In New Mexico

Carl C. Magee is a rangy, blond, goodlooking westerner, in his early 50's. He is editor of the Albuquerque State Tribune. One evening last week he was seated in the lobby of a hotel in East Los Vegas, N. M., being interviewed by a woman reporter.

A former Judge, David D. Leahy, walked through the lobby. He suddenly struck Mr. Magee and knocked him to the floor. As Magee started to rise, Judge Leahy kicked him in the side, breaking two of his ribs. In the scuffle Magee grasped a revolver which he had had in his pocket and fired at Leahy. At that moment an employe of the hotel tried to seize Leahy. Magee's shot went through the peacemaker's throat. He fell dying to the floor. Leahy started again to kick Magee who was still down, and Magee fired twice more hitting Leahy in the arm. Then Leahy walked out of the hotel and Magee fell sobbing over a divan.

That was the latest scene in an epic of journalism in New Mexico. In 1920 Magee, a lawyer from Tulsa went to Albuquerque for his wife's health, and decided to buy a newspaper. So he picked the Morning Journal which was partly owned by Albert Bacon Fall, then Senator from New Mexico. Mr. Fall looked up Magee's record in Tulsa and found that he was "regular" and financially reliable. So Magee bought, Fall telling him that he was glad to get the money since he was about broke. Soon Magee began to expose corruption in New Mexican politics. Fall came to his office and demanded that Magee quit his attacks. Magee went on. One day Senator Bursum, then "on the outs" with Fall came into Magee's office and said in effect: "You have a loan of $60,000 from a Kansas City bank. It's due pretty soon. You think it's going to be renewed. It isn't. Get ready to meet it." Magee had only $25,000. He appealed to his readers for support and within 20 days, when the note fell due he had the money. Some of them brought the money to his office so the New Mexico politicians could not find out who had furnished it. The same thing happened again. Later Magee had to sell the Morning Journal for financial reasons, although its circulation had grown.

But he started another paper which grew rapidly. He continued to denounce corruption in New Mexico politics, naming persons and particulars. Once in walking through the state capital with his little daughter, a state officer whom he had accused of corruption suddenly struck him. For ten minutes they had a fierce fight on the spot, and then Magee pulled out victorious.

One day Magee was served with a summons for libel. The warrant was issued in San Miguel Countv, 160 miles away. It was charged that he had libeled a judge who lived 120 miles from San Miguel County. Magee went to trial. It was in Judge Leahy's court. Several other editors had been tried for libel there. Everyone had been promptly convicted, and everyone had chosen to quit publishing. So none of them went to prison. Leahy refused to allow a two-day stay of the proceedings until Magee's lawyer could arrive. A jury of "Spanish Americans" was chosen--no one could discover just how. None of them could speak English. Every day Magee wrote for his paper telling about the proceedings and every day the Judge cited him for contempt of court for the previous day's article. Magee called to the witness stand the judge whom he was accused of libelling. That judge testified that he did not believe he had been libelled. In five minutes the jury decided Magee was guilty. Judge Leahy sentenced him to a year to 18 months in the penitentiary. The Governor pardoned him.

Then Judge Leahy proceeded to try Magee on the contempt counts. Magee had said Leahy was corrupt, etc. Leahy refused to grant a change of venue to another court. Magee admitted on the witness stand that he had said Leahy was corrupt and still believed so. Judge Leahy leaned back and considered the evidence, then decided he was not corrupt and sentenced Magee to a year in jail and a fine of $4,150 for indirect contempt of court. Again the Governor pardoned him within 24 hours, saying that the whole affair had been "a blot on the state and a disgrace of the good people thereof."

During the short time that Magee was in jail his supporters brought him food so that he could not be poisoned. Two stood guard outside his window all night. Every hour they rapped on the window. He pulled on the light and waved to them to show that no harm had been done to him, then pulled it out and went back to sleep. Those were the only terms on which his followers had allowed him to go to jail, fearing that he might be done away with. They were armed and prepared to take him by force from the Sherifl if Magee had consented,

Sometime later Leahy called Magee into court again and tried him on another contempt count-- only five or six had been used up the first time and there were still several left. Magee no longer able to bear the expense of litigation took his case to a federal court. Judge Leahy questioned Magee who answered: "I deny that I am accorded due process of law. I deny that this is a court." Judge Leahy declared that statement was "direct contempt" of court (for which the Governor could not pardon Magee as he could for "indirect contempt"). He sentenced Magee again, but Magee got out by habeas corpus proceedings.

About that time the Teapot Scandal had developed. Magee was called to Washington and testified what he knew: that Fall had told him he was broke in 1920 and that a few years later Fall had bought more land, paid several years' back taxes, and put in improvements valued at many thousands of dollars on his ranches.

Last year Magee also took part in a political campaign that succeeded in defeating Judge Leahy for reelection. Leahy was verv bitter about his defeat. Magee declared that Leahy had threatened him. Last week's fracas in a Los Vegas hotel was the sequel.