The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-17
TAKE FIGHT TO
PEOPLE, WAS
HUEYS MOTTO
That's Way He AveTted
1929 Impeachment, Long
Told Writer.
BY EARL Sparkling
Times special Writer

The Senate Of the state assembly
Of Louisiana convened on May IS,
1929, as a court Of impeachment to
hear the charges the Lower House
had voted against Huey P. Long,
then governor.
OF the 10 charges made against
him. the House had voted only
eight. Significantly. the representa-
tives had avoided a vote on the
most serious of all the charges,
count No. 10. that he had attempted
to get Battling Bozman, his body
guard. TO murder Rep. J. Y. San
ders j. Of New Orleans, son Of a
former governor and one Of his
most implacable enemies. Hardly
any one in Louisiana took that
charge seriously.
John II. OVerton brilliant attor-
ney whom Long was later TO elect
to the United States Senate. had
charge Of the governors defense.
Mr.. Overton filed a demurrer to
the seven Of the voted charges on
ground that they had been voted
illegally after elspse Of the limited
special session which Gov. Long
had called for the sole purpose of
taxing the oil refining industry,
which chiefly meant the Standard
Oil Co.
D.r co,,Jo~~ tLa Youth vr-to~o
murder Huey had been accused of
plotting. spoke for two hours as
head prosecutor.
Long Springs His Coup
On two decisive votes. Gov Long
lost in one case by only one vote.
20 to 10. and on the other won by
a vote Of 81 to 18. The Senate adj
journed to consider matters. and
on the third day Huey Long pulled
his coup. Overton presented a
signed statement by IS Of the sena-
tors that they believed the i'm
parchment proceedings to be in
valid and unconstitutional and that
they would not vote to impeach.
Huey had obtained the sigma
lures before the Senate convened
the first day. The Is senators
represented more than one-third of
the state senate. The state Consti-
tuition required two thirds vote to
impeach.
The impeachment was over. Huey
Long. whom Chief Justice William
H. Taft once declared the most
brilliant lawyer who ever practiced
before the United States Supreme
Court" had won another battle
And within a little more than
year-two years and three months
after he had been elected Governor
-Huey Long had taken his cause
back 10 the people of Louisiana and
had been elected United States
Senator by $4,000 votes.
Among his unofficial biographerS
there seems to be a great deal Of
wonderment how he ma Gagged to
get Is senators to sign up before
hand against his impeachment. He
did eventually give each man a job.
Carried Fight to People
why, hell" ne told me one time.
I lust scared them out of their
pants. I went back to the people
of their parishes who had elected
them and told my story.
If you believe In the people. the
people will believe in you. I al
ways take my fights to the peop.c.
That's what the vested interests in
this country are afraid ola man
who can take his fights back to the
people If you can go back to the
people, you're a demagogue. But
what does that word mean, except
a man who can talk to the people
and move them. You're damned
right, I'm a demagogue."
While the House was impeaching
him and during the days before the
Senate convened to hear the
charges, he had made five TO seven
speeches a day out in the country
side. In addition. he had flooded
the state with his circulars. Virtu-
ally every newspaper in Louisiana
was against him, but he could print
a circular at night and have it in
nearly every rural home in the
state by noon the next day. He
used every state employe in the
distribution.
He licked the combined news
papers of Louisiana at every turn
and eventually founded his own
weekly, the Louisiana Progress.
which circulated not only in LouH
isiana but throughout the nation.
He admitted that the cost of cir