The Clayton citizen. [volume] (Clayton, Union County, N.M.) 1906-19??, 1916-12-28

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elected Lieutenant Governor, that he
would soon become governor Of the
state, and thus be able to carry out his
plan to run for United States SEN
ator from the Governors Office.
Mcdonald did not realize his own
weakness; few politicians ever do. He
thought his great task was to "pIt
de Baca across" so that he would be
sure to become Governor. Hence, he
directed all his energies, as did the
state committee, to elect de Baca. Not
a line was written, nor dollar spent
to further the candidacy of another
man on the Democratic State ticket,
save de Baca and Jones, and very lit
tie was said about Mr.. Jones. Nc
Donald, in company with Ex. Gov.
Otero, visited every county in the
state, and covered Mr.. Bursum with
slime. So vile we're they that no other
candidate on their ticket would travel
in their company, save Mr.. de Baca
who made one trip with them to the
Pecos Valley. They succeeded in de-
feating Mr.. Bursum, but both of them
went down with him in defeat. Gov
ernor Mcdonald was overwhelmingly
repudiated by the people of his own
county, and ran almost 5000 votes be-
hind president Wilson in the state.
Now the action of the people in
terfered materially with McDonald's
plans. If their will was carried out,
he realized that he would retire to
private life, and saw the chances of his
going to the United States Senate
slipping away. What was he to do,
in order to retain his grip on the ma
chine, and keep in the limelight?
Subsequent events demonstrate that
he has not been asleep at the switch.
Immediately after the election, he
appointed one Elmer E. Veeder of Las
Vegas legal advisor Of the Governor
What did he need legal advisor for?
He had refused to appoint one after
Mr.. Wade resigned, because he said
he didn't need one and would save the
state the salary. After he was defeat
ed he only had two months to serve,
and had nothing to do save issue a
Few renuisitions and sipn commissions
for notaries public. When the facts
are known, his act is readily under
stood.
Mr.. Veeder is perhaps closer to Gov.
elect de Baca than any other man in
the state. He has, for years, been de
Baca's legal and political advisor.
j An article in the Sundays issue Of
the Albuquerque Journal let the cat
out of the bag, and throws an illumin-
ating light upon the Governors ac-
tion. This paper stated that Mr.. Elmer
E. Veeder, legal advisor to Gov. Nc
Donald, left for California to explain
to Gov. elect de Baca that he was in
no danger of losing his Office by fail
ure to qualify on the first of January,
and that he could, with safety, remain
in California until his health was such
that he could return to New Mexico a
well man.
Any doctor viii tell the reader of
this article that pernicious anaemia is
E m incurable disease, and that a pa
tient afflicted with it will almost GER
tainly die within eighteen months
from the time the disease is contract
ed. This being true, the motive in
sendinp the LEGAL advisor to Govern
or Mcdonald to California is at once
apparent. Mr. Mcdonald don't want
Mr.. de Baca to take the oath of Office
because once he takes the oath Mr.
i Mcdonald becomes a private citizen
7 with no duties of public nature t
! perform. He can't do much toward
furthering his chances of becoming
: United States Senator by herding anC
: branding cattle in Lincoln county. 4
man doesn't get much notoriet!
"punching cattle" if he attends strict
! ly to his own business. Hence he il
trying, by every means possible, t,
y persuade Mr.. de Baca's close friend
was dispatched post haste to Los An
geles to assure Mr.. de Baca that Gov
ernor Mcdonald would quietly an
peacefully surrender the office to hin
ut any time he presented himself i
Santa Fe; that, regardless Of his righ
to qualify after the first Of January
e no question would be raised by him o
d this point,
S Of course if some other perso
: should raise the point, and the court
should decide that Mr. de Baca ha
abandoned his office by not qualifyin