The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1930-01-30
AMERICA HAS ONE REAL
2 PALACE .al

There is in existance in the United
States one real palace which has an
undisputed right to the name. This
is the palace of Governors" at Santa
Fe, New Mexico, which has been used
by Spanish, Mexican and American
governors. Among the famous Ameri-
cans who have occupied the palace
are General Phil Kearny and Gener-
al Lew Wallace, the latter of whom
wrote part of his great work s'Ben
Hur" while living at the palace. In
an interesting article on this historic
building in the current issue of the
National Republic, Mr.. Louis +. War
ner, chairman of the Pueblo Lands
Board, says in part: .,a. y9g
"Of the nearly one hundred rulers
who have based their activities here,
there were governors general, Pueblo
leaders, Mexican jefe ,politieos or po-
litical chiefs, Federal and Confederate
colonies, civil and military governors.
Here the courts sat, the subordinate
officials acted, the legislative assem-
blies of what name or character gath
cred. This place has been the. scene
of all sorts of juntas: delegations Of
Indians journeyed for miles to offer
allegiance, to pay their respects after
the annual pueblo elections, to seek
aid or to register complaints at the
treatment they were receiving.
"In 1875 seventy or more Indians
came bringing presents of buckskin,
chickens, beans and other articles,
hoping thereby to receive the release
of forty three men sold into slavery
at the mines for connection with GER
tain witchcraft charges preferred
against them at the Pueblo of San
Ildefonso. Here, Billy the Kid, that
noted outlaw of the Lincoln County
Cattle War, came in the dead of night
for an interview with Gen. Lew Wal
lace. Here the last three chapters of
Ben Hur were written and the pre-
vious chapters brought here in manu-
script were revised. 1"'
Here, Kearny abolished for all
time the exhorbitant charge of So per
sheet for government paper held to be
necessary in all contracts and legal
papers. Here the orders were issued
for the erection of Fort Marcy, on the
1 heights to the north and east of the
town. From here Kearny started on
his expedition to California; Doni-
phan first against the Navajos and
later to Mexico, both in the fall of
1916. From here went Governor
Perez to his death in 1887, and Cover
nor Bent ten years later. Here Con
zales, an Indian, was elected COVER
nor, after the death of Perez, with the
aid of Armijo, only to be killed by. the
summary order of the latter few
weeks later.
"Here 1t. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan
danced in 1879 and here Calhoun, the
first Indian agent, came in 1849. No
doubt Sherman, Miles and Wood
were frequent visitors, as was Kit
Carson. From here went the expedi-
ton in 1862 to Missouri; from here
also went the military expeditions at
various times against the Apache,
the Ute or the Navajo. Here Colonel
Price, a former congressman, orga-
nized the expedition to Embudo, Taos,
and Mora following the tragic death
of Governor Bent. Here Padre Marti
nez presided over the first session of
the council after the territory was
organized in 1851. Here the Kearny
code, which was to become the basic
law of the territory, was drawn up
and proclaimed.
Functions of every character have
occurred here; social, political and
civic. Probably the most exciting of
all was the siege of 1880, when the
building became a veritable fortress.
Probably the Spaniards, who had
gathered there for their last stand,
would have been successful had their
water supply, from an acequia which
was near, not been cut off. After this
the result was inevitable"