Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-09-24
La Guardia
Pictured as
Unfit Mayor
New York Chief colled
EmotionolIy Unstable
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER

Judge whom he had appointed
and who was displeasing him.
when / make q mistake. i
make a beaut," and the people
Of New York may say the same.
The Little Flower has been go
ing haywire lately and the pity
of IL Is that the people bad
chance to elect WilliarHt v.
O'Dwyer, who ran against him
last time. a man who showed
decency, dignity and ability. but
turned him down in fear that
Tam any would return to
power.
II 1t had been possible 10
print or express over the air the
language which LaGuardia used
deliberately and repeatedly in a
comment which he intended for
the press concerning a respect
able citizen during that cam
paign, O'Dwyer probably would
have beaten him.
Most OF those who heard what
LaGuardia said were then con-
WINGED, il they had not realized
before, that he was unfit for Of
flee, but his language was so dis
gushing that it could not be used
even against him.
Lately, LaGuardia urged New
York children, whose fathers
lose money betting on the races,
to become dirty little SWITCHES.
after the manner OF Nazi and
Russian children. who were en-
couraged TO tattle on their
parents to the secret police, and
squeal to him.
CHIDED with more gentleness
~ than he deserved for this
shocking attempt to invade the
family, LaGuardia spurned the
chance to let the matter slide
as an impulsive mistake and
came back on the air with an
incredibly corny plea to some
anonymous letter writer. who
had threatened to com NIT
suicide in despair over racing
losses. and repeated his invita-
ton to the children.
The hammy drama OF his ap-
peal TO the bum sport who was
willing to win on the races but
contemplated self destruction
because he couldn't win for
losing, was SO phony that IL was
laughable, but at the same time
humiliating and frightening.
Don't do it; don't do It," he
manned, and then begged the
unknown and probably fictitious
correspondent to come and see
him and get saved.
TT WAS humiliating to hear
Il such hysterical nonsense over
the air from the war mayor OF
the biggest city In the country
and frightening to realize that
this personality would be in
charge in any crisis that might
occur.
Nor was Il reassuring to read
that he had ordered a gradual
ing class OF young policemen to
beat up on sight any one whom
they might suspect OF being a
tinhorn gambler or a punk.
These are inexperienced young
policemen who might be excused
for taking a sock at the mayor.
himself. under the terms Of this
advice. but II must be noted that
he long ago complicated the life
and work Of his veteran police
force by forbidding the use OF
rough stuff in the handling OF
COMMUNISTS who spat In their
faces during riots or in dealing
with union gorillas.
In one case a policeman had a
very good line on slugger who
bent a blackjack over an old
woman's head and left her par
alyZed because in her business
she handled goods produced by
manufactures who happened to
be under a boycott.
But the cop refrained from
bunting the suspect around, and
the case never was broken, al
though the policeman knows
who did IL.
r A GUARDIA may fool the
- young policemen for a few
hours, but not for much longer.
He delights to bully good men
by virtue of his official author
ity and when people who are
not his official subordinates.
such as the reporters, stand up
to him he gets hysterical.
Always a great hand at Gre
ating personal publicity. La
Guardia got away with his pose
a long time ere he found that
there were some people whom
he couldn't push around and be-
gan to make a spectacle of him
self.
There was a clique OF class
anglers in the press gallery
when he was in the House OF
Representatives In Washington
who built him up AZ q great
liberal and when he lost that
Job and was hanging around
New York. looking for some
thing 10 do, he was a natural
10 lick Tammany after the
smelly scandals OF the Jimmy
Walker regime.
He owes his Job TO the decent
press of New York which he
,,o,., hatae hnc,uoa ha can't sttx-