Evening star., 1939-12-31
Veteran Editor Seeks
To Break Ring Rule
In Louisiana Politics
Series Of Exposures
To Be CIimuxed by
January Is Primary
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW ORLEANS, La, Dec. 30.-A
Virginia minister's son after 40 years
as a reporter and editor, now is
engaged in his toughest editorial
battle.
Editor James Evans Crown of the
New Orleans States, four years older
than the newspaper, which has its
6Oth birthday anniversary, January
3, let go the first strong blast against
the political empire of the late
Huey P. Long last June.
Since then there has been series
of exposures, charges, indictments
and convictions. On January 16,
the machine faces further test in
the Democratic primary.
Huey. as Governor Of Louisiana,
made Mr.. Crown a major on his
staff. That didn't bother Mr.. Crown
much although he still likes the
title. In short order, he began
taxing Huey apart in his editorials.
Now he's happiest when trying to
pin back the ears of Huey's brother
Gov. Earl K. Long, who is seeking
to keep his job.
Dictates His Editorials.
Crown dictates his editorials like
a man making a stump speech:
Roaring, ranting, believing, quoting
the Bible. gasping in admiration at
his points. On Saturdays he writes
a religious editorial which is the
lead editorial of the day.
He can't use a typewriter and
says he never worries about gram
mar or punctuation.
II don't care about that" he says.
I'm writing for the man in the
street. I'm not writing high-class
editorials. II I need high-class
ones, I have enough high-class writ
ers to turn them out"
A story he published last June
was the opening blast in a series
Of newspaper stories which blew
the lid off Louisiana's political pot.
Within three weeks the then Gov.
Richard W. Leche resigned and DR..
James Monroe Smith former pres
ident of Louisiana State University,
fed to Canada.
Within three months Smith, Sey-
mour Weiss, hotel man ally of Huey
Long. and three others were con-
victed of mail fraud involving a
$4,000 "double-dip" at the univer-
sity's expense.
Mr.. Crown sat on his bed and
cried that night.
AT last we get break" he said
breaches on Request.
He never graduated from college
and believes he set record for jobs
held on American newspapers from
New York to Denver. He takes over
Sunday pulpits, at minister's re-
quests, and breaches sermons with
themes like Don't Sell God Short. "
Members of his staff swear he
marks the pages of his sermon with
losing race horse tickets.
Born in Fauquier County, Va, the
son of Methodist minister, James
H. Crown and Hannah Eliza Stone,
he entered Randolph Macon College
at 13 and five years later was still
there. He quit to study law at War
renton.
1T was at Warrenton," Mr.. Crown
says, that I became such a great
lover of horsefesh. Law was too
hard and too dull"
He wandered into Washington
drug store owned by his cousin who
was talking to Capital newspaper
man.
Say" said the cousin to the
newspaperman "can you get my
cousin job on a paper? He's too
damn lazy to study law or go back
to college"
A Journalists Itinerary.
He went to work on the Washing
ton Times. This was his itinerary
from then on:
Two other Washington newspa-
pers; Philadelphia, Richmond, the
New York Journal of Commerce, Sun
World, Journal. Norfolk, Atlanta
Memphis, st. Louis, the Chicago
Chronicle, Examiner, Inter-Ocean
Tribune, Evening Journal: Denver
Chicago, New York, Chicago, New
Orleans. the Chicago Inter- Ocean
and Examiner and New Orleans.
On the Norfolk Dispatch helped
elect a Mayor, and was beaten and
shot at He left the Denver Re-
public after a New Year party. On
the Memphis News he was sent to
cover a Mississippi River flood and
never came back.
While Crown was city editor of the
States under Col. Robert Ewing's
ownership, Huey Long, then can
didate for Governor, often visited
the Office and frequently wrote copy
about himself. Those were the days
before plenty in the kingdom of the
Kingfsh.
Huey handed one story to Crown
who looked at it and exclaimed:
"Why, Huey. We can't use that"
"Why not?"
Because it isn't true and you
know 1t isn't"
What the hell has that got to do
with it?" Huey cried. II know it
isn't true but those other guys have
got to answer me, haven't they? And
it won't make much difference then
because I'll have my story out first"
When Huey became Governor,
Crown was one Of the first men he
asked to name what he wanted.
II don't want anything" Crown
told him.
you're a fool then" Huey said.
Break Comes Suddenly.
"Col. Ewing told Huey something
he was about to do was unconstitu-
tional," Crown relates now. And
Huey roared ~I'm the constitution,
amt I?'"
That was the real reason for the
break between the two men.
Col. Ewing died in 1881 and two
years later the Times-Picayune, a
morning paper, and the oldest in