Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-09-23
FULL v|ND|CAT|0N
OF /. 0. BURSUM
Judge Parker Ap-
proves sRefereeSaf-
ford's Report
RULING AGAINST TERRITORY
Dastardly Attempt to Ruin
Prominent Citizen Fails
Ignominiously.

ANONYMOUSLY.
During the session Of the district
court for Grant County now holding
in Silver City, Associate Justice
Frank w. Parker of the Territorial
Supreme Court, on Friday and Satur-
day last, the cause celebre of Holm
o. Bursum versus the Territory OF
New Mexico for auditing and account
ing as well as for settlement OF
the complainant accounts and finan-
cial transactions as superintendent Of
the Territorial penitentiary during
seven years, of the fund in his charge
and officially known and designated
as the convicts' earnings fund, came
up for a hearing, the mat
ter before the court being
the consideration and action on
the report of the referee, Travel
ing Auditor Charles V. Stafford, and
the bill of exceptions to the referees
report filed by the Territory of New
Mexico represented by its then
attorney general. former Attor-
ney General George w. Prichard,
and Attorney General Albert r..
Fall and Ormsby McHarg, spec
ial assistant to the attorney SEN
eral of the United States.
AT the hearing the Territory was
represented by Attorney General
Fall, the United States by e. p Hol.
combe, chief clerk of Division G, OF
the general land office, who was pres
ent on behalf Of Mr.. McHarg, and the
complainant by H. M. Dougherty, an
attorney of Socorro. There were sew
eral other attorneys present some
what interested in the case pro or
con. The court heard arguments
against the bill Of exceptions, and
also arguments for AID against the
annrh II The referee, report. Tho
exceptions were oyerrnlcd by the
court and after a careful and exhaus-
tive examination of the report and
listening to testimony adduced the
court approved the referees report as
correct and just, and gave judgment
in favor of Mr.. Bursum for $4,250 as
against the Territory of New Mexi-
CO. The record was made according
ly, in the district court for Socorro
county, where the case was pending.
History Of Case.
The history of this judicial trans
action is too well known throughout
the Territory When Herbert J. Ha-
german was appointed governor OF
New Mexico, certain members of his
administration, vindictive officials and
unscrupulous politicians made up
their minds that Superintendent H.
O. Bursum of the Territorial peniten-
tiary was crooked, a CRATER and a
boodler," had to be removed from
Office, and his "boodling transactions"
shown up. This was to be done for
political purposes and to kill Mr..
Bursum off as leader in the Repub-
lican party. Accordingly Mr.. Bursum
who cared nothing for the position,
having held it for the last five years
under the Otero administration at a
special and urgent request of the
then governor, resigned. Then
and thereafter secret inquisi-
ton was instituted and one
Francis P. Mcmahon, secretary
Of the Colorado Title and Trust
Company, was ostensibly employed to
examine the transactions OF
the convicts earnings fund Of
the penitentiary and was ostensibly
engaged upon this work for several
weeks. A drunken and disreputable
loafer was employed as assistant.
This mans signature is not worth
the paper it ie written on, but the
New Mexican understands he did
most of the disreputable work. False
affidavit men, blackmailers and shys-
ters came to the aid of these high
and mighty inquisitors and one fine
morning the territory was flooded
with printed copies of this alleged ex-
pert's report charging Mr.. Bursum
with a shortage Of $4,000 and insinu-
ating and intimating that he was
most heinous, good-for-nothing and
corrupt boodler. The leader in this
flooding business was the Albuquer-
que Morning Journal which supplied
every weekly paper that would pub
lish the rot with printed cop
les. Whether free or not the
New Mexican does not know
but hardly thinks so as the
Albuquerque Morning Journal is pro-
verbal for grabbing all 1t can get, no
matter how and acts upon the maxim
"the end justifes the means" The ex-
pense must have been heavy and it
is more than likely that the Albu-
querque Morning Journal bled the
Hagerman fake reform machine con-
siderably.