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Show . " . tn te Sy Be i ad Pie Poe Et: 7 =. ! aa F ar ee psue 519 AB 1912 ty 1880 TO HISTORY believed by many of the people of the territory to be guilty of the of the committee being of the faith as the accused men; all were prominent members of the bar. The committee was ordered to prepare and file such charges as might be deemed at whatever cost, particularly the punishment of the men who had murdered Chavez, counseled by men of note but with biased judgment, he sacrificed the friendship and good opinion of men with whom his personal relations for more than twenty years had been of the most intimate character, by permitting it to appear that his adthe policies and politics involved in several collateral court proceedings growing out of the conduct of the defense of the Borregos.** ES father had that state. moved in 1858. He also graduated He came to New Mexico in 1881. at the rl Agricultural colegy In 1885, he was appointe f of the district court of the second judicial district by Judge W. H. aire which position he held until 1888. Upon the accession of Grover Cleve Pee the ‘presidency, Mr. Miller received the appointme nt of secretary of a nneta tory, serving his full term of four years. August 3, 1886, he married ae a Bostick, of Fort Smith, Arkansas. After his retirement from at secretary he devoted himself to business pursuits at Alburquerque the and ati la El Paso, Texas, where he died in 1909. ; 486 At the session of the supreme court of New Mexico, in Augus t. 1895, hi conJacob H. Crist, district attorney, appointed by Governor Thornton, charging ducted the prosecution of the Borregos, filed a number of affidavits ¢ “th unThomas B. Catron and Charles A. Spiess, attorneys for the Borregos, ilin the professional conduct during the trial. He also filed a pre ae matter. attention of the court to these affidavits, asking the court to act 1n er aa These attorneys were charged with having endeavored to procure false rei in from witnesses in the trial and in other ways to have acted with peti charges the matter of the giving of testimony in the case. The court P. Vietory, of sufficient gravity to call for an investigation, and appointeddeemed Jobn fF. of the governor, at that time holding the office of solicitor Catron and Spiess, the two remaining members and committed to a policy of enforcement of the laws of New Mexico endorsed a ‘brother-in-law general, William B. Childers, A. A. Jones, S. B. Newcomb, and Bernard §. Rodey, the first three being prominent political partisans, opposed to Messrs. Same party assassination of Chavez, he bended his entire energy to the conviction and punishment of these men. Satisfied of the guilt of the Borregos ministration Proper in its judgment. Under this order the committee prepared and filed five Separate and distinct specifications, charging five unprofessio nal acts. The court, composed of Chief Justice Thomas Smith, Associate Justices Laughlin, Collier, Hamilton, and Fall after hearing the testimony, dismissed the proceedings, Saying: ‘‘Prominent citizens of this community, officials in high standing, prominent members of the bar, reputable business men in large number, have come upon the stand and have testified, without qualification, that they would not believe these witnesses under oath, in consequence of their character, their reputation, and their standing in the community.’’ Each member of the court filed a separate opinion, the one by Justice Laughlin dissented, being, as is stated in the opinion, ‘‘irresistibly driven to the conclusion, however unpleasant it may be, that the legal evidence contained in the record sufficiently sustains the charge of unprofessional conduct on the part of the respondent during the Progress of the trial of said Borrego case and I so find.’’ *87 Thomas B. Catron is of German stock, his ancestors having from Germany to the state of Virginia in the year 1765. emigrated His grandfather was hristopher Catron, of Wythe county, in the western part of the state of Vie gina. His father was John Catron, third son of Christopher, who was born in White county, Tennessee, to which state Christopher Catron had removed from The mother of Thomas B. Catron was Mary Fletcher, of Montgomery Virginia. rounty, In Virginia. the year 1815, John Catron, his father’s family, with “emoved to Missouri and located at Old Franklin, the eastern terminus of the old Santa Fé Trail; thence the family removed to Lafayette county, Missouri, 1 1817, where Thomas B. Catron was born, October 6, 1840. Receiving his early education in the common schools of the county and in the asonic college at Lexington, Missouri, he graduated at the University ‘Ssouri in the class of 1860, with the degree of B. A., later having conferredof Upon him by the University the degree of Master of Arts. . At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in Hiram Bledsoe’s battery Mm the army of General Sterling W. Price, C. 8. A., took part in the battles of Carthage, Wilson Creek, Dry Fork, Lexington, and Pea Ridge. After the battle of Peg Ridge, with his battery he accompanied the army under General Van a. to Mississippi and was in the siege of Vicksburg. Later he took part in © battles of Corinth, Iuka, Farmington , Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, ‘e a ~ a, eae Fs ” Sp : . PERE = Py ee Ys s ar Pe ee ee eer ee = . « on a” ~ dee, de AE PR = ss . a Pte OF BAPE 4 oe Nten eS I ade iain ee ee # es aS gen TE a OSES oesere: Ne oe I Pe * am a — The great strike of employes of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad Company, identified with the American Railway Union, wherein upward of one thousand employes of the company, at the time in the hands of receivers, lost their positions, occurred during the administration of Governor Thornton. As an executive he took no part in the suppression of the troubles growing out of this strike. It was handled entirely through the courts of the first and fourth Judicial districts and by the department of justice at Washington, under direction of President Cleveland. The election held in November, 1894, resulted in the choice of Thomas B. Catron 487 as delegate to the 54th congress. Other than ee W. Hi. Brinker during his term as judge of the second district, was | ~ appointed secretary of the territory. Thoroughly committed to a policy of reform in the administration of the affairs of the territory, the governor’s well-known activity in matters of public interest found immediate opportunity for achievement in the discovery and punishment of the murderers of Francisco Chavez. Although the unhappy condition of the financial affairs of the country at that time prevented his employing himself along customary lines beneficial to the people, still he found abundant occasion for a display of his unique talents. Bringing to bear every resource within the grasp of the executive, removing the prosecuting and peace officers of Santa Fé county from office, believing them to be either indifferent or incompetent in the prosecution of the persons PF er . MEXICAN —— OF NEW FACTS LEADING A Soh Pa ap Gh AF GSPP ByPS arFig eB Fa ne . 518 |