Evening star., 1937-09-02

Louisiana. If that
spells dictatorship, I am going to do
all l can to help the President estab-
llsh such dictatorship in the United
States. But, of course, there never
was any dictatorship in Louisiana.
The people ruled. Huey wanted to
give the people break"
Senator Ellender might have added
that, OF course, there is no dictator
ship in Germany because Mr.. Hitler
holds elections now and then and
wins by even greater landslides than
either Huey Long or Mr.. Roosevelt
ever experienced. Every time Mr.. Hit
Ter makes a speech about the popular
Will, he says he is acting for an over
Uhelmlng majority" Judging by the
way elections are controlled abroad
and also here, through about 40 State
political machines by the Farley bu-
reaucracy, there is no difflculty in
producing political Majority at any
time, especially since the Chief Exec
utlve has been given discretionary
power to allocate Federal funds to
strategic points in the electorate where
huge numbers of votes are concen-
trated
Favors Benevolent Dictator,
What is significant about Mr. FL
lenders frank comparison Of Roose-
welt tactics and Huey Longs methods
Is that the Louisiana Senator favors
a dictatorship of the Long variety
he feels benevolent dictatorship is all
right.
1t so happens that the oppressed
ninorities in the State of Louisiana
felt otherwise. Not only were all con-
stitutional rights made subject to the
vhim Of Huey Long as Governor of
the State, but he controlled the courts,
appointing rubber stamps to render
decisions that he wanted.
AS for the Legislature of Louisiana,
the members were for the most part
OF the Guf1ey type-the kind who take
their orders from the Chief" and
exercise no independent judgment in
behalf OF their constituents.
Huey Long controlled the executive,
government of the State of Louisiana.
1t took him some time to capture the
whole government, but little by little,
as he gained control of the election
machinery, he was able to hand-pck
candidates for the Legislature so that
they were virtually all beholden to
him. II ever there was a case in
of
ment, as guaranteed to every State
by the Federal Constitution was bro
ken down. it was in the State of Loui-
slana under Huey Long.
Indictments Later Dropped.
The Roosevelt administration fought
Senator Long because he attacked the
New Deal and indictments for income
tax evasion were filed by the Roose-
velt regime as a means Of harassin2
some OF Huey Longs neutenants
When Long was assassinated how
ever, and it was politically desirable
Tor Mr.. Roosevelt to make peace with
the Long faction in Louisiana politics,
the President, with characteristic f1ex-
ibllity if not indifference to morality
IN government, promptly agreed to let
the Department of Justice drop the
indictments, This incident has been
referred to in the press by Louisiana
critics as the second Louisiana pur-
chase"
So Mr.. Ellender is not revealing
anything new when he says he sees a
parallel between the Long regime in
Louisiana and Mr. Roosevelt's nation
al policies and methods, but it is new
to have person in authority con-
cede it.
AS matter of fact, the President
has given forth about as much talk
and has done about as little toward
share-the-wealth program as Huey
Long did There are now, after four
and half years OF conversation and
speechmaking, still one-third of the
American people "ill-nourished, ILL
housed and ill-clad," notWithstanding
that nearly $4,000, 100000 have been
spent and four years OF deficits have
been incurred. Mr.. Ellender favors
dictatorship and he is honest and
frank in admitting it. Most of the
New Dealers, however, still cling to
the pretense that they believe in de-
mocracy and in the rule of the ma
Jority-though the Democratic ma
chine is getting oiled up to produce the
necessary ma jority" in the 1898 cleo
tions to purge" the party here as they
do abroad OF all who dare to vote
independently In Congress.
(Copyrisht. 1879