| Show Between You and Me Post Mortem on H Huey ey Long N R A Still Handing Out Jobs Remedy for By Raymond Clapper The restless striding body of Huey L Long ng is still now and alLare all allare allaro are aro inclined ned to speak as gener generously generously generously as they can cnn of the e man who caused so much trouble in hI his short public career One of the best characterizations Hons of ot Long comes from Colonel James M. M Thomson publisher of the New Orleans Item and MornIng MornIng Morning Morn Morn- ing Tribune ne Ho He knew Long well both as friend and political foe and saw saw the spectacular phenomenon phenomenon phenomenon menon rise iso and shoot across the landscape of ot his state I III came to realize Colonel Thomson said that he possessed almost unique capacity for sustained sus BUS tamed labor Jabor with an incredibly rapid and acute mentality The tragedy of oC his life liCe and of his public pub pub- lic He career is to be found in his insatiable seeking for personal power more power than any one man should possess and his failure failure failure fail fail- ure ure to use ue that power for proper public ends F Nearly years ago Em Emerson writing of Napoleon came astonishingly astonishingly astonishingly aston aston- close to describing Huey Long Nature must have far the greatest share in every success and vand so was his Such aman aman was wanted and such a man aman was born a man of atone stone and iron capable of sitting on horseback 16 or 17 hours hours- of going many days together e er ez without rest or food except by snatches and with the speed and spring of a tiger in action a man mannot mannot mannot not embarrassed embarrass d by any any scruples compact instant selfish prudent and of a perception which did not suffer itself to be balked balke or misled misled misled mis mis- led by any pretense of others or any superstition or any heat heator or haste baste of his own Superficially Huey Long typified typified fied fled in many ways the American temperament He had its rough braggart humor its directness Ho He was shrewd earthy impudent daring plausible boisterous and effective Personally he was as American as an Iowa farmer Politically Politically Politically Po Po- Po- Po he was an alien llen His g genIus gen genius gen gen- n- n ius lus was better suited to an Ignorant Ignorant ignorant igno Igno- rant oppressed people than to an an intelligent self seU nation Politically he was ras like lilee bad money driving out the good playing on the most ignorant and gullible forcing other p public men to trade in his cheapened political coin No man can be a leader and be wholly bad Huey Long voiced some of ot the grievances and longIngs longings long- long Ings tags of the tho less fortunate section of at the population But this was an incidental product by-product of his quest for power What might have happened to Huey Long had he lived Jived His appeal was to the hopeless and despairing His light burned brightest under a black sky But suppose as seems probable probable probable able that we are now leaving the depression behind us us' and are heading back into another period I of of reasonable prosperity and o op op- op I and widely ly diffused comfort Already there were signs in recent months that Long was wasa a shrinking figure in the tho national imagination Would he have found himself a few years hence a man who had outlived his time an aging comedian merely a funny funnyman funnyman funnyman man in the tho senate plump and bald his ideas stale and no longer appealing to largo large masses another bivouacked hero That has happened happened happened hap hap- to other str strong men whose tide has ebbed leaving them flat flaton flaton flaton on the beach Huey Hucy Long would have been unhappy in such a a. role It t is hard to imagine him himas as an old man Politically his lila death Is a n. break for the administration though one that is easily overestimated But such influence as Long would have had next year would have been used to the tho disadvantage of Mr Roosevelt Of all the third party threats his was the only one which carried any possibilities of ot affecting the result This leaves Mr Roosevelt with less annoyance annoyance annoyance annoy annoy- ance on the left He will not be compelled to devote so much attention attention attention at at- to defending his rear with wealth the gestures Republicans lose slightly by that hat perhaps But probably not much The hopes some of them had that Huey Hucy Long would split spIlt the Roosevelt Roose Roose- v velt lt vote were were vere m more re wistful than sound A cartoon appeared in the NewYork NewYork New NewYork York Herald Tribune last Friday It was was entitled The lIThe Fates Are Funny That Way A series of panels showed people being killed in automobile crashes by poisoned food at picnics by earthquakes floods and pestilence ce In the tho bottom bottom bot bob tom torn panel the common citizen t turns from his newspaper to re remark remark re- re mark marle to his wife But nothing ever seems to h happen to Huey Hucy 1 Long t i There Isn't any more N R A A. A but the news apparently hasn't got around down at the recovery offices yet One person got a job there this week weel The organization candidate for tor governor who carried the administrations administration's administrations administration's admin admin- good will lost in the Kentucky Democratic primary Lieutenant Governor A A. B. B Happy Happy Hap Hap- py Chandler who vho bucked the organization organization organization or or- won by a comfortable margin over Thomas S S. Rhea former former for for- mer state highway commission chairman who had the backing of ot the politically powerful highway highway highway high high- I way department Medical science believes it has almost found the secret for Inexpensive inexpensive inexpensive inex inex- pensive production of cortin a glandular substance used used used-in in treating treating treating treat treat- ing myopia a type of progressive nearsightedness It would be a a help if they could get this remedy going in time for the presidential campaign Copyright 1935 by the Washington Post |
