Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-02-15
Did PAXTON PUT
ONE OVER ON THE
RANK AND FILE?
Unterrified Are Asking Each
Other What Was the Object
of the Meeting Held in Santa
Fe Saturday.
ESPECIAL oisrsrcr TO wosNna JOURNAL
GanIn En EnL AI-h.a 49,. u.

Santa Fe, Feb. 14--What was the
object of the meeting?
This is the question that New Mex
leo democrats are asking each other
today, relative TO the stormy session
of the state central committee held
here yesterday.
During the session Of the commit
tee there were frequent expressions
from members to the effect that this
was the wrong time for a meeting.
that the party should clay low and
say nothing" at least until after the
adjournment of the legislature; that
no good could possibly come from
1ree-for-all fight among democratic
leaders at the exact time and place
that would make for the widest pub
Heity of party chickering's. and that If
democrats had to get 1t out of their
system they should have used better
judgment In the manner of doing it.
Paxtonian Politics.
One of the unterrified gave an in
teresting explanation of the why's and
wherefores of the meeting. "All this
time," he declared with sigh, I've
been saying that Jim Paxton was a
bum politician, but you've got to
hand it to him for this stunt. He
simply beat 'em to it,
Inquiry as to the construction to
be placed on this somewhat cryptic
remark drew forth the following
theory: Ever since the failure of the
First state bank i'm Las Cruces, Pax
ton has been under hot fire on ac-
count of his connection with the state
pAliauo CT a. pxHnilant
prospect of losing many thousand dol
lars by reason of that failure-a fire
which has been made even hotter by
The charges officially made ON the
floor of the senate by Mr. PaXton's
fellow townsman, Herbert b. Holt
From all parts of the state, 1t is said
demands for MIR. PaXton's resigna-
ton as state chairman have come.
For reasons best known to himself,
according to the theory advanced.
Mr.. Paxton didn't and doesn't want
To resign as state chairman of the
democratic party, and as the surest
means of perpetuating himself in the
office, he called a meeting of the
committee so that all members might
air their grievances. Figuratively, he
barred his snow-white bosom and SAID
Shoot"
only trtSt shot.
of course, nobody shot-that IS,
nobody except J. II. Crist, and tie
trouble with Mr.. Crist was that he
used an air-gun. For about ten min
utes of his sensational speech to The
committee the RIO Arriha county
member hit the bah hard. and un-
doubtedly scored heavily Ef he had
sat down at the end of that time
there Is no telling what effect his re-
marks would have had But Mr.
trlst didn't know when he was
through, and continued In weary
speech of three hours duration, which
was punctuated by sensational out
putst from Governor Mcdonald, and
Nheh ne was through everybody
preseht was sore--n0t at Paxton par
ticularR. but at everything in general
whether the call for the meeting
was part and parcel of the PaNtonian
strategy TO beat EN- TO IL" may never
be known, but if it was it worked ad-
mirably Inviting the democrats to
shoot at his barred breast, the state
chairman sat and smoked his briar-
root pipe and watched ;hem shoot
at each other His only concern
seemed to be to dispose of his some
what lengthy legs. which were all the
iilite eettHlS III MS way LOT the chair
in which he was sitting was not con-
structed to Mr. Paxton's peculiar STYLE
of architecture. And all the while
Secretary Guilfoil, who has been UNI
der no less hot fire than Mr. Pax
ton. sat in one Of the leather chairs
on the judges platform, with his feet
cooked up on the desk in front of
him, and looked If possible a trifle
more hOred than uSuol
Not only was Paxton not censured.
he was actually extended u vote of
confidence, Antonio Joseph. Ir., Of
Taos county. offered the resolution.
and 1t was passed without discussion
or opposition, but it should aiso he
added, without any noticeable enthas-
iasm.
MctiilI AS a PcacemalSer.
Judge W. r. McGill. of La Lande,
Roosevelt county. candidate for att0r-
hey general in the first state elscti N.
made What was. in the opinion of
many of those present, the best
speech delivered during the session If
me committee, and enc of the wiz
test ever heard in New Mexico
The beauty about Judge MeGnfs
speech was its opportuneness. It
,aine lust after Mr.. Crist had finished
MS highly sensational philippe against
aH those who, he declared, were re-
ePenslole for democratic distress