Poor Decision
After his third victory as city attorney in 1914, he became more arrogant. For example, he used advertisement to humiliate his opponents and used the office to belittle them.
In 1915, Hot Springs' mayor and city council submitted a sanatarium and health resort proposal. It had the potential to revitalize Hot Springs and created great excitement. However, McLaughlin acted in a juvenile way because the project leaders had opposed him as city attorney.
McLaughlin's mother, Bridget, owned an office building in the proposed site of the sanitarium. McLaughlin advised he represented her and used any stall tactic to keep the project from going forward. His mother discovered this deception, berated her son. She agreed to sign over the property, seeing the project's potential. But time had passed and the financial backers decided not to proceed.
The town blamed McLaughlin for the loss and coincidentally he lost the 1915 election for city attorney.