The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-19
BY EARL Sparkling
Inns Snerial Writer


nOred him while he was waglng his
obscure fight in Louisiana, a state in
which the total vote has never eX-
ceeded 300.O 900. In New York City
newspaper reference rooms you will
find one thin envelope covering his
career up to Washington, and a fat
score or more thereafter.
He had helped elect Franklin D.
Roosevelt to the White House, but
almost within weeks he had broken
with the man whom. in typical Ian
guage, he called the big boss.
Month by month his attacks upon
Roosevelt and the Administration
became more determined and vitU-
perative. and he climaxed them with
fight to force a Senate investiga-
ton of Postmaster General jim
Farley, Roosevelt's political war
horst
Had 30 StenOgraphers Working
His Share Wealth" program,
with which he promised TO give
every worker in the nation at least
$500 a year. had been a formless,
almost casual, thing when ne first
strobe on the floor of the Senate.
The other Senators and the White
House watched it grow until he had
some 30 stenographers working in
his Offices and was receiving up to
10000 letters and kilograms a day.
At his peak. he claimed that he
had more than 100000 members Of
his "Share-the-W Wealth" clubs, scat
tered throughout the nation. and
was openly bossting: Il think
ought to do away with both the
Democratic and the Republican
parties" Everywhere he went
through the country thousands
flOckcd to hear him.
In New York City he debated with
Norman Thomas before a hostile
Socialist audience. and at the end,
While Thomas slipped away, was
mObbed by listeners who wanted to
get a better look at him. In Des
Moines, in April of this year, 10000
farmers stOmped their feet and
shouted when he cried: The Lord
has called America to a barbecue
and 5O0O0000 are starving"
Third Party Move Predicted
Astute political observers saw this
meeting as the basis of third party
farm movement which might sweep
the entire West
1t is generally conceded that his
Share Wealth program, with
the millions of fanatical followers
who had lined up behind him, was
the chief reason President Roosevelt
introduced his SO-called "sOak-the
rich" tax bill in July, 1885. Long
Immediately said that the bill was
a political Subterfuge which would
rediStribute wealth to the extent Of
providing every person with exactly
$3.50.
Meanwhile. he had not been idle
in Louisiana. He had elected his
friend. John Overton, to the United
State Senate.
Admittedly he taxed state workers
10 per cent of one months salary to
finance the campaign. His enemies
obtained a Senate investigation of
campaign expenditures, but a Senate
subcommittee after sitting in
Louisiana for weeks found nothing
on which it could take formal
action
The New Orleans ring. headed by
Mayor T. Semmes WalmSley. chose
to fight again, and Long assembled
the National Guard to keep peace
and order in the city" He won, and
then proceeded to jam through the
State Assembly a final series of laws
which virtually deprived New Or
leans of all local government. Lead
ers of the city ring gave up and
flocked to his side until finally
Mayor WalmSley and one aid were
left fighting him alone.
Battled With Ickes
His final move to make his die
tatorship complete in Louisiana was
a bill providing that all Federal
funds expended in the state must
be spent under his direction. Harold
l.. IckeS. Secretary of the Interior and
PWA administrator. threatened to
cancel all Federal public works in
the state, and Long replied that he
could go slap damn to hell"
Later Long called the secretary
Lord High Chamberlain Ickes. the
Chinch bug from Chicago" and
warned that if the Federal govern
ment withheld funds Louisiana
would refuse TO pay Federal taxes.
BY now he was hated by conser-
vativeS. New Dealers and Commu-
niStS alike. but his power kept grow
ing and it was apparent he would
stop at nothing. In tire face of
ridicule and criticism, he said: L
don't care what they say about me,
so long as they say something
Tire newspapers paint me as a
clown Good. that will make people
come listen to me anywhere I speak.
That's all l want, to get the people
to come hear me.
Stung by Charge of FasciSm
The only thing I know that ever
really stung him was the often re-
peated charge that he was the first
American Fascist. He admitted
that he wanted to save capitalism,
Contended he was the only man who
could Go 1t. but thought of himself
as an old-faShioned Democrat.
What is a FasciSt?" he asked me
during one of his visits to New York
City That's an Italian word. l
don't know what it means any more
than I know what Marxism means.
I'm sick and tired of European
words being wished on us Americans
to describe what We are trying to
DO"
They say I'm dictator" he told
me once. But there isn't a thing
1 did down there the people of
Louisiana weren't for. You can't be
a dictator unless the people are for
you. The only people I dictated to
were the foreign corporations that
were running Louisiana. I dictated
TO them and made them like it."