POLITICAL NOTES: Democrat v. Democrats

One day last week the Democratic Governor of the most populous state in the Union stalked up & down in his office. He was thoroughly mad. He was not mad at Republicans. His chief ally was the Republican-Fusion Mayor of the biggest U. S. city. But he was thoroughly mad at Democrats, particularly at his own Secretary of State, and at the Postmaster General of the U. S.

On Jan. 1 Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia had gone into office expecting to be to patronage-ridden and empty-treasuried New York City what Franklin D. Roosevelt was to the Depression-ridden U. S., determined to make over the city government as the President was making over the Federal Government. When Mayor LaGuardia demanded a bill from the New-York Legislature giving him drastic powers, Governor Herbert Henry Lehman called him promptly to order. The Mayor went to Albany and an amicable settlement was reached. The Mayor agreed not to ask dictatorial powers for himself but to have the necessary authority for revamping the city government and balancing the city budget given to the Board of Estimate (which he controls). Thereupon the Governor about-faced, agreed to support the Mayor’s measure (TIME, Jan. 22).

Mayor LaGuardia was anxious to do over New York City at once. But doing over implied doing New York City’s established political machines out of many jobs, and out of much power. Tammany naturally opposed it, and Tammany-elected State Legislators stood against it, but they were not chiefly responsible for the LaGuardia-Lehman bill’s defeat.

It was beaten by the henchmen of Edward J. Flynn, who was reappointed New York Secretary of State by Governor Lehman when he took office. Flynn is the Democratic boss of The Bronx. While serving as Governor Roosevelt’s Secretary of State, Boss Flynn broke with Tammany, cannily made an alliance with Mr. Roosevelt’s political right hand, Boss Farley. That alliance continued through the Chicago Convention, through the municipal elections last autumn when Farley and Flynn backed a “Recovery” ticket. They were beaten but defeat did not dampen their ambitions. Tammany was also licked and they saw a chance to seize the city’s Democratic machine from Tammany’s slipping grasp. Once in a generation a revulsion of feeling elects a Fusion-Reform Administration, but between times, year after year, the local Democratic machine rules the city. To the ambitions of Bosses Farley and Flynn Mayor LaGuardia’s plan for revamping the city government was as great a danger as it was to Tammany. So the votes of their henchmen killed the bill for city reform.

Governor Lehman, too high-minded to play politics with the Democratic bosses, was still determined to ram the bill through for the good of his home city. He allowed it to be amended to meet minor criticisms and last week, putting all his influence behind it again, had it brought up in the State Legislature. In the Lower House the bill failed, by 15 votes, to receive the necessary two-thirds majority, thanks to the “Noes” of 29 Democratic Assemblymen elected on the Farley-Flynn ticket.

In his anger at this stubborn resistance from within his own party Governor Lehman made a threat. During the 1932 campaign. Franklin Roosevelt gave his good friend Herbert Lehman his blessing, saying in his hearty way that he was glad that Lehman would be at Albany so that he could call up from the White House and say “Hello, Herbert, this is Frank.” Last week Governor Lehman let it be known that, unless Bosses Flynn and Farley saw the error of their ways, he would call up the White House and say in effect, “Hello, Frank, this is Herbert. Will you please call Mr. Farley to order.” But, unexpectedly, the Washington-Albany telephone conversation was held between Governor and Postmaster General. The nature of their compromise or agreement remained their secret. “I must refer you to Mr. Farley for his end of the conversation,” said Herbert. “Mr. Farley must speak for himself.”