Evening star., 1934-09-09

| VIZ ave WV
sworn in.
"Huey had made Senator King oi
Lake Charles the President pro TEN
of the State Senate. When Cyr was
sworn in as Governor, he vacated the
office of Lieutenant Governor. Sc
King became Lieutenant Governor. o.
course, Long was still Governor, as
Cyr found out to his sorrow. Then
after Long had Allen elected Governor
in January, 1892, Huey resigned the
office and went on to washington
King became Governor, and served
till Allen came in. Cyr was left ou'
| in the cold!"
Senator and Governor.
Long was Senator-and he was, In
fact. also Governor. He directed the
State government Of Louisiana by wire
and phone from Washington.
In August, 1882, he went Into
Arkansas and in q whirlwind campaign
literally swept Hattie Caraway into the
Senate from that neighboring State
The next month he demonstrated his
power in Louisiana again by electing
his friend, John H. Overton, to the
Senate against the veteran Senator
Broussard. It was no secret that Long
dreamed of going into many other
States to elect men Of his own choos-
ing to the United States Senate, SO
that some day he might control that
body. He is now reviving that 1nten-
ton, his friends say.
Then came the Walmsley fight In
New Orleans. The city had never
supported Long. The Kingdsh had
never been able to control the city
organization. He won his elections
without New Orleans majorities.
And that fact brings forth the key
to this whole fight: The power Of the
Kingfish in Louisiana Is at stake. On
the surface, it is a primary election to
name the Congressman, q justice OF
the Supreme Court and a public serv-
ice commissioner. Beneath the sur
face it is a life-and-death struggle OF
Huey Long to place New Orleans, the
big black sheep of Louisiana, in the
fold to be sheared and whitewashed
But why say it with armed men?
Why the sudden night raid on the
State registration ONCE? Why keep
the registration books under guard,
night and day?
All, you have to know the ways OF
Louisiana politics. In Louisiana, o
voter makes out . registration sheet
and his name Is entered in the book
Then he can vote. Supposedly. But
lots of mistakes can be made on the
registration sheet, and one mistake
gives the registrar an opportunity to
throw it out. Now, 1t is the custom
for party workers to stand close by
the desks of their respective wards in
the registration office when the names
are being registered.
John Doe comes in to register. The
clerk glances over at the ward leader.
A motion of the hand means He's
o. K. Register him" Another mo-
ton, such as the drawing of the
finger under the chin, means Hes
opposition. Cut him off"
Over in the Choctaw Club, Walter
B. Hamlin will obligingly explain just
how the registration business works.
The Choctaw Club is the "old regular"
Democratic city organization, and
Hamlin is the chairman of the Old
Regular Committee on Registration.
Scratching Voters.
Here's registration slip. It has
% places blank, to be filled out with
name, age and the like. Suppose one
Of our voters goes in and makes one
mistake. The clerk throws it out.
The clerks over there are all controlled
by Huey Long, and guarded by ma
chine guns. They've knocked of 20
600 names Of our legal voters!"
Back to see Mr.. Christenberry.
and he cheerfully admits names have
been erased, and even raises Ham
Inns figure.
We've knocked off $4,000 already.
They were all illegally registered !
Anyhow, we're getting it back on old
Walmsley.
Last January, when 'Turkeyhead'
was running for reelection, we got
ready to contest $4,000 names. What
did the mayor do? Sent police squad.
and impounded the books. Took 'em
to the parish Jail, and kept 'em locked
up until the election.
We beat him to it this time! Huey
Is simply guarding State property,
thats all. It's solemn duty! And
when the voting takes place-well,
well have clean election this time
with the new powers given us by the
special session OF the Legislature"
Another thing that win be done, YOU
are informed, is that Huey will "clean
up" graft. vice and gambling in New
Orleans. That's a sore spot with
Mayor WalmSley'S political stalwarts
and they never wax so wrathful as
when denouncing Huey'S drive on
Wrong-doing. They explain the lib
eraP' situation that exists in New
Orleans Sure, there is some gambling
such as innocent bets on horse racing
and. of course, lotteries will be carried
on under cover like; and as for vice
one philosopher at the city hall ex-
planned confidentially that while there
is plenty of it, not one cent of tribute
is levied by police or officials.
From the window Of a newspaper
ONCE you are directed to enter a door
way across the. street to see how q
bookmaker operates his establishment
You pass through a small lobby and
back into large room. Three cashiers
take in the bets and pay out again
The race charts for the afternoon are
on the wall. AS the races are run, 9
youth with head phones chants out
the progress of the horses.
The Gambling Issue.
AS to lotteries, Huey's friends eSti.
mate that there are 40 big companies
operating from so to 200 stands
apiece. All hands admit that the
lottery business, among Negroes espe-
cially, is one of the city's big indus
tries. And the long people say that
the city administration wakes fat
| from it.
To all of which the walmsley sup
porters respond defiantly that Huey
didn't come out of the Governor
chair a pauperl And anyhow, they
ask, what about Jefferson and St
Bernard Parishes, adjoining New
Orleans? There, you are assured, are
the greatest gambling houses in
America And yet Huey Long has
always had these parishes by the