Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-08-22 | Page 4 | Toppling of the House That Huey Built in Louisiana is Sordid Corruption Story

Toppling of the fhe House Th That t Huey Bu Built lt t i J ln Louisiana 9 ri w J i J v t e i 1 t ls Story t A c sti r t v K on to ry Editors Editor's Note Following Follo 1 It Is the the he first flit of f four for dispatches and coordinatIng coordinatIng ing In the complicated Louisiana LouIana political scandals which beIran began be be- gan Iran this ibi spring with the disclosure of shortages In the accounts of the state tate university By y TED II H. MALOY NEW ORLEANS UP A scholarly looking man walked the governors governor's mansion at Baton Baton Rouge Rouge one spring day twisted his hat nervously in in his hands and tol told a story that toppled top pled pied the empire that the kingfish kingfish kingfish king- king fish built The mans man's name was Dr James Monroe Smith and he was president president president dent of Louisiana State University university sity a school that Huey t P. P Long built out of spite because Tulane Tulane Tulane Tu- Tu lane university would not put one of his men into its chair of s surgery Today Investigators are arc ferreting ferreting fer- fer out all the fa facts ts about the reign of the Kingfish many Kingfish many months after Long di died d from the bullets of an assassin Two of Longs Long's chief lieutenants have been indicted Evidence points to a sordid story of graft and corruption and to quote federal investigators this is only the beginning Shortages n Revealed caled It was on n June 25 when Smith bashfully admitted that he had been using the university's money ii in stock deals At 4 p. p m. m on June rune 25 Smith resigned At t 8 p p. p m. m Attorney Attorney Attorney ney General David M. M Ellison directed state police to arrest the university president on charges of embezzlement The bird had flown Smith was mis missing ng His wife was wa gone too Next day Governor L Leche che re resigned resigned resigned re- re signed and Lieutenant Governor Earl K Long brother of the Kingfish was sworn in as g gover gayer ver- ver nor There was confusion throughout Louisiana Everyone sensed that the thunder bolts were about to be loosed The grand jury Indicted Smith on charges of embezzling from the University funds Front Page News For several days the whereabouts whereabouts where where- of Smith and his wife provided speculation for the na na- na- na tl tion n. n The strange case of a prominent prominent prominent prom prom- academic figure fleeing out of the quiet halls of learning brought the attention of the entire entire entire en en- tire country and officials in Washington Washington-to to the situation in Louisiana Smith surrendered to Canadian authorities in In- In Brockville Ont and prepared to return to Louisiana Louisiana Lou Lou- to face the music There apparently was plenty to face The New Orleans brokerage firm of Fenner Beane revealed Smith had lost heavily Jn in market market market mar mar- ket plunges Losses in the J Monroe Smith account were placed at Smith borrowed I from two New Or Orleans ean banks and from a Baton Rouge bank and bank and offered L. L S. S U. U bonds as security The fhe status of those bonds remains to be determined determined deter deter- mined and Smith has been accused ac ac- ac of forging the name of former Governor Oscar K All Allen n nto to them The total of Smiths Smith's' bond manipulations has been es estimated estimated es- es at i Graft on Building But the bond dealings were only part of the strange business business busi busi- ness uncovered at L L. L.- L.S. S. S U. U Governor Governor Governor Gov Gov- Earl Long announced that through a fake fak resolution of th the university's board of supervisors supervisors supervisors super super- visors Smith had given George Caldwell construction supervisor or 2 per cent of the schools school's building program in recent years Smith raised his own salary to and became be be- came caine the highest paid official in in the state Today there are 41 charges s or indictments against Smith and the federal government has accused accused ac ac- ac him of using the malls mails to defraud Six of the 14 members of the board of supervisors under under under un un- un- un der his regime have resigned and the alumni and the East B Baton ton Rouge parish grand jury have asked the remainder to quit Smith unable to make bail of Is In prison But greater sensations were I still to come The brew that the Kingfish mixed was boiling over Next An Empire Shakes I