The Socorro chieftain., 1907-06-29

investigation of the accounts of
Hon. III o. BurSum while hr
was superintendent of tile terri
torial penitentiarv will doubtless
be ready for publication soon.
Commenting upon some of the
circumstances connected with
this investigation aud the So
called investigation conducted at
the instigation and under the
direction of II. J. Hagerman, eX-
governor. the Santa Fee New
Mexican says:
Was there a conspiracy To
ruin II. o. Bursum, former super
intendent of the Territorial peni-
tentiary and chairman of the
Republican Territorial Central
Committee, officially, personally
and in business, to blacken his
reputation and good name and To
place him before the people of
the Territory as an embeZzler
and as a man recreant To the pub
lie trust reposed in him, by Ter
ritorial officials, 10y the Albu-
querqut Morning Journal and
other yellow sheets in their pay
and a lew New Mexico fake re-
formers!
In view of recent inveStiga-
tionS and events connected with
the case of II. o. BurSum ". the
Territory of New Mexico pend
ing in the Third Judicial Dis
trict Court for the county of So
corro in which Mr.. BurSum petit
toned for full judiciary inves-
tigatiOn into the accounts and
financial transactions of the Ter
ritorial prison during the term
for which he was its superin-
tendent and in which case Trav-
cling Auditor Charles V. Stafford
is the referee, the opinion iS
gaining ground that there was a
cowardly and infamous cOnspir
acy against Mr.. Bursum and
with view to diScredit him in
every possible way and present
him to the people as an embeZ-
zler and as a bOOdler.
EXPERTS REPORT Full. or ERRoRS
While but little has been as
certained so far concerning the
official investigation. which has
been in progress before Referee
Stafford for some weeks, sufficient
has been learned to make the
plain and unequivocal statement
that numerous errors both on the
debit and credit side, arithmetic
al and otherwise, omissions and
clerical inaccuracies have been
discovered to prove that the re-
port made by one Francis Nj.
Mcmahon then secretary OF the
Colorado Title and Trust Com
pany for and on behalf of the
Territory and by employment OF
Ex-Governor Herbert ]. Hager-
man is partially incorrect, par
TALLY incomplete and in many
items unreliable and not such a
document as would establish the
criminality, malfeasance or mis-
feaSance in Office of any official.
In short, it is not a report that
suStains in any manner the
charges made by the Hagerman
administration against Mr.. Bur-
sum. In this respect more can
not be said until the investiga-
tion is finished and the report
submitted to the court"
After stating several Signili-
cant facts connected with the APP
pearance of one Mr.. Mcmahon
at the investigation now in pro-
gress, and that gentleman's re-
markable loss of memory. the
New Mexican adds;
STRANGE LOSS or MEMORY.
1T is certainly passing strange
that this expert holding the con-
fidential position of secretary OF
the said company could not or
would not remember the agree
: ment between eS-Governor Ha-
german and the company in this
matter, when il is a we'll known
fact that a secretary of any COT
poration must, perforce, be as
we'll acquainted with its business
as the president thereof.
WHERE IS THE OFFICIAL REPoRTi
''Why was the officially signed