The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-12

Long was born IN what IS now
Winfield, seat of Vim
Parish, Aug. 80, 1893.
There was no recognizable village
or town there then. His father
Huey p. Long ST.. and his mother
Caledonia had settled with six chill
dren on a 320-acre red clay farm
The log house in which Huey was
born as the seventh child had four
small rooms. The year after his
birth his father built a better and
more substantial home.
Home in Uncultured Country
Down at the mouth Of the Missis-
sippi. in the city care forgot there
was Mardi Gras, French opera (the
oldest opera on this continent, in
Cidentally), three race tracks. gam
ing halls to rival Monte Carlo. Law
ish balls every night of the winter,
a cultivated and cultured existence.
The farm on which Huey vas born
was as far away from all that as If
il were on another continent. For
years there was not evG a railroad.
Eventually one was built the lit
tie depot being placed Oh his IA
Tiers farm. Another railroad was
built. and winfield became a vii
lage Of 5000 persons. One side Of
the farm became the business sec
ton of the town, and another part
of It became the residential region.
oscar K. %. k Allen. whom
Huey Long eventually made Gov
ernor of the state. grew up in the
same region. Herman B. Deutsch.
writing in the Saturday Evening
Post. quotes Long as saying:
Oscar Aliens family had corn
shelter. but we never had money
enough for one. so I contrived one
out of an old sewing machine pedal.
Every Saturday the gin would stop
ginning cotton and would grind
corn. They would give you a
bushel of meal for a bushel Of corn.
and take their pay out of the over
age. TIE meal would sell up that
much during the grinding. Every
Saturday I shelled a sack of corn
and toted it to the gin for meal
DisIiked Farm Drudgery
Huey did not take well to farm
drudgery and did as little of it as
possible. Along in his fourteenth
year something happened that re-
vealed to him that there were other
ways Of making a living.
a book peddler arrived in town,
rented an empty store and auc-
toned of a wagon load of worn
volumes. The boy listened to the
itinerant's stentOrian voice and was
impressed He decided to try 1t
himself. He took a SchOOlmate into
partnership and on credit they OBJ
tanned a supply of old books. in
GLIDING a number of Bibles. They
borrowed a wagon and mule and set
forth to a nearby sawmill camp. In
a weeks time. there and elsewhere,
they had disposed of their wares
and had $40 profit.
He tells in his autobiography,
Every Man a King of the unfor-
tunate outcome Of his first business
venture: We had only banjo and
a pair of scissors left in the wagon.
We sold them. too. Returning home
that night. after we had calculated
our profits. the mule pulling the
wagon made runaway going down
hill. tearing up the wagon and the
harness. Bang went the profits
Early Sympathy for TOilers
In that autobiography Huey was
quite frank about his reaction to
farm drudgerv: From my earliest
recollection I hated farm work. In
the field the rows were long. the
sun was hot. there was little COM
partnership. Rising before the sun
We tOiled until dark. after which
We did nothing except eat supper,
listen 10 the whipporwillS. and so to
bed. Sometimes We split a few rails
or hewed a CroSstie or two; occa-
StOnallv we cut wood or drove
team OF mules.
The cotton bOll-weevn had made
its appearance and added TO the al
ready undressing and improbable
work. Ny every sympathy has gone
out TO those who toll. At the age
Of 10 I made my first attempt to
run away from home. I got less
than so miles. I made another
effort a few years later but was
caught some 20 miles from Winn-
field
His experience with the wagon
load Of books. the discovery that
one could make a living merely by
talking. made a profound impress
sion on him. He practiced his voice
and became known around VIM
field as an expert auctioneer. AT
Is he was being professionally en-
gagged by farmers and business men
Of the region.
Loved Sound of Own Voice
The more he talked. the more he
liked il. He took up debating. and
Is remembered rs the best debater
who ever attended WINFIELD High
School.
~ Tx dEt u IL 4 Nd SCA4N -
a representative in debating from
the WINFIELD High School TO the
state high school rally which was
held At the Louisiana State Uni
verSity in Baton Rouge, the capital
Of the state. I Jared badly. but
was given honorable mention. The
following year. April. 1910 I was
again sent 10 the state rally as a
debater. declaimer. mile runner and
member Of the relay team. I mafND
no showing worthy Of mention in
any Of the contests except in de-
batting. IL which I won third place
and a scholarship 10 the Louisiana
State University"
But just about this time he got
himself expelled from high school
and his scholastic career came TO
a temporary halt. He and others