Evening star., 1960-09-05
EARL LONG
Heart Attack FotoI
To Former Governor

: was during a period of recon-
ciliation that Huey, then Sena!
tor from Louisiana, was shot
, to death.
, In the political upheaval that
followed Huey's death, Earl
was elected Lieutenant Cover
nor in the administration OF
Gov. Richard w. Leche.
A State scandal forced Gov
,, Leche to resign, and Earl be-
came governor Of Louisiana for
the first time in June 1899
But when he ran for election
in 1910 he was defeated in the
wake of the series of disclosures
! involving members Of the Long
machine.
II was the most investigated
man in Louisiana and nobody
ever was able to prove anything
against me-" Mr.. Long said.
Made Comeback in 194S
He was defeated for lieuten-
ant governor in 1914 but made
a comeback four years later
when he won second term as
governor. At his Inauguration
at the Louisiana State Uni
versity football stadium in
Baton Rouge, buttermilk, soda
pop and holidays were served
to visitors from all over the
State.
Louisiana by law does not
allow a governor two elected
terms in a row. In 1852, Mr..
Long tried to hand pick a sue
cessor but failed. He ran him.
self in 1856 and became gov
ernor a third time. During the
campaign he gave away hams
and baskets of groceries.
In this election, for the first
time, the Negro vote was a
factor. Mr.. Long was a Segre-
gationist, but he convinced the
Negroes he would give them
fair treatment and won the
support of many.
Troubles began to arise as
Mr.. Long sought to push his
program in the Legislature.
Personal criticism of his con-
duct in office began to be
heard.
Given Psychiatric Treatment
Then during the 1859 session
of the Legislature, Mr.. Long
shocked the State with two
sizzling speeches in which he
insulted friend and foe alike.
Three days after the second
speech, on May 80, he was
taken, cursing and screaming,
from Baton Rouge on a Ma
tional Guard plane to the psy-
chiatric clinic at John Sealy
Hospital in Galveston, Tex.
Mr.. Long charged he had
been kidnapped and at a court
hearing two, weeks later in Gal
weston, he won his release. He
returned to Louisiana with his
wife on his promise to enter
Ochsner Foundation Hospital
in New Orleans for treatment.
The governor stayed one
night in Ochsner and then
headed for the capitol at Baton
Rouge. But he was intercepted
and committed to Southeast
Louisiana State hospital at
Vaudeville on a petition signed
by his wife.
He was diagnosed as a para
noiac Observation-Disclosures
a persecution complex, delu-
sions of grandeur and evincing
loss of contact with reality and
a disintegration of the person.
ality.
Certified as Sane
After a week at Vaudeville,
his lawyers won a court hear
ing. Before it began, Mr.. Long
Ousted the hospital director
and the superintendent and re-
placed them with friends of his
own. Mrs. Long, meanwhile
had gone into seclusion, un-
willing to oppose her husbands
RELEASE.
A mighty burst of applause
from the crowded courtroom
greeted the decision certifying
Mr.. Long as sane and releasing
him from Vaudeville.
The Governor was stricken
with what his doctors described
as a slight heart ailment on
July /.
Six physicians examined him
and warned him against his
plan to open his reelection
campaign on July 4, the tradi-
tional Louisiana date for start
ing campaigns.
Earl Long ignored them. On
the holiday he took off on a
300-mile stump tour from one
corner of the State to another
in 98-degree heat.
If I'm nuts, then I've been
nuts all my life," he assured
his audiences. I'm not quite
as dead as they said was :"
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