The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-03-23
Vagabond
from
Indiana
ERNIE PYLE
ERNIE PYLE

EDITORS NoTE-This rowing reporter
for The Times goes where he plesses,
when he pleases. in search of odd stories
about this and that.
DAToN ROUGE, La, March %.
II The spirit of Huey Long how
ers over Louisiana. You feel him in
the air, you are conscious of him
always.
In Louisiana they never say Huey
Long was shot. Or murdered. 1t
is always that he was 'assassinat-
ed" After hearing it while you
get the flavor of martyrdom.
T CAME up to Baton Rouge just
l. to see Louisianas Capitol.
II is big. You see it for miles
before you get to Baton Rouge, a
white shaft alone in the sky. It is
"a stories high. 1t is a startling
thing, and it is beautiful.
It's beauty grows as you get close.
1t sits on a rise, at the north edge
of town, and all around it for at
least block on each side are land
scaped gardens-graSS shrubs and
flowers, and fir trees and winding
walks. The effect is serene.
A hostess takes you through the
Capitol. You go into big lobby,
with elevators and a mail chute IN
front of you, as in an office build
ing
AT one end of the lobby is the
Senate chamber; at the other. The
House. They are lavish, but lavish
in good taste.
The huge metal entrance doors to
each chamber are paneled in bronze
plaques Of historic scenes from early
Louisiana. The lobby walls are great
soft murals of Louisiana working
scenes.
Behind the elevators. off little
hallway, are the Governors office.
The guide takes you back there,
and suddenly stops and says:
THAT door there. That's the one
Senator Long came out of when he
was assassinated. He fell right
there. The assassin stood by that
pillar there"
A T the fourth floor, the base"
- of the building stops, and
above it the great shaft of the
Capitol rises, on up for 80 stories.
From here UP it is really an Office
building. All the state offices are
in here.
Right up in the peak is an OBJ
servation tower. You step outside.
You peek over the edge. You catch
your breath.
All around is the fat country
side of Louisiana, with strips of
roads, and farms, and trees; all
fading into the timeless blue haze
that builds up around the horizon
rim.
On the west, just a couple of
blocks away, is the Mississippi. 1t
runs straight as ruler past Baton
Rouge. 1t is wide, and dull brown,
and seems fiat and still
And right down below YOU, so
far down there, are the Handicapped
grounds. They look different from
up here. The walks and the trees
make definite pattern.
A S you leave, you stroll along
4 n the winding walks down
through the vast gardens, down into
a slightly sunken valley, all erased
and sprouting with shrubbery.
Down in the middle the walks
converge amid a cluster of small
fir trees and bushes.
And there, in the center of the
grounds, about a hundred yards
in front of the main Capitol doors,
rests Huey Long.
There is just block of cement,
about 10 feet across, with one cor
ner of the square pointing toward
the Capitol
The block rises only about six
AAANAANo 4AO11l CllC oA0CWdlhS. IL Is
ordinary pavement cement. Not
even glazed finish. There is no
statue, or railing OF anything.
On each of the four corners sits
a flower pot or tall basket, with
fresh flowers.
And right in the center Is a mar
BILE marker about two feet high,
looking quite common and tenn
porary. and chiseled on it are these
homely words:
Huey P. Long
1893-1935
sleep on dear friend
And take your rest
They mourn you most
Who loved you BEST"
The is all. Here lies the King.
The immense living monument he
built for himself looks down upon
the simplicity Of the grave.