New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1916-12-15
THE FEDERAL JUDGESHlP

It is said that shortly after the death OF
Judge Pope, when Democratic applicants Tor
the office of federal district judge became n'-
merous. and at which time Mr.. A. A.. Jones
was a candidate for United States SENATOR
that that gentleman then declined to make any
re- ,omnendation whatever for the judgeship'
and that he assured all applicants that he
would keep his hands off," thus giving all
applicants an equal chance, for it was recog-
u;zed that a recommendation by Mr.. Jones
would be equal to an appointment.
Shortly after election the Department OF
Justice sent a Mr.. Graham to New Mexico to
investigate the personal qualifications OF the
different applicants.
There is nothing strange about this. The
Department of Justice has frequently IN the
past sent agents into districts in which there
was a vacancy, to investigate applicants. But
such Investigations have been carried on quiet
" and the reports to the Attorney General OF
the United States have been considered conf
dental. Not SO in this case, Mr.. Graham
came first to Santa Fe, where he managed to
have himself interviewed by newspaper repor-
tiers and let the public know generally what he
was here for. He is then said to have held a
lengthy conference with S~enat4r-Elect Jones,
u. s. Marshal Hudspeth, Governor McDon-
aid and Democratic Chairman Seligman at
which meeting a slate for federal appoint
ments as agreed upon. He then made a trip
over the state and interviewed the several APP
pIicants individually, after which he came back
to Santa Fe and it is rumored, held another
conference with Messrs. Jones, Hudspeth,
Mcdonald and Selig1nan. He then returned
to Washington.
Shortly after he left there began to be
ru1nors that Mr.. Andrew H. Hudspeth, the
present u. S. Marshal, with headquarters in
Santa Fe, would in all probability be appointed
to the Federal Judgeship, that Mr., James L.
Seligrnan, the present postmaster at santa
Fe, who is a brother of Mr.. Arthur Seligman,
TIC StdtC tIldiI man, "otlu DS dPPoihtSb NJ
of his court, that the vacancy in the office of
u. s. Marshal would be filled by the appoint
ment of Mr.. Cicero Stewart, of Eddy county,
who did excellent work for the party during
the campaign, and that the Santa Fe p%ostof-
flee would be filled by the appointment of Mr..
Adolph A. Hill, who failed to receive the no.
mination for Corporation Commissioner on the
Democratic ticket, but later did excellent work
for the election of the fusion county ticket in
Santa Te county. upon which Mr.. Arthur Selig-
man was candidate for chairman of the board
of county commissioners. and which ticket,
with the generous assistance of the state chair
man, was elected by handsome majOrities,
while the Democratic state ticket in Santa Fe
county lost by majorities ranging from three
to six hundred.
1t is sad that a great many deserving
Democrats throughout the state who do not
happen to belong to the Jones-McDonald-
Hudspetl wing of the party which recently
annexed Mr.. Seligrnan are not at all pleased,
with this frameup and the wholesale parcell-
ing out of the best federal appointments in
this manner, Mr.. Stewart being the only new
man on the slate and the only one who is
not at present holding a fat political job.