Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-04
BY CHARLES RICHARDSON
state Editor Of the shreveport Times

ny ShSAAbATC 1SAOAAhASDOOAN
state Editor Of the shreveport Times
BATON ROUGE, La. - The
"Kingfish" leaned back and watched
the lights on the electric voting
machine blink obediently.
The time: Twenty years ago
September 8.
The scene: The State legislature
of Louisiana.
The man: Senator Huey P. Long.
political dictator Of Louisiana and
probably the closest approach to
dictator this democracy has known.
The "Kingfish" wanted certain
bills passed and had convened the
Legislature to do it. Longs bills
were being passed at the rate Of one
a minute with the aid Of the cleo
trio voting machine.
Hitler couldn't have done 1t any
faster in the Reichstag.
When a legislator became con-
fused and pushed the mo" button
the gaily dressed Senator sent one
Of his hard-eyed bodyguards down
the aisle to guide the lawmakers
hand to YES"
Satisfied with the speed and the
overwhelming majorities. the "King-
flsh" strobe out of the chamber
into the lobby and toward the Gov
errors ONCE.
On his heels was his retinue Of
bodyguards.
From behind q pillar stepped
young doctor.
There was q burst Of pistol shots.
When it was over Long was stag
gering, holding his stomach, NOR
tally wounded.
The doctor lay on the floor
riddled with bullet holes.
Long died a few hours later.
The death throes of his Dictator
ship took years, and even today
Huey Long remains the dominant
figure in Louisiana. The Long
dynasty. carried on by two brothers
and q son, Is the most powerful
single force in State politics.
The Man
Long is a martyred hero to some.
q dead tyrant to others.
He rapidly cemented his complete
control Of the State. Nothing was
too small for him to decide, from
the appointment Of State police
man to the floating of million dollar
highway projects.
Selling control Of the tax ma
chinery Of the State. Huey used it
to bring his enemies into line by
raising assessments. On his fol-
lowers he laviShed favors.
His handpicked candidate, with
the singularly appropriate name Of
o. K. Allen, succeeded him as Gov
ernor when he went to the Senate
seeking to expand his power on q
national scale.
Important State business was not
transacted without the Kingdsh
giving the word, whether he was
in Washington or not. The after
noon before he was shot he sat
in the Governors office receiving
all callers, giving them the "Okay"
on this, a mo" on that. dispensing
patronage to his friends and trouble
for his enemies.
With Long died the dreams Of O
new American political order.
Death cut off his often-shouted
cries Of Share the wealth" and
Every man a king"
No Utopia
Huey's vision Of Utopia, spawned
in the drabness Of his own VIM
Parish birthplace and nurtured
through q meteoric political ca
reer that remains uneaualled in
this century, never was more than
o vision.
But Ais faithful devotses Of
those days still say. "Given . few
more years-who knows?"
Those ungranted years win al
ways remain the unanswered factor
in Longs transforming career.
Huey had himself elected to the
Senate and approached Washing
ton-spouting homilies and quoting
from the Good Book and prophecy
ing Of things to come-ike an
angry bull. No one In the twentieth
century has yet rivalled the stir
Huey caused on normally blase
Capitol Hill.
He referred openly to President
Roosevelt as - faker and . lAr."
He called the late Harold Ickes
"that chinch bug Of Chicago" He
demanded confiscation Of all In
herited estates over three million
dollars and spoke Of plans. when
/ am in the White House." to
award $1,000 yearly to every fam
lily. He even wrote book outlining
the steps he proposed to take after
he won the presidency.
But DR.. Carl Weiss, q brilliant
Baton Rouge eye. ear, nose and
throat specialist. put an end to
Kingfish's crusade with q single
bullet from an outlaw" .32-caliber
pistol on that night Of September
8. 1885.
Today, with share the wealth"