Evening star., 1959-06-28
by e. M. CLINTON
contributing Writer

~ Ne NAs CAAN AVN
contributing Writer
BATON ROUGE. La.--what
kind Of a man is Earl Long, the
Governor Of Louisiana whose re-
cent escapades have attracted
worldwide attention?
someday, perhaps. the historians
viii get around to doing the full
story Of Earl Long and they may,
In the first couple Of volumes, do
justice 10 the subject.
And. as they dig into their stock
Of adjectives, they can hardly miss
one that fits.
Is he, as former Gov. Sam Jones
described him in the l948 cam
paign. a scratching. biting. claw
ing man?" N
Or is he, as thousands Of
Louisianians believe. "Ole Earl,
the best friend the pore folks ever
had?"
The lis, he's little Of both.
History records at least one oc-
casion when he. was actually q
scratching. biting clawing man."
That was the time he lit into q
State Senator, who has since be-
come one Of the States most
effective lobbyists. and actually bit
his ear.
And there's no denying the fact
that 1t has been under the leader
ship Of Earl Long that louisiana
has taken its greatest strides down
the road to welfare State in
which the pore folks" share the
blessings Of the State regardless
Of the cost to the taxpayer.
Three Times Governor
Active in Louisiana politics for
IS years, three times Governor of
the State, his nine-line biography
IN Who's Who In America" Is one
Of the shortest in the volume.
1t records that he was born at
Winnf1eld, La. on August rs, 1895.
o son of Huey Pierce and Caledo-
mia (Tislon) Long; that he passed
the bar examinations after being
Q special student at Loyola Uni
v<fsity Of the South at New Or
leans; that he married Blanche
Revere on August II. 1882; served
as inheritance tax collector for
the parish Of Orleans from 1928
to 1882; was elected Lieutenant
Governor in 1896; served as Gov
ernor from June, 1899. to May,
1910; was elected Governor in
1948. and is member of the New
Orleans Athletic Club and Inter-
national House. ~
There's no mention that he is
o brother Of the late Huey
Pierce Long. former Governor and
United States Senator whose me-
teoric fash across the political
horizon Of the State and Nation
was brought to q dramatic end by
an assassin's bullet in the tower
Ing State Capitol in 1885, and an
uncle of United States Senator
Russell Long.
There's no hint, either, Of the
drama that has seen Earl Long
rescue the dynasty that Huey
built from what appeared to be
complete collapse on at least three
occasions.
Earl Long, when it comes right
down to 1t, is not one man but
several, complexity of humanity
almost beyond comprehension.
The sole point ON which there
b general agreement Is that he
is master politician. The ulti-
mate proof of that was his first
primary victory as q candidate
for Governor in 1856. only four
years after he left that ONCE at
o low ebb Of popularity because Of
q heavy-handed taxing spree dur
ing his previous term.
Personal crudities
To many he is crude to the
point Of vulgarity.
He has been known to spit on
the carpeted floors Of the man.
sion. grind cigarettes out on those
same carpets, even smash furni-
ture in fits Of anger.
Profanity flows from him dur
ing private conversations and is
not infrequent in his public ap-
pearances.