QUE PASA
Newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico
June 2015
Maximilian Eugene Frost
by Peggy Chong
Max was born January 1, 1852 in Vienna, Austria, although he often told people, and recorded in many documents, that he was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was orphaned as a young child. His father died in a battle during the Civil War and his mother was reported to have died at age 48. There were seven children in the family, but it is not known how old Max was at the time of his mother's death, or where he was at that time. There is little independent documentation of his early life other than Frost's own accounts.
In January of 1867, riding high on the Civil War rhetoric, Max lied about his age and signed up for the Army in Brooklyn, NY. When he entered the Army, an opportunity for a better education was presented to Max, and he took advantage of the government's needs to expand its size and new communication options. Max was eventually assigned to Santa Fe, New Mexico with the Signal Corps.
When Frost arrived in Santa Fe with the Army in 1876, he found his home. He found a place where he could control and expand his destiny, and the destiny of others as well. He believed in the Manifest Destiny of the "White American." Max set out to do what he believed was his calling, to Americanize the Indians and Hispanics of the Santa Fe area and New Mexico.
His first job in the Army involved monitoring and maintaining the telegraph wires for Arizona and New Mexico. This put him in direct communication with the Western end of the territory, the military, and the rest of the country, giving him access to information that most people did not have. Max signed up with several newspapers back East to become their Western correspondent. When news came to him over the telegraph, he re-wrote the news into a story and sent it off to the papers back East for a bit more pocket change.
As part of his job, he traveled across the territory of New Mexico, surveying lands, water and mineral resources. He brought back information and stories for the local Santa Fe papers. This translated into writing feature stories for the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. He became the editor of the New Mexican in 1883 and soon was its owner. He used the paper to promote the Republican agenda, making him a valuable leader in the Republican party.
Another of his assignments was to head up the land office in Santa Fe, being appointed by the President in 1881. He was paid through the fees that he collected from land transfers and mining fees from those wishing to purchase lands in the newly-opened territory. At this point in New Mexico history, many of the land office personnel became wealthy, because they had the power to decide the legitimacy of land claims and to whom the titles would be given. Such a position had a lot of power and influence that could be bought, and in many cases, land was bought and sold but not based on the merits of the claims. Today, many would say that Max Frost was a greedy man, skimming off the top of the land sales as well as openly discriminating against the Indians or Hispanics who had lived on the land for generations by giving their land to the white people, Republicans, and the military for U.S. development. Max achieved the rank of Colonel while in this post.
By 1883, The Santa Fe Ring and its activities were becoming a hot topic in Washington, D.C. New Mexico had a reputation of lawlessness and corruption. Charges were brought against Frost in 1885 as one of the Ring's leaders. President Cleveland targeted Max specifically and wanted him tried and jailed for his activities with the Ring. Max was tried for his greed and was eventually acquitted. Much is written about the Ring and can be read more in detail in books such as All Trails Lead to Santa Fe, so we will not go into more detail here.
Max became blind in the last two decades of his life. He had Locomotor Ataxia, a disease that causes jerky movements of the arms and legs. He lost his teeth, and he slowly lost control of his legs until he could no longer walk. Some news accounts say that this was caused by a carriage accident, that the fall triggered the Ataxia.
By 1899, Frost had lost enough vision that he felt it was necessary to hire someone who could become his right-hand man at the newspaper. He hired Paul Walter, a newspaper man from Colorado. Although Walter started as a reporter, within four years, Frost had promoted him to assistant editor.
Frost's illness and blindness did not stop him from networking and traveling, which were necessary to maintain his contacts and influence. His wife Maude often traveled with him. She gave birth to their son in Kansas City, MO, on one of their travels. When opponents discovered that Max was no longer the physically strong man he had been, Max invented himself once again. As a blind man, he told the press, he could work more efficiently than a sighted editor. Some people with Frost's ill health might have withdrawn from the public light, but not Max. He served on the Santa Fe school board, traveled, and continued to write and publish his newspaper.
By 1901, his condition had gotten to the point that he took to his bed a good deal of the time. He had lost all his teeth, was paralyzed, and was now totally blind. But he was still in control of the newspaper and his other affairs. His mind was still clear. But in a declining physical condition, he realized that he was losing the control that he held over people. This was a strong reason to keep control over the newspaper. His articles and editorials represented the power that he held over the community and its citizens.
Rival newspapers had a field day in 1906, when on Thanksgiving Day, Max was in his office working on the newspaper when the telephone rang. Max was used to the old days when a yell from him would bring about anything he wanted. Max yelled for the boy in the office to answer the phone. As it was Thanksgiving, the boy had gone home to his turkey dinner. The phone kept ringing. Max, who was used to others doing for him and covering up his blindness rather than learning how to do more things without his sight, fumbled for the phone, but could not find it. He yelled, then he yelled even louder. Max was known for his loud voice. Suddenly, his false teeth fell out, and his jaw snapped. His bones were degenerating from his ataxia. When the doctor was called, he declared that the fracture was a compound one and would not heal well.
In 1908, Max sold the New Mexican to Paul Walter, who would remain the editor for many years. The end was near, and he knew it.
Max was a founding member of the Masons in New Mexico, serving in many leadership positions well into the twentieth century. In 1902, he was the very first New Mexican to receive the 33 Degree, the highest honor the Masons can bestow on their members. He was also the Secretary of the Bureau of Immigration since 1897. He was a founding member of the White Oaks and Kansas City Railway. He served on the Central Committee for the Republicans in New Mexico for 25 years, leaving that position shortly before his death. He was the first President and founder of the Fairview Cemetery in Santa Fe. He served on the local historical society and gave generously and regularly to these and other organizations in Santa Fe. He purchased land around the area and continued doing so until the last years of his life. For example, he purchased the Alameda Ranch in 1900, which brought him additional income.
After selling his paper, he went to a sanitarium in Kansas for medical care. when the end was near, he wanted to go back to Santa Fe and die there. By most accounts, Max died at his home on October 13, 1909.