New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-06
Harding's Ideas
Get First Test
In New Mexico
Candidacy Of Senator Bur-
sum for Reelection TO
Register First Popular
Reaction TO His Policies
Local Feud Splits Party
Democrats Making a yigor-
GUS Fight in Effort to
Rejuvenate Organization


WASHINGTON. Sept. 5.--The first
test of how the Harding Administers
ton is appealing to Mr.. and Mrs. Voter
is just two weeks Oft. Official Washing
ton is studying the political straws
blowing down in New Mexico with
more real interest than any one cares
to admit
Senator Holm o. Bursum, who was
appointed by Governor Merritt G..
Mechem to fill the vacancy caused by
the appointment of Senator Fall as
Secretary of the Interior in Harding's
Cabinet, will face his electorate for
the first time on September 20, when
the election will decide who is to
serve out the remainder OF Senator
Falls term.
The leaders of the Democratic party
have crawled out Of the cyclone cellars
in which they hid last November dur
ing the Harding landslide, and have
been moving heaven and earth to make
a showing on this election which will
inject ginger in the Democratic or
ganization all over the country. They
want something to remove the hopeless
lcthargy which has enveloped most
Democratic workers since last Noyem-
Der and they think a campaign on ma
+ional issues will accomplish more in
this direction than anything else.
Harrison Opens Barrage
Sc they have been making the fight
i'll New Mexico virtually an attack on
the Harding Administration. The best
picture of it can be obtained by recall
ing the recent attacks o. everything
President Harding has done by Senator
Pat Harrison, of Mississippi. Mr.. Har-
rison is closer in sympathies and po-
lltlcal judgment to the present powers
that be in the Democratic national or
ganization. probably, than any other
member Of the minority party in Con-
when he accepted the McAdeo declina-
ton to be candidate at its face value
and became the floor leader of the Cox
forces in the convention, he has been
the right-hand man of both George
White, the Democratic National Chair
man, and Ed Moore, Cox's manager at
San Francisco and probably his closest
political friend now.
The Democrats have been very
shrewd in deciding to make national
events the issue in the campaign in
New Mexico--from the standpoint Of
the Democratic party as whole. They
have been reckless, to say the least,
from the point of view of the New
Mny essf, %yny> All -txr.- -
have jeopardized the winning of seat
in the Senate in order to make the re-
suit national .1 instead Of a local Den-
Republicans Split in State
The point is that there is so much
bitterness inside the Republican ranks
in New Mexico that if the fight had
been made on strictly local issues the
probabilities are that Bursun would
have been defeated. The Republican
national leaders hope that the drive by
the Democrats will result in the New
Mexico Republicans rallying behind
Harding and putting their personal diff
ferences aside for the time being. At
such long range it is impossible to
tell here whether that will happen or
not
Richard II. Hanns is the Democratic
candidate against Senator Bursum. AL
ways q close state, New Mexico gave
Senator Fall, probably its favorite son,
majority Of less than 1000 in 1918,
while in 1916 it gave its electoral vote
to Wilson and elected A. A. Jones,
Democratic Senator. Bursum has been
identified for years with the Fall Haw-
Mns-Sully-Bursum combine, which has
dominated the Republican politics of
the state. In 1920, however, Bursum
defeated his former political associates.
who desired to renominate Governor
O. A. Larrazolo. He succeeded in nomi-
mating and electing his own candidate
Merritt C. Mechem, who, in turn, ap-
pointed Bursum Senator.
The bitterness developed in this row
within the state organization has never
been patched up. Secretary of the
Interior Fall is said to have opposed
the appointment of Bursum to succeed
him in the Senate and, in the present
contest, is reported to be so much de-
voted to his Cabinet duties that he has
found little time to assist the Bursum
campaign.
Senator Bursum's activity in pre-
venting the denomination of Governor
Larrazolo, Mexican, irritated the
Mexican vote in the state, and this
has resulted in a Mexican candidate
| Appolona Sena, running for the Sena-
torship as an independent Republican
/ Sena has a negligible chance to win