Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-06-15

, certed him. New Mexico, politically,
was under the thumb of ring that
maintained it's power through manipu.
lation of the non English speaking
Mexican votes in the state. Magee,
through his editorial columns, began
to speak up.
Mr.. Fall, prosperimg' in his new
cabinet position, spoke to Magee
about it, Magee replied by opening
up wider than ever.
Magee owed money to two banks
They abruptly refused to renew his
notes and foreclosed. Magee was com,
PEELED to sell his paper.
Started Weekly Paper
But in a few weeks he was back
again editing a weekly paper called
The Independent, which he later made
daily under the name of The New
Mexico state Tribune. He sold stock
to the people of the state and got an
/ instantaneous response.
! About this time, Magee took oc-
casion to criticize Justice Parker Of
the state supreme court. A criminal
/ libel suit was brought against him
but not by Parker, who later said he
did not believe the accusations of Ma
| gee libelous. And Magee was tried,
not in his home county, but in the
distant county of San Miguel before
his bitterest enemy, Judge Leahy.
The jury was composed of 12 Mexi-
cans, who could not read the SEN
tences they were expected to pass on.
During; the trial. the pages in Magee's
( law books relating to libel were torn
out, and the judge refused to give him
time to get new ones. Naturally. he
was convicted.
Magee expressed his mind about
| Judge Leahy; expressed it so vehe-
mently that Leahy cited him for con-
tempt of court on five counts He
ordered Magee to jail for 1S months.
The state was aroused Governor
Hinlle pardoned Magee in "a hours,
and the editor went back to his paper
and renewed the fight.
1t was then that Magee struck oil.
! Not in a literal sense, exactly, but it
! was momentous discovery.
When Magee bought the Albuquerque
Journal Fall told him he was broke.
Now. four years later, Magee found
that ten years back taxes on Falls
ranch were paid up, that extensive inn
provements had been made and that a
general air of prosperity had des-
cended on the place.
He gathered evidence documentary
and verbal, and in due time went to
Washington, where he told the senate
Investigating committee enough TO
start Senator Thomas II. walsh on
the trail that eventually laid bare the
whole Teapot Dome scandal.
Then the Scripps- Howard newspa-
per interests came to Magee's aid and
gave him new backingg He re-
turned to New Mexico to renew his
fighting campaign against the politi-
cal ring. 'B
Offered to Free Him
Leahy, meantime, had been wait
ing. He had reserved one of the
contempt charges against Magee,
waiting his time. Now he struck.
He revived this old charge, called
Magee before him and sentenced him
to three months in Jail after srand-
ing a solid hour excoriating him
from the BENCH Using such terms as
.;horse thief"
New Mexico came close to turmoil
Is
then. Hundreds of cowboys sent
word to Magee that they would, if
he asked it, ride in, storm the Jail
and set him free by main force.
Magee told them not to and ap-
pealed to the governor. Again the
governor pardone6 him. The sheriff
under Leahy's direction, reduced to
honor the pardon. 1t took SUI
preme court habeas corpus writ to
free the editor.
This was in the fall of 1924. Judge
Leahy was running for reelection
Magee took the stump and campaign
ed against him; campaigned so we'll
that Leahy was badly beaten in a
district where he normally could
count on 5000 majority
Magee's troubles seemed over. But
the worst was yet to come
1t was last August that Magee
went to Las Vegas on business. AS
he sat in the lobby of hotel, Leahy
entered, approached from behind and
knocked him to the floor. Then he
began to kick him, breaking three of
Magees ribs.
Killed BY Mistake
Magee, lying helpless, managed to
draw his gun. Te fired three shots.
Two struck Leahy in the arm But
the third, by tragic misfortune,
struck and killed John B. Lassiter,
who was trying to hold Leahy back.
And so Magee was arrested. First
he was charged with first degree
murder. Then the charge was re-
duced to manslaughter.
So now comes the crisis. Magee
goes on trial. Will the jury decide
he must go to prison-or will the
fighting editor be free to carry on
his old struggle ?-(Coypright, 1925,
NEA Service Incl