Albuquerque Morning Journal Archive

Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a settlement on the Rio Grande River, west of the Sandia Mountains. Located at the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad and at the junction of I-25 and I-40, the first post office was established in 1851 as New Albuquerque. In 1882, its name was changed to Albuquerque. Founded in 1706, Albuquerque was named in honor of Don Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva Enriquez, Duke of Alburquerque, 34^th Viceroy of New Spain. In 1879, the New Mexico Townsite Co., a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, founded a new town in anticipation of the arrival of the first trains. Two Albuquerques and two post offices emerged, with the old town centered on the plaza and the new town on the railroad station. In 1886, the postal authorities designated the west station, Old Albuquerque, and the east station, New Albuquerque. Today, the entire area is called Albuquerque.

By the early1900s, enterprising businessmen had made Albuquerque the largest town in New Mexico. Thanks to its new trade and wealth, Albuquerque became the scene of the greatest newspaper competition in the territory. Between 1900 and 1912, six dailies and 15 weeklies were published. Founded in 1903, the Albuquerque Morning Journal was a Republican paper published by the Democrat Publishing Company. D.A. McPherson was the president of the paper, W.S. Burke was the general editor, and H.B. Hening was the city editor. The Albuquerque Morning Journal was printed daily in English. It claimed to be "the leading Republican paper of New Mexico supporting principles of the Republican Party all the time and the methods of the Republican Party when they are right." The most widely circulated daily in territory, it was preceded by the Albuquerque Journal-Democrat (1899-1903) and followed by the Albuquerque Journal (1926-). A daily copy of the Morning Journal cost 5 cents. The paper cost 60 cents per month if received by carrier and 50 cents if received daily by mail. An annual subscription by mail cost $5.

The Morning Journal reported local, territorial, international and national news on its front page. Among the items it covered was the resignation of Indian Inspector C.F. Nessler, who had been assigned to the Kiowa Reservation and who was charged with negligence by the Indian Rights Association. Widely respected, Nessler was eventually cleared of these charges; however, he decided to leave his post nonetheless.  Another story involving Indians described an incident in the Picuris Pueblo on November 17, 1905, when a medicine man, Antonio Maria Vargas, was accidentally shot and killed at a fiesta by a Carlisle Indian School graduate, Antonio Martinez, causing an uproar in the village. On December 4, 1905, an article appeared in the Journal entitled "The sorrowful Chink goes back." Apparently, 37 Chinese in Arizona and New Mexico found without "chock gees" or certified documents would be deported and were on their way to San Francisco to board transport for Hong Kong. On February 28, 1906, the Journal reported that Albuquerque needed another fire truck because a fire had destroyed an establishment. According to the article, hose wagon no. 1 was damaged and the driver was seriously injured in a wreck. Finally, the Albuquerque Morning Journal reported that George Curry took office as Governor of the Territory of New Mexico on August 7, 1907. Hundreds of guests were expected from Mexico for the ceremony.