let
ter to the Jail and had read 1t to
Sheriff Cummings and Mr.. Barrows,
and had then kept the letter. The
Boston Post two weeks later pub
lished three letters that Kirby had
given to the Post reporter.
Witness said he had never received
message from Mr.. Greenwood e
the effect that Kirby had the inten-
ton of committing suicide.
Did you ever entertain any opin-
ion that would condone suicide on
kirby's part?" asked Attorney Con-
molly.
81 did not" replied the witness.
Mr.. BarroWs said that he kept the
only key to The lock to the slide from
the kitchen where liquor had been
passed through, according to pre-
vious testimony, and that the slide
was kept locked except at meal
times. He was present at times
when the slide was open and he
never knew of any liquor being pass
ed through to the prisoners.
Turnkey Barrows said he had never
seen any evidence of liquor in the
kitchen of the Jail
en- have been allowed in the cell
room of the Jail. Visits to prisoners
have been confined to the office.
He never had any immortality in
Jail called to his attention. He dis
covered the saws in his regular care
full search of the jail He heard all
sorts of gossip, he said, from prison.
ers, but never heard one say any,
thing about the presence of rum In
the .ail.
TRUSTEES might be able to get III
with contraband, ON occasions, but
they were watched and searched be-
fore entering the cell block. He had
found cards in the cells, and did not
know how they got there unless
brought in by TRUSTEES or sent in by
visitors. Never did ne see LIQUOR
containers in the kitchen
There was gambling in jail once,
as far as he knew, and it was called