Evening star., 1960-09-04
Huey Longs Rule in Louisiono
Incredible, Even After Is Years
BY HUGH A. MULLIGAN
Associated Press stan Writer

AoooSAesSe ASes Sbe@ "AAe~A
"What are they building the
scaffold for?" asked the bulb
nosed man in the rumpled suit.
They're building it for you,
Huey Long"
Governor Of Louisiana for less
than year, Huey Pierce Long had
come to a grim crossroads in his
hectic political career. He faced
impeachment on 10 charges that
included, among other things. at
tempted murder, bribery, misap-
preparation of funds, violent abuse
Of citizens and officials, intimida-
tion of the press, cavorting with a
semi-nude dancer and conduct
generally unubecoming a Cover
nor.
Any one of the charges might
have been enough to topple an
ordinary off1ceholder. but Huey
Long was no ordinary officeholder.
Huey beat the rap, as he always
did, with a cunning mixture of
hoopla, invective, ruthless pres
sure on lawmakers and a SPELL
binders appeal to the masses.
Bloody Monday" the widest
night in the history of the Louisi-
ana Legislature-when the voting
m a achine unaccountably broke
down amid cries Of fraud and the
house adjourned in riotous confu-
sion-gave him the time he needed
to regroup his forces.
Troopers raced across the State
with placards denouncing the i'm
peachment proceedings as a
Standard Oil plot" Frenzied
crowds gathered to hear "The
Kingfish laugh of the charges
with his deft gift for ridicule and
to hear him recite "Invictus," his
favorite poem.
In the heat Of the day. younger
brother Earl sank his teeth into
the cheek of an unfriendly official.
In the dead of night, Huey sum-
moned Is Senators from their
beds and got them to sign the
famous round robin" that halted
the impeachment for lack of
votes to convict him. Huey per-
sonally ordered the carpenters to
take down the scaffold- Like plat
form erected in the Senate cham
Der for his trial, saying it re-
minded him of the French Revo-
luton.
The Long Revolution
After that, there was no stop
ping him. Another revolution was
in the making.
Huey rocked Louisiana to its.
foundations, and the fallout sifted
ominously over depression
weary Nation. The backwoods
drummer who worked his way
through law school selling kitchen
lard door-to-door had found him.
self new product, a panacea for
all mankind's ills and woes.
Every man a king" he prom
ised. "but no man wears a crown"
share the wealth." he
preached, outlining a scheme to
conflscate all fortunes over SIS
million and limit incomes to a
million a year after taxes.
But those who tend to lump
Huey Long with the ordinary run
Of the pea patch demagogue may
underestimate his accomplish
ments in Louisiana and misunder-
stand his talents and intentions.
He was, at one and the same
time: A master political strate-
gist; a bold leader and petty
tyrant; a physical coward who
surrounded himself with bully boys
but still had the courage to take
on the President of the United
States; lovable, laughable rustic
clown who gave the people bread
and circuses in exchange for poll
tical servitude. Chief Justice
William Howard Taft called him
"the most brilliant lawyer who
ever practiced before the United
States Supreme Court"
And he was, above all, a brilli-
ant orator.